Vestas is setting up a new business unit called Digital Solutions, with the objective to digitally transform the Danish company to enable stronger customer focus, scalability and profitability.
The company is also elevating its development function to be represented in executive management.
The two functions will operate separately and be led by Thomas Alsbjerg, currently group senior vice president of development, who will be promoted to executive vice president of digital solutions and development from 1 July.
Vestas said the intent with Digital Solutions is to accelerate its efforts within IT/OT (operational technology) and digital transformation through a consolidated unit with a full mandate to run the end-to-end digitalisation of Vestas.
The unit will be responsible for improving IT efficiency, integrate digital solutions further into its customer offering, improve employees’ digital experience and support core processes across the value chain.
Vestas president and chief executive Henrik Andersen said: “A key aspect of increasing renewables’ share of the global energy system is a strong digital foundation and solutions that help ensure a resilient, efficient, and secure renewable energy system.
“Vestas already offers leading digital solutions, and we showed great resilience when we were attacked by cyber criminals last year.
“Looking at future needs and the lessons of the cyberattack, however, we need a full end-to-end approach and one digital operating model.
“We strongly believe we can improve both our customer offering, cyber security and efficiency by consolidating our spend across the total Vestas enterprise.
“I’m therefore very pleased to announce we are taking a big step forward towards this goal and that our continued investment in leadership development and succession planning means we have a strong internal talent in Thomas Alsbjerg to join executive management.”
Alsbjerg said: “Renewables have become truly competitive in the last decade and as we look ahead, we must find sustainable and resilient ways to scale the industry and create energy systems based on renewables.
“Digital solutions are key to our future energy systems and therefore also how Vestas operates, and I’m proud to lead Vestas’ digital transformation forward.
“Our Development business has progressed tremendously in the last 18 months, helping us accelerate the deployment of renewables, and with the new structure where I represent two key aspects to Vestas’ continued progress, I look forward to continue scaling our Development business and lead our digital transformation.”
In addition, Nikolaj Tyge Gertz, currently senior vice president of strategy and M&A, will become chief operating officer of Vestas Development on 1 January 2023, reporting to Alsbjerg.
A planning process to determine how Digital Solutions should be organisationally set up has been initiated, Vestas added.