Cognite, partially owned by Aramco, appoints Girish Rishi as new CEO

Girish Rishi has been named the new CEO of Norwegian industrial software firm Cognite, as company co-founder John Markus Lervik stepped down from the post. 

Rishi is the former head of US supply-chain software group Blue Yonder, which was bought last year by Japan’s Panasonic, in a $7.1 billion deal.

Lervik will now serve as the chief strategy and development officer, the company said on Monday. 

Saudi Aramco in February bought a 7.4 percent stake from oil firm Aker BP, in a deal that valued Cognite at just over $1.5 billion.

Controlled by Aker ASA, the investment firm of Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, Cognite also counts private equity firms TCV and Accel among its shareholders.

Founded in 2016, Cognite makes software that helps read, connect and analyze large amounts of data, allowing customers companies to improve the operations and safety of industrial installations, such as oil and gas platforms.