Dong appoints new head of wind division

DENMARK: Dong Energy, the world's biggest offshore wind developer, has appointed BKW FMB Energie board member Samuel Leupold as executive vice president of the company's wind division.

Leupold replaces Henrik Poulsen, who was appointed CEO of Dong in August, following the dismissal of Anders Eldrup, and had been running the wind division.

Leupold previously held the role of executive vice president with BKW. According to Dong, he has an engineering background and has previously worked for companies including McKinsey and ABB Power Generation. He will take up the role on 4 March.

In last week's nine-month results announcement, Dong CEO Henrik Poulsen said wind power would form two of the company's growth areas (alongside exploration and production).

Additionally, the company reported a 3% rise in electricity produced through wind and hydro for the period.

Revenue increased by DKK 2.4 billion (€322 million) to DKK 5.1 billion (€684 million) in the first nine months of 2012, of which DKK 1.8 billion (€241 million) related to income from the construction of 50% of the offshore wind farms Anholt (DKK 1.7 billion) and Borkum Riffgrund 1 (DKK 0.1 billion) for co-investors.

Dong also appointed its senior vice president group treasury and risk management Morten Hultberg Buchgreitz as executive vice president for energy markets.