I'm running for election to the Board of Wind Europe. I want to tell you about my experience working in the industry across Europe and why my passion for supply chain, collaboration and innovation make me the right candidate to help steer our industry to greater success.
Energy has never been more important to the day to day lives of people and businesses across Europe. Unprecedented threats to peace and energy security have called politicians to action, prioritising renewable energy deployment faster than even existential climate change has up to now. And amidst this uncertain world, one thing is abundantly clear, Wind Power ticks all the boxes when it comes to Climate, Cost and Security. So, our market is set for transformational growth.
Yet our European supply chain is under threat. The industry faces a combination of a complex consenting and regulatory landscape, spiralling commodity prices, government expectations of local content and frequent quantum leaps in technology; this has placed the entire value chain under pressure, from top to bottom. Thinning profit margins coupled with constant requirements for capex present a complex equation, whilst competition grows from beyond Europe.
As the CEO of RenewableUK, the UK’s biggest clean energy trade body with over 400 members, covering developers and supply chain, onshore, offshore wind, renewable hydrogen, and marine energy, I believe I can bring a unique perspective to the Wind Europe Board. The UK market, especially offshore, is expanding as domestic ambition increases, while we grapple with the challenges of a post-pandemic, post-Brexit and post-invasion world. The supply chain needs to gear up to meet soaring domestic demand and grow opportunities in the wider global landscape. This is a picture that will be familiar to colleagues working across European markets and the UK will, alongside other European countries, need to collaborate like never before to establish a more interconnected world, an offshore grid that crosses borders, and meet the needs of the energy system and communities impacted by unprecedented fossil fuel prices.
I seek to be a strong voice for the supply chain on the Wind Europe Board. My leadership career in Siemens was varied, spanning 2 decades and encompassed the full scope of the power generation industry in which I played a key role in building the UK’s wind supply chain, overseeing the development of a blade factory and pre-assembly port in Hull, England. As the CEO of RenewableUK, my team and I represent hundreds of companies in the supply chain, large and small, established and start-ups.
Beyond the UK, I spent part of my education in Spain, I have lived and worked in Denmark at the beginning of the European offshore boom, led a global business segment for Siemens Energy in the Basque Country, Spain, and dealt with customers and suppliers across the continent throughout my career with one of Germany’s biggest companies. Yet I am disrupter at heart, keen to open up new business models, foster innovation and fill our industry with young, diverse and aspirational talent that builds an industry that makes a lasting impact to communities and the planet.
My commitment to Wind Europe is to be that strong voice for the supply chain and a champion of innovation and collaboration as, together, we advance Europe’s most exciting and impactful industry.
I hope you will vote to support these priorities on June 29th