Changes to the global leadership team in NKT

- NKT has performed well during the past years, and we have a highly engaged and competent global team ready for the journey ahead. Our power cable solutions are key for the transition to renewable energy, and we have a clear strategy to grow our business. To realise our strategic ambitions, we want to further intensify our focus on execution, operational excellence and customer centricity. I am pleased to announce changes to our Global Leadership Team, which includes leaders with a long tenure within NKT, and leaders who have joined in recent years adding key competencies and diversity of thought. Together with the team and all NKT colleagues, I look forward to continuing our strong momentum into the next phase of our strategy and I am excited to get to work in the new structure, says President and CEO, Claes Westerlind.

The Global Leadership Team will jointly own the execution of NKT’s ReNew BOOST strategy. The changes are introduced to create stronger alignment across the company as well as clear ownership and accountability for key aspects of the next phase of NKT’s strategy

As part of the changes, a new Chief Operating Officer/Deputy CEO role as well as a new Chief Commercial Officer role have been formed to further intensify our focus on execution, operational excellence and customer centricity across all business lines. These two new roles with global responsibility will be key to ensure the growth journey ahead, set direction across the company and ensure that NKT reaps the benefits of the attractive opportunities in the market.  

Will Hendrikx has taken up the role as Chief Operating Officer/Deputy CEO. Will brings more than 25 years of experience driving global sales, growth and operational optimization in the cable and transformer businesses. In 2020, Will joined NKT as the Executive Vice President, Head of Applications and has been paramount in defining and leading efficiency initiatives in recent years. These have ensured significant growth and improved profitability of the business line which delivered double digit organic growth and operational EBITDA margin in 1H 2023.   

Michael C. Hjorth has expanded his current areas of responsibilities as the new Chief Commercial Officer. Michael has 25 years of international management experience from various energy sectors and first joined NKT in 1995. Since 2019 he has been a member of the Global Leadership Team as the Chief Commercial Officer of the high-voltage (HV) Solutions business line and has been instrumental in securing NKT’s record-high order backlog of EUR 7.6bn by end-Q2 2023 in the high-voltage business.

To ensure we continue to deliver and improve performance in Solutions and Applications, two new Executive Vice Presidents have been promoted to lead the HV Solutions site in Karlskrona and the Applications business line respectively.  

Darren Fennell has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona. Darren joined the Karlskrona site in 2012 after 14 years in the civil engineering sector. Since 2019 he has held the position as Senior Vice President, Project Execution and has been instrumental in the HV Solutions Karlskrona journey during the past years ensuring successful and timely execution of the large projects with a strong focus on customer satisfaction.

Carlos Fernandez has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Head of Applications. Carlos joined NKT in 2021 as Senior Vice President, Operations in Applications bringing 20 years of experience from the cable industry. Carlos has contributed significantly to the growth and improved financial performance in Applications in recent years by defining and executing manufacturing footprint changes, as well as driving productivity and efficiency programs.

President and Chief Executive Officer                 Chief Financial Officer

Chief Operating Officer / Deputy CEO                 Chief Commercial Officer

EVP, Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona                EVP, Head of HV Solutions Cologne

EVP, Head of Accessories                                     EVP, Head of Service

EVP, Head of Applications                                     Chief Human Resource Officer

Chief Technology Officer                                       Chief Strategy Officer

Chief Legal Officer