After graduating from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Håverstad worked seven years as a researcher and project manager at SINTEF, where he published a significant number of scientific papers. From 1989, he worked for Norwegian Rig Consultants and Maritime Tentech, which in 2000 merged with Maritime Hydraulics, which eventually became MHWirth.
Since May 2000, Håverstad has held various management positions within MHWirth (formerly Aker MH and Aker Solutions / Drilling Technologies). From January 2010 till July 2013, Håverstad was the CEO of Aker MH and Executive Vice President of Aker Solutions, Drilling Technologies, responsible for worldwide operations and subsidiaries. Since 2014, Håverstad has been based in Houston, where he on behalf of MHWirth has been the leader of a larger business and product development project with Transocean and Shell.
Starting March 1, Håverstad is CEO of Teknova, which has its headquarters in Grimstad.
