Wind energy – Vestas
After almost nine years as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Vestas, Marika Fredriksson has decided to hand over the financial reigns to Hans Martin Smith, currently CFO Vestas Northern & Central Europe by 1 March 2022.
Having joined in May 2013, Marika has played an integral role in making Vestas the global leader in wind energy. Most prominently, Marika led Vestas’ Finance function during the company’s turnaround, which was followed by significant growth from a EUR 6bn company to well beyond EUR 15bn and recognised as the financially strongest wind energy company.
As a testament to Marika’s contribution to Vestas and the development of the global wind energy industry, Marika was named CFO of the Year in Denmark in 2015 and among the most influential women in the wind energy industry on several occasions.
Hans Martin Smith joined Vestas in 2004. Before becoming CFO of Vestas Northern & Central Europe (NCE) in 2018, Hans grew through the ranks of Vestas serving various leadership positions in several finance areas, including Head of Group Treasury & Investor Relations, as well as leadership roles in Corporate Strategy and Technology. During his time as CFO of Vestas NCE, Hans has played a key role in Vestas NCE’s growth from a EUR 3bn business to around EUR 7bn in 2021. As part of this journey, Vestas NCE has with Hans as CFO strengthened its market-leading position in core markets across Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as integrated the offshore activities after the acquisition of MHI Vestas Offshore Wind.