A former politician for the Conservative Party of Norway, and having served a period as the chief executive officer of Storebrand Bank, Henriksen was CEO of the Norwegian government-owned wine and spirits retail monopoly company, AS Vinmonopolet from 2006 until his death in 2016.
[1] Then from 1986 to 1988 he was political advisor to the chairman of the Conservative Party, Rolf Presthus,[3] and a similar capacity during 1989–1990 under then Minister of Trade Kaci Kullmann Five during the cabinet Syse.
[2][3][7] In this capacity, Henriksen stressed his commitment to the 'social responsibility' of preventing access to alcohol among minors, and fulfilling the mandate to run an operation so successful that the monopoly arrangement will remain in the future, having stated, "We will earn the support of the people".
[8][12] From a customer perspective, the period under Henriksen's leadership and its changes have widely been received positively, with several voices previously critical of the Vinmonopolet institution in recent years declaring that it may be becoming the "world's leading wine store".
[8][13] In contrast, Tom Marthinsen of Dagens Næringsliv though acknowledging progress from the conditions of the 90s, is critical of techniques Henriksen and his team have introduced from chain stores and standardization methods.