Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board of HMH

Merrill A. “Pete” Miller, Jr., previously served as CEO of HMH from 2021 – 2022, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Oilwell Varco, Inc., a supplier of oilfield services and equipment to the oil and gas industry from 2001 to 2014, and as Chairman of NOV’s Board from 2002 to 2014. Mr. Miller also served as Executive Chairman of NOV Inc., a spinoff of the distribution business of National Oilwell Varco, Inc. from 2014 to 2017. Mr. Miller graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York in 1972 and, upon graduation, served five years in the United States Army. Mr. Miller received his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1980. 

Kristian Røkke (b. 1983) is the Chief Executive Officer of Aker Horizons ASA, a company that develops green energy and green industry to accelerate the transition to net zero. Mr. Røkke was chief investment officer of Aker ASA prior to Aker Horizons, and CEO of Akastor ASA and Philly Shipyard ASA, where he held several operational roles including SVP Operations. Mr. Røkke is currently Chair of the board of several companies, including Mainstream Renewable Power, Aker Carbon Capture ASA, Philly Shipyard ASA, and a director on the board of TRG Holding AS. Mr. Røkke has an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Karl Erik Kjelstad (b. 1966) is Chief Executive Officer of Akastor ASA and has been part of the Aker group since 1998, and has held numerous key positions, including various CEO positions. Karl Erik has held several board positions in different industries, including oil service, offshore drilling, offshore and merchant shipping, shipbuilding, IT services, real estate and construction industry. Karl Erik holds an MSc in Marine Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and an AMP from Harvard Business School. 

Neil Saunders most recently served as Executive Vice President, Oilfield Equipment of Baker Hughes. Saunders has more than 25 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry. He previously served as President & CEO, Subsea Systems & Drilling for GE Oil & Gas and as Senior Vice President for Subsea Production Systems. Saunders joined GE through the acquisition of Vetco Gray in 2007 as Regional Vice President for Europe, North Africa & Caspian, before being appointed Senior Vice President of the newly formed Global Services business, based in the US. He joined a predecessor of the Vetco Gray business in 1991, and held multiple technical and operational roles across the business in the UK and US. Saunders is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology. He earned a Master of Science degree in Subsea Engineering from Cranfield and Heriot-Watt Universities, and a Master of Business Administration from Henley Management College.

Brian Worrell most recently served as Chief Financial Officer for Baker Hughes. With more than 30 years of experience as a financial executive, he also served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for GE Oil & Gas since January 2014, and as Vice President, GE Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, since December 2010. Worrell was Vice President of the GE Corporate Audit Staff from January 2006 to December 2010, where he led a team of 750 people in ensuring financial statement integrity, controllership, compliance, and best practices throughout the company. He has worked on five continents and in multiple businesses throughout his career and has served on several Boards of Directors for companies and non-profits. Worrell is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with an honors degree in economics.