Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has appointed Patrick du Plessis as chief risk officer, effective 1 April.

Du Plessis succeeds Dag Huse, who recently stepped down from the fund’s leadership group and has taken on a new role within the fund, coordinating the fund’s work on geopolitical risk.

The appointment of Du Plessis follows an extensive global search in which several internal and external candidates were considered to replace Huse.

Du Plessis first joined NBIM in 2001 as a financial analyst and has held several senior roles across financial analysis, benchmarks and valuations, performance analytics, and benchmark and mandate management since then.

Prior to taking the chief risk officer position, Du Plessis served as global head of risk monitoring, a role he has held since 2016. In this role, he was responsible for the analysis, monitoring, measurement and reporting of investment risk and return for the fund.  

He also holds a Sustainable Finance Executive Program qualification from the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford.

Commenting on the news, NBIM CEO, Nicolai Tangen, said: “I am very pleased that Patrick assumes this role. He brings 25 years of experience within the fund and is widely respected across the organisation.

“In an increasingly complex investment environment, robust and forward-looking risk management is essential to protecting the fund's long-term returns.”

He added that he is “confident” du Plessis will “get the best out of our talented risk teams” and continue to develop NBIM’s capabilities in this area, with a particular focus on technology and artificial intelligence within the risk function.

Tangen also commended Huse on his “outstanding contribution” to the fund and said he is “delighted” Huse will continue to contribute in a new capacity.

Meanwhile, commenting on his own appointment, Du Plessis said: “It is with excitement and humility that I take on this responsibility. I look forward to working with my colleagues to further strengthen our risk culture and capabilities.”

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