Magnus Hall, chief executive at Vattenfall, has been appointed as the new president of European power trade body Eurelectric.
Eurelectric’s leadership changes hands every two years and Hall has previously served as one of its vice presidents, but will now step into the hot seat vacated by Enel boss Francesco Starace.
Hall will be assisted by ESB chief executive Patrick O’Doherty and E.On board member Leonhard Birnbaum, who were both elected as vice presidents at Eurelectric’s annual meeting.
And Hall has immediately set his stall out for his leadership, stating his prime objective to be to increase the pace of electrification of transport, heat and industry.
“Powered by carbon-neutral electricity, we can lead the transition in the energy industry and other sectors. This requires further investments in renewable electricity generation, as well as efficient electricity distribution. We also need to help citizens change towards a fossil free life.
“The conditions and starting points naturally differ in European countries and therefore we also need politicians within the EU to decide on frameworks and fair measures that create a broad social acceptance for the energy transition,” he said.