Floating offshore wind pioneer Principle Power has named Aaron Smith as its new chief commercial officer.
Smith, who joined the company in 2016, will be in charge of business development, strategy, commercial and public affairs.
Since 2018 he has been vice president of strategy and commercial, with responsibility for guiding the company’s strategic direction, driving economic competitiveness and securing commercial value.
Prior to joining Principle Power Smith was an economist at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he directed a portfolio of work designed to identify high-value R&D opportunities for land-based and offshore wind.
Principle Power chief executive Joao Metelo said: “We are very excited that Aaron has accepted this challenge of helping us to build a fully commercial company, as we ramp up to serve the global market.
“Aaron has demonstrated on numerous occasions his dedication to the success of Principle Power, his leadership and management skills in building a strong strategy and commercial area, and above all a relentless commitment to making us better every step of the way – we count on him to continue this pursuit.”
The company added that Smith played an “instrumental role in demonstrating the potential and maturity of floating wind and Principle Power’s WindFloat technology, in particular, to reach the level of competitiveness that could be comparable to other energy sources”.