Renewable Energy and Cleantech Executive Recruitment

Renewable Energy and Cleantech Executive Recruitment

Exec Capital provides senior executive search for UK renewable energy and cleantech firms across the full sub-sector range — onshore and offshore wind, solar, battery storage and grid services, hydrogen and low-carbon gas, electric vehicle infrastructure, energy efficiency and demand-side technology, carbon capture and removal, and broader cleantech. The sub-sector has grown substantially as a UK senior search segment over the past decade and continues to evolve as the energy transition matures, project economics shift, and the capital structure landscape develops. Senior hiring in renewable energy and cleantech is shaped by a genuinely international candidate market, equity-heavy compensation structures, project-finance dynamics that warrant specific senior leadership credentials, and (for project developers and IPPs specifically) regulatory and planning dimensions that require substantive operating familiarity.

Our practice covers UK senior appointments across CEO, COO, Chief Development Officer, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Technology Officer and broader senior leadership at renewable energy developers, independent power producers, cleantech startups and scale-ups, infrastructure-funded renewables platforms, and PE-backed cleantech firms. Every mandate is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA. For broader UK energy and utilities senior hiring, see our energy and utilities executive recruitment service page.

A Note from Our Founder — Adrian Lawrence FCA

Renewable energy and cleantech senior hiring is one of the most dynamic segments in UK senior search and one of the most internationally competitive. Strong UK senior candidates have global options at any time, with US, European and Asian renewables platforms competing actively for the same pool. The pattern that recurs is UK firms offering compensation envelopes calibrated against domestic benchmarks rather than the international cleantech market — and losing preferred candidates at offer stage. The fix is calibrating offers to the actual market the firm is recruiting from, with the equity structure given the same rigour as the headline fee.

At Exec Capital we run renewable energy and cleantech senior searches with the international compensation context worked through at the brief, sub-sector specifics calibrated to the firm’s specific situation, and the equity-heavy economic structure addressed substantively rather than at the offer stage. Every senior renewable energy and cleantech mandate is handled personally — there are no junior account managers running these searches at Exec Capital.

Speak to Adrian about your renewable energy or cleantech appointment →

Adrian Lawrence FCA | Founder, Exec Capital | ICAEW Verified Fellow | ICAEW-Registered Practice | Companies House no. 13329383
Sub-sectors we cover

Onshore and offshore wind. Wind project developers, IPPs operating wind portfolios, wind technology and OEM-adjacent firms. UK has substantial offshore wind capacity with continued growth in scope.

Solar. Utility-scale solar developers, distributed solar firms, solar technology and component manufacturers.

Battery storage and grid services. Battery energy storage system (BESS) developers and operators, grid services providers, and the substantial co-located storage market alongside generation projects.

Hydrogen and low-carbon gas. Green hydrogen project development, hydrogen technology firms, and low-carbon gas infrastructure. The sub-sector continues to develop as policy and project economics mature.

Electric vehicle infrastructure. EV charging network operators, charging hardware and software firms, and adjacent EV ecosystem businesses.

Energy efficiency and demand-side technology. Smart buildings, industrial energy efficiency, demand response and flexibility services, energy management software.

Carbon capture and removal. Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) firms, direct air capture, and broader carbon removal technologies.

Broader cleantech. Circular economy firms, sustainable materials, water tech, and other clean-technology businesses.
Senior roles we recruit

Chief Executive Officer. Renewable energy and cleantech CEOs typically have substantive prior sub-sector operating experience plus the standard CEO dimensions. For project developers and IPPs specifically, prior project finance and capital-raising experience is often central.

Chief Operating Officer / Operations Director. Senior operating leadership accountable for asset operations, construction delivery, and (for IPPs) portfolio optimisation.

Chief Development Officer. The senior leader accountable for project pipeline development — origination, planning, permitting, financing close. Particularly central in pure-play developer firms.

Chief Investment Officer. Particularly central in infrastructure-funded renewables platforms and cleantech investment firms. Senior investment leadership across asset acquisitions, project investments, and portfolio strategy.

Chief Financial Officer. Renewable energy and cleantech CFOs typically require substantive project finance experience, capital structure expertise, and (for listed and pre-IPO firms) capital markets fluency. Cross-portfolio with our sister firm FD Capital.

Chief Commercial Officer. Power purchase agreement (PPA) origination, customer commercial relationships, and (for cleantech firms) sales and business development leadership.

Chief Technology Officer. Particularly central in cleantech firms with substantial technology IP, and in technology-led storage and hydrogen businesses. See our CTO hiring guide.

Non-Executive Directors and Chairs. Independent NEDs with substantive sector experience, including chairs at listed and PE-backed renewable energy firms.
How we work

We run renewable energy and cleantech senior searches on a retained basis, with engagement running through to the candidate’s first day in role and the equity terms finalised. The brief phase covers sub-sector specifics, international compensation context, and equity structuring before formal mandate begins. Adrian leads every mandate personally.
Why Exec Capital for renewable energy and cleantech

International compensation context at the brief. Strong renewable energy and cleantech candidates evaluate UK opportunities against international alternatives. We calibrate compensation envelopes against the actual market.

Equity-heavy economic structures. Sweet equity, EMI options, growth shares, RSUs — the renewable energy and cleantech compensation toolkit is varied, and the structuring shapes which candidates engage seriously. We work this through during the search.

Principal-led delivery. Adrian Lawrence FCA leads every senior renewable energy and cleantech mandate personally.

Speak to Exec Capital about your renewable energy or cleantech appointment

Direct conversation with Adrian Lawrence FCA. International compensation context and equity structuring worked through at the brief.

0203 834 9616

Tell us about your renewable energy or cleantech appointment →
Further reading

For broader UK energy and utilities senior hiring, see our energy and utilities executive recruitment service page.

For role-specific senior hiring guides, see our CEO hiring guide, COO hiring guide, CFO hiring guide, CIO hiring guide, and the rest in our Knowledge Centre. For our substantive guide to UK senior compensation including the equity structures relevant to renewables and cleantech, see our Executive Compensation guide and Equity and Incentives guide.

For UK renewable energy and cleantech industry context, see RenewableUK, Solar Energy UK, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Climate Change Committee.