AW-Energy shuffles management team. Appoints new CEO

Finnish wave energy company AW-Energy has made several changes to its management team with the most notable adjustment made to the position of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

AW-Energy informed that John Liljelund will be heading forward from his post as CEO to join the company’s Board of Directors.

Christopher Ridgewell has been named as the new CEO of AW-Energy, as he moves from his position as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

The CTO post will now be filled by the company’s former Development Manager Jussi Åkerberg who had a key role in wave energy technology development over the last 6 years.

Ridgewell, a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, has over 25 years of wide ranging experience in the marine industry, including a background in international sales and projects, according to AW-Energy.

John Liljelund said: “The past eight years as CEO have been invaluable not only professionally, but also personally as I’ve been fortunate enough to build and lead an amazing team of talented, professional people.

“Chris’s past professional roles, his knowledge of both our product the WaveRoller and the entire industry are the attributes of a successful CEO in our company.”

Commenting on his appointment, Ridgewell said: “John has set a sturdy foundation for me to pick up on and I’m excited and honored to lead such an accomplished team. The future looks very positive, predictable ocean wave energy will have an important role in the energy system and we’re looking forward to delivering solutions to our global customers.”

Both new CEO and CTO of AW-Energy will be taking up their new roles from February 1, 2018.

The WaveRoller team has also been strengthened with the recruitment of Jani Perälä as a Procurement Manager, and Ville Kortelainen for the role of Technical Manager, Mechanical.

AW-Energy’s flagship product, the WaveRoller, is a submerged wave energy converter based on a hinged panel that is attached to the sea bed in the near shore area.

It generates electricity from the movement of the waves and is connected to the electric grid onshore.

Currently, AW-Energy is working on multi-million euro commercial projects with customers and has a pipeline with ongoing development in 6 countries on 4 continents.