The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has appointed a new chief operating officer (COO), Stewart Mullin, who previously worked as the global director of public affairs and institutional relations at MHI Vestas.

Mullin has over a decade of experience as a senior executive in the wind sector, having worked across public affairs, communication, brand and reputation building and business development to shape the narrative of the global wind industry.

Ben Backwell, CEO at GWEC: “We are thrilled to welcome Stewart on board the GWEC team, given his vast knowledge and track record in the wind sector’s leading companies. He is an experienced wind power professional, and a long-term supporter of GWEC and its work over the years.

GWEC’s chief operating officer, Stewart Mullin. Credit: GWEC.

“Stewart’s expertise will be incredibly valuable to consolidate GWEC’s role as the authoritative voice of the global wind industry, to build our network of wind industry stakeholders across the world and to further establish GWEC’s presence in key emerging markets. This is an especially important time to build up our global presence in order to ensure that the wind power industry comes together stronger than ever ahead of this year’s crucial COP26 conference.”

Prior to joining GWEC, Stewart was an integral member of MHI Vestas’ chief strategy office, in charge of overseeing the development and implementation of the company’s public affairs, communication and branding strategy. He previously worked as head of public affairs and corporate communication EMEA at Siemens Wind Power and sat on the board of GWEC, the Danish Wind Industry and WindEurope, also chairing WindEurope’s Communication and Events working groups.

Commenting on his appointment, Mullin said: “Throughout my career, I have watched GWEC open up countless new market opportunities for both onshore and offshore wind energy across the world. I look forward to using my knowledge and experience from the private sector to reinforce this important work by scaling up our ambitions as an association and industry when it comes to events, institutional partnerships, advocacy and everything in between.

“I am deeply committed to ensuring that GWEC continues to focus on creating optimum value for its members and I am excited to begin this new journey while supporting GWEC’s mission to establish wind power as a key solution to today’s energy and climate challenges.”

As COO, Mullin will lead GWEC’s global operations, which includes the association’s regional offices GWEC Asia, GWEC India and GWEC China.