Sven Utermöhlen, CEO, RWE Offshore Wind GmbH

How do you study Geophysics, and then become an Offshore Wind CEO?

That’s a good question, and one I have been asked a few times. Well, it has been a bit of a long and winding road… But when you look back, it has always led to the same destination. 

First, I am happy to admit that studying geophysics is a bit of an odd choice. So much so, that I literally had some university classes with 12 students. But obviously this was also a real blessing, compared with the sometimes hundreds of students people have to share classes with in other, more popular subjects.

In fact, apart from really finding the subject (the physical properties of the Earth) fascinating, I also had a very pragmatic reason to study geophysics: I wanted to work in oil & gas exploration, at this time one of the few industries that were actually employing geophysicists. And so that’s what I did, for the first six years of my career. In my job interview, I was asked whether I believed I would use much of what I had learned at university – I was quick to answer “I don’t think so” – and I guess that got me the job. 

After that, I spent several years in strategy consulting, because I wanted to broaden and get out of the narrow niche of exploration, and learn more about business in general. To this day, I consider it my “MBA-on-the-job”, and I learnt a lot. One thing that I stayed true to: I worked almost exclusively in the energy business.

But for me consulting wasn’t for life, and hence my next step was going back into the energy industry. And at that point my active career in renewable energy started, as Managing Director for a small utility subsidiary, responsible for developing onshore and offshore wind projects.

Ever since, both my motivation to decarbonise our energy supply and my passion for offshore wind have stayed with me, from the first ever offshore wind farm in Germany (with a comparably small 60 MW) to now some of the largest ever built in the world. What also stayed is the fun to do it with a growing team of people who are equally passionate about it. 

So looking back, what did this journey teach me?

• Do (and study) what you really like to do. Even if it seems like an odd subject – if you are good at it, you will make your way.
• Stay flexible and take some of the twists and turns of life – keep learning and changing.
• If you are lucky, you can find something you are really passionate about and at the same time make a career in. I could not imagine the career without the passion for the matter.

KeyFacts Energy: RWE Renewables Germany country profile