Ørsted, a company that develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, has appointed Richard Hunter as chief operating officer (COO) and a new member of its executive committee.
The position is new, following a decision announced earlier this year to reorganize Ørsted to position for future growth. As COO, Hunter will head Ørsted’s EPC & Operations for all of Ørsted except the onshore business, which is organized in a separate business unit.
EPC & Operations is Ørsted’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider and operator of offshore wind farms as well as combined heat and power plants. The EPC organization manages multiple large-scale offshore construction projects in parallel across the globe, while the Operations organization manages 28 offshore wind farms in operation that supply carbon-free power to more than 18 million people worldwide.
“I’m truly excited to see Hunter join the executive committee as our COO,” says Mads Nipper, group president and CEO of Ørsted. “Hunter is a world-class executive and has the right set of skills to continue the development of EPC & Operations as a crucial part of our actions to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. He has a strong technical foundation in engineering, he has impressive international experience leading manufacturing, operations and development across the globe, and last but not least, has proven himself to have a strong commercial mindset delivering high value to the business and customers.”
Hunter has had a long career as an executive leader within engineering, manufacturing and operations in the global and U.K.-based railway industry, and, until recently, he was president of Bombardier Transportation’s global rail control solutions and wayside business. During his 17 years with Bombardier, Hunter has held executive positions within engineering, manufacturing and operations in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and he has led projects and product supply in more than 50 countries.
“I really look forward to joining the team at Ørsted,” says Hunter. “Having worked for many years in businesses delivering the most environmentally friendly and sustainable forms of transportation, I’m honored to take this role with one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world with a clear ambition to be a leader in the global energy transformation.”
Hunter will be based in Gentofte, Denmark, and work on a regular basis from Ørsted’s London office as well as from other locations worldwide.
