GE Renewable Energy has appointed Jan Kjaersgaard as the new chief executive of its offshore wind business, effective today.
Kjaersgaard will succeed John Lavelle who is retiring after a 40-year career, but who plans to stay on board to assist with a transition over the next several months.
Kjaersgaard joins GE from FLSmidth, where he was most recently president of the cement business, including full EPC turnkey plants, products business and aftermarket services.
He previously served as VP global sales of Siemens’ onshore and offshore businesses before becoming chief executive of Siemens Wind Power Americas and later on CEO for Siemens Wind Power EMEA.
He came to Siemens from Bonus Energy, where he led the organisation’s commercial team and was involved in some of the first utility-scale offshore wind projects in European waters before the company was acquired by Siemens in 2004.
From 2014 to 2017 Kjaersgaard was CEO of international steel contractor Bladt Industries and continued to gain expertise in the offshore wind sector.
GE Renewable Energy president and chief executive Jerome Pecresse said: “I am very pleased to welcome Jan to our leadership team to lead our growing offshore wind business.
“Offshore wind is poised to grow dramatically in the coming years, and Jan is ideally suited to take GE’s offshore wind business to the next level during that global growth curve.
“I also want to deeply thank John for the critical role he played in positioning our offshore wind business for success as well as his many contributions to GE during his distinguished career.
“John has been a great partner and mentor to me, and so many of us at GE.”
Kjaersgaard said: “I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead GE’s offshore wind business at this pivotal moment for the industry.
“GE is extremely well positioned to help our customers deliver on the enormous promise of offshore wind with the most powerful turbine in operation, the partnership it has already built with world-class customers, and its talented and dedicated offshore wind team.”