Harald Thorstein, who had been a key lieutenant of John Fredriksen, has been tapped to build up presence in London for consultancy Arkwright.
The move will see the company expand a footprint beyond its current offices in Oslo, Stockholm and Hamburg.
Thorstein, 40, said on his LinkedIn profile that he has been named a founder and partner at Arkwright London.
Nine years ago, he switched to Fredriksen’s private company Seatankers and was understood in many ways to be the Norwegian shipping magnate's right-hand man, a role that had previously been held by Tor Olav Troim before the shipping executive parted ways.
Thorstein, who has a master's degree in industrial economics and technology management from Norwegian University of Science and Technology, also sat on the board of several of Fredriksen’s listed companies including Seadrill.
In October, Thorstein announced that he was leaving the Fredriksen group.
TradeWinds understands that, in practice, Thorstein’s role in Seatankers has been replaced by chief executive officer Marius Hermansen.
Thorstein told the Norwegian financial daily Finansavisen that he plans to employ more people to Arkwright’s office in London.
He said many companies now are now facing challenges both with their balance sheets and their relationships with banks.
Founded in 1987, Arkwright offers management consultancy services to private corporations, investors, non-government organisations and start0ups.
The company also has a start-up incubator, Arkwight X, that works with technology entrepreneurs in business-to-business software.
