Ellen Hanetho
About Ellen Hanetho
Independent director at Crown LNG Holdings Limited (CGBS); Chair of the Audit Committee and designated “audit committee financial expert.” Founder and chairperson of Cercis (cleantech investment firm, established September 2019); former CEO of Frigaard Invest (2013–2019) with ~25 years’ experience across investment banking and private equity (Goldman Sachs IBD, Credo Partners, Brussels Stock Exchange, Citibank). Education: BSBA (Boston University), MBA (Solvay University), executive training at INSEAD and Harvard Business School .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frigaard Invest | Chief Executive Officer | Mar 2013 – Dec 2019 | Led investment and operating portfolio |
| Cercis | Founder & Chairperson | Sep 2019 – present | Cleantech investment leadership |
| Goldman Sachs (London/New York) | Investment Banking Division (Senior roles) | Not disclosed | Capital markets and advisory experience |
| Credo Partners | Senior roles | Not disclosed | Private equity/operator investing |
| Brussels Stock Exchange | Senior roles | Not disclosed | Market operations/governance exposure |
| Citibank (Brussels) | Senior roles | Not disclosed | Corporate finance |
| Fleks AS | Chairperson (private company) | Not disclosed | Board leadership |
| Mer AS | Chairperson (private company) | Not disclosed | Board leadership |
| Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Group Ltd. | Board Member (private company) | Not disclosed | Maritime/industrial governance |
| Stokke Industri AS | Board Member (private company) | Not disclosed | Industrial governance |
External Roles
| Company (Exchange) | Role | Tenure/Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPC Container Ships ASA (Oslo) | Director | Current | Confirmed via proxy voting records (elections 2021, 2023) |
| MPC Energy Solutions ASA (Oslo) | Director | Current | Energy infrastructure board |
| EQVA ASA (Oslo) | Director | Current | Industrial services |
| B2 Impact ASA (Oslo) | Director | Current | Financial services |
| Capsol Technologies ASA (Oslo) | Director | Current | Carbon capture tech |
Board Governance
| Committee | Hanetho’s Role | Other Members | Independence/Charter Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Committee | Chair; Audit Committee Financial Expert | Andrew Judson; Gry Osnes | All members independent; oversees financial reporting, auditor oversight, ICFR, risk |
| Compensation Committee | Member | Chair: Gry Osnes; Andrew Judson | All members independent; oversees exec compensation, incentive/equity programs |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee | Member | Chair: Andrew Judson; Gry Osnes | All members independent; reviews governance guidelines and related-person transactions |
- Independence: Anticipated independent director post-Business Combination (CGBS) .
- Audit committee charter adopted; Hanetho designated financial expert .
- Attendance: Board/committee attendance rates not disclosed in available CGBS filings; no data to report .
Fixed Compensation
- CGBS (PubCo) stated that non-employee director compensation policy will be determined post-Business Combination; no specific cash retainer, chair fees, equity or meeting fees disclosed to date .
- Prior Crown (pre-PubCo) showed no formal director compensation plan and reimbursed reasonable expenses; sample fiscal 2023 director fee table listed other names, not Hanetho (indicating service timing or no Crown-level fees to her in 2023) .
Performance Compensation
- No disclosure of director performance-based awards (RSUs/PSUs) or option grants for Hanetho at CGBS to date. PubCo indicates intent to use stock-based awards generally in future, but specifics for directors are not provided .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| External Company | Sector Link to CGBS | Potential Interlock Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| MPC Container Ships ASA | LNG shipping customers could interface with regas terminals | Information flow and potential customer/vendor connections (monitor related-party screens via NCGC) |
| MPC Energy Solutions ASA | Energy infrastructure | Sector adjacency; not a direct LNG terminal competitor |
| EQVA ASA | Industrial services | Indirect adjacency |
| B2 Impact ASA | Financial services | Limited overlap |
| Capsol Technologies ASA | Carbon capture tech | Possible technology adjacency |
The Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee charter explicitly includes review/approval of related-person transactions, which mitigates interlock risk if counterparties overlap with CGBS projects .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Financial oversight: Audit chair and SEC “financial expert” designation; deep capital markets and IB experience (Goldman Sachs) .
- Energy and industrial governance: Multiple Oslo-listed boards across shipping, energy, industrial tech .
- Education: BSBA (Boston University), MBA (Solvay), executive programs (INSEAD, Harvard) .
Equity Ownership
| Reference Date | Shares Beneficially Owned | % of Shares Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2025 (Record Date) | — | — | Ellen Hanetho listed without reported amount in beneficial ownership table (461,309,285 shares outstanding) |
| Jun 5, 2025 (Record Date) | — | — | Ellen Hanetho listed without reported amount in beneficial ownership table (489,417,994 shares outstanding) |
- Pledging: As of the Business Combination closing, “no Pubco Ordinary Shares beneficially owned by any executive officer, director or director nominee have been pledged as security,” which reduces alignment risks tied to collateralization .
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director leading the Audit Committee with formal “financial expert” status – positive for investor confidence on financial reporting, controls and auditor oversight in a complex financing environment .
- Committee coverage (Audit, Compensation, NCGC) and explicit NCGC remit to review related-party transactions – important given CGBS’s SPAC heritage and multiple financing counterparties .
- Broad external board exposure in energy/industrial companies provides domain context and network access that can aid project financing and oversight .
-
Risk Indicators and Red Flags to Monitor
- Company-level going concern risk and reliance on external financings (convertible notes with reset/dilution mechanics) place exceptional demands on the audit chair for fair value, disclosure quality, and capital structure oversight .
- Nasdaq listing deficiencies and repeated reverse split proposals signal market-cap and compliance pressure; audit and governance leadership must ensure timely reporting and control remediation (including late 20-F issues) .
- Ownership alignment: No reported CGBS share ownership for Hanetho in proxy tables to date — investors may prefer visibility into director equity stakes or guidelines once the PubCo’s director compensation policy is finalized .
- Multiple external board commitments across Oslo-listed companies could present scheduling/load challenges; NCGC oversight of related-party transactions should remain active to pre-empt conflicts if counterparties overlap with CGBS projects .
Implication: Hanetho’s audit leadership and financial expertise are positives in a capital-constrained, SPAC-derived issuer with complex instruments; investor confidence will be most sensitive to timely filings, robust ICFR remediation, transparent related-party reviews, and eventual disclosure of director compensation/ownership alignment .