Electricity

Since the inception of our activities in the executive search business, we have witnessed many changes in the power sector. Topics like liberalization, privatization, consolidation and legal unbundling required serious changes in our clients' organizational cultures and management structures. Some of the former major state-owned companies have been fully privatized, while others still list the state as a major stockholder. New players, especially within commodity trading, popped up – some disappeared after only a short time.

Although the market has more-or-less freely developed and the wholesale market is driven by market prices, economic and regulatory developments have made the definition of a model for success ever more elusive. The broader European electricity market has recently seen utilities seriously struggle, large industrials going into the electricity business, ongoing and seemingly never-ending liberalization processes stopped due to the economy, asset-holders desperately restructuring their portfolios; all accompanied by a general realization that the business has changed significantly.

Flexibility and ideas are paramount. Pockets of profitability are opening up in many areas; they are numerous but also smaller than before. To managers, the changes spell out risk and new opportunities at the same time.

GJP has been supporting the European power sector in recruiting top managers as well as specialists in the finance, commercial, risk and technical areas, as well as in a range of other corporate functions. We have set up trading floors from Front Office to Back Office including all Middle Office specialist functions.