Karen Simon
Director of Energean PLC in London (Chair), and Aker ASA in OsloMs. Simon is currently a director of two European public companies; one of which she Chairs, Energean PLC in London (LON: ENOG), and Aker ASA in Oslo (OSL: AKER). Energean is an E&P company focused on natural gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean. In partnership with the CEO, she is advancing the company’s growth strategy and energy transition while building critical governance and compliance frameworks since Energean’s IPO in March of 2018. She is a member of Remuneration committee and Chairs the Nomination & Governance committee. Ms. Simon has served as a Non-Executive Director of Aker ASA since April 2013. Aker controls a number of industrial investments and is a leading Norwegian player in the energy transition space with recent entries into carbon capture, offshore and onshore wind power, and clean hydrogen production, plus a number of digital software offerings for industrial applications.
Ms. Simon retired from JPMorgan in December 2019 as a Vice Chairman in the Investment Bank. Over her 36 year banking career, she held a number of leadership positions, including Global Co-Head of Financial Sponsor Coverage, providing M&A and capital raising investment banking services to private equity funds; Co-Head of EMEA Debt Capital Markets and Head of EMEA Oil & Gas coverage, both in London, and most recently she founded JPMorgan’s Director Advisory new client group focused on providing advice to public company Directors. During her career, she was cited several times as one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Finance in Europe, Middle East and Africa” and was named the 2010 and 2011 “Female Private Equity Advisor of the Year” by Financial News.
Ms. Simon received dual graduate business degrees in 1983: an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) in Arizona. Earlier, she graduated from the University of Colorado, earning a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Economics.