The UK government has no obvious candidates to fill the position of CEO of GB Energy, the Guardian newspaper has reported.
Citing senior industry sources, it said that the state-owned energy company faces a “challenging” task to bring in someone to head the group when it begins recruiting this month.
This comes despite GB Energy having been formed almost six months ago, with the government saying in September it would appoint an interim CEO “soon”.
Several industry sources have warned that the government faces a struggle to find someone who both has the credentials to take charge of GB Energy’s £8.3-billion budget but also work for a civil servant’s salary and be based at its headquarters in Aberdeen.
“There are many experienced energy executives already based in Aberdeen who have a strong track record in the oil and gas industry – but they wouldn’t necessarily be the best fit for the government’s clean energy company. And those who aren’t in Aberdeen might not be willing or able to move there,” one source said.
Former chief executive of Siemens UK Juergen Maier was brought on to chair the state-owned company last year, though he will be based in Manchester instead of Aberdeen.
The UK government also recently appointed five non-executive directors to the “start-up board” of GB Energy.
However, bringing in a CEO may prove trickier.
“I haven’t heard any names attached to the role,” one senior industry executive told the Guardian.
“The chief executive role will tap into a sense of public duty – it’s a chance to do something that’s in the public interest. So it might appeal to the heart rather than the bank account,” another added.
Maier recently warned that GB Energy’s goal of creating 1,000 jobs will take 20 years, with between 200 and 300 to be created over the next five years in Aberdeen.
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