Expertise ENERGY & ENERGY TRANSITION

Specialist executive search firm for energy and energy transition. Executive recruitment across renewable energy, battery storage, energy services and energy efficiency.

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Energy recruitment and energy transition

Independent renewable energy producers, battery storage operators, energy service companies and energy efficiency platforms: Haussmann Executive Search recruits the executives and senior professionals driving the energy transition in France and internationally.

We support both industrial and financial players across their organisations, from CEOs and business unit leaders to regional branch managers and specialist experts.

Recruiting a Solar Development Director, BESS Project Director, ESCO Managing Director or Energy Savings Certificate operator requires a deep understanding of very different business models. While they operate within a shared regulatory framework, each relies on distinct expertise.

Renewable energy development depends on securing land and navigating permitting processes; battery storage requires sophisticated use-case modelling and access to ancillary services markets; ESCOs rely on the ability to take on long-term energy performance risk.

Our sector specialisation enables us to define each search assignment with a level of precision that reflects these specific realities.

The organizations we support

We work across the entire energy ecosystem.

On the industrial side, we support independent power producers (IPPs), renewable energy developers and battery storage operators, energy service companies (ESCOs), Energy Savings Certificate providers, self-consumption installers and operators, as well as engineering firms and specialists in energy audits and carbon accounting.

On the financial side, we work with infrastructure and energy investment funds, across both equity and debt, as well as public and quasi-public institutions investing alongside operators, including public financial institutions and institutional investment vehicles.

These capital-and-project partnerships are fundamental to the sector, and our consultants understand the career paths and bridges between industrial operators and investors.

Renewable energy production

Renewable energy generation requires talent across all twelve stages of a project, from land sourcing through to operations.

Key capabilities fall into three main areas:

Development

covering land identification — brownfield sites, agricultural land, rooftops and car parks — negotiations with landowners and local authorities, project design and permitting;

Project finance

including project company structuring, debt raising, partial sell-downs to third-party investors and energy sales through PPAs or competitive tenders;

Construction, operations and maintenance of renewable assets.

Technologies and market models covered

Utility-scale solar PV and agrivoltaics
Rooftop solar and individual or collective self-consumption
Onshore and offshore wind
Biogas and biomethane
Hydrogen and other low-carbon molecules

Examples of positions covered

CEOs, Managing Directors and Deputy Managing Directors of IPPs
Development Directors and Regional Branch Managers
Project Finance and Energy Valuation Directors
Construction and Operations Directors
Industrial and R&D Directors
International Directors and Regional Heads

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Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): a rapidly growing market

Stationary battery storage is becoming one of the most dynamic segments of France’s energy transition, driven by the increasing intermittency of renewable generation, changes to capacity mechanisms and ancillary services, and growing flexibility requirements from industrial customers.

Large-scale projects are now being deployed, both as standalone assets and in hybrid configurations alongside existing solar or wind plants. The market is evolving rapidly, driven by renewable energy developers, utilities, infrastructure funds and specialised new entrants.

We support the organisations shaping this emerging sector across their full range of functions, from executive leadership to technical and trading roles.

Many capabilities overlap with renewable energy — project development, financing, EPC, operations — but storage introduces specific requirements, including use-case modelling and revenue stacking, access to energy markets and RTE tenders, energy management system integration, and the interaction between merchant revenues and tolling agreements.

Examples of BESS-specific positions covered

Managing Directors and Operations Directors of BESS operators
Storage Development Directors
BESS Project Managers
BESS Asset Managers and Optimisers
Energy Traders specialising in storage and ancillary services
BESS EPC and Operations Managers
Storage Project Finance Managers

Energy efficiency and energy services

Energy efficiency relies on a distinct ecosystem built around Energy Savings Certificates (CEE/C2E) and energy service companies.

The French CEE market represents several billion euros annually and is entering a new 2026–2030 period marked by a significant increase in obligations. The mechanism requires major energy suppliers to finance energy savings among their customers, with penalties applying where obligations are not met.

Accredited providers structure these projects on behalf of end customers.

Alongside CEE providers, ESCOs offer comprehensive energy services that are pre-financed and performance-guaranteed over the long term. This shifts the traditional works-based model towards a performance-driven approach built around long-term contracts.

The large commercial and tertiary-sector segment is undergoing significant structuring, with operators backed by infrastructure funds dedicated to the energy transition.

Examples of positions covered:

Managing Directors of ESCOs and CEE providers
Business Unit Directors covering social housing, local authorities, commercial and industrial segments
Commercial and Key Account Directors
Operations Directors and Subcontractor Coordination Managers
Technical Directors and CEE Project Structuring Directors
Energy Savings Certificate Traders

Building decarbonization and client solutions

Building decarbonisation spans a broad range of activities, from energy audits and carbon assessments to major renovation projects, as well as solar self-consumption solutions for commercial and industrial sites.

Specialist operators serve property companies, multi-site networks and organisations across logistics, retail and hospitality, within an increasingly demanding regulatory environment.

We recruit senior business development professionals targeting major accounts, technical leaders and executives responsible for the platforms shaping a market that has historically been under-digitalised.

Specialist Financing & Investors

The financial ecosystem supporting the energy transition includes infrastructure and energy transition funds, specialist private debt funds, public financial institutions and institutional co-investors.

We recruit for these organisations across investment, asset management and portfolio management functions dedicated to renewable energy and storage assets, for teams based in France and across major European hubs.

Capabilities We Assess

Beyond career history, we assess candidates against the fundamentals that matter specifically in the sector:

Economic understanding of a renewable energy or storage project, including capex, opex, project company structuring and revenue modelling
Understanding of the regulatory and tariff framework
Knowledge of public-sector stakeholders and permitting processes
Ability to balance organic development with external growth
For subsidiary leaders, the ability to manage an autonomous P&L within a holding-company structure
For international roles, experience deploying operations across multiple countries and the ability to build a central team working effectively with local
subsidiaries

Our Value Proposition in Energy

Our work in the energy sector is built on four complementary strengths.

First, a detailed mapping of an ecosystem that has developed rapidly, giving us a precise understanding of both industrial operators and financial investors, as well as the career paths connecting the two.

Second, a deep understanding of the business models specific to each sub-segment. This enables us to avoid searching for a renewable energy profile for a storage position, or an EPC profile for a development role.

Third, our understanding of fundraising dynamics and capital structures allows us to identify career moves linked to investment cycles.

Finally, direct search is essential for reaching subsidiary leaders and business unit directors, who are by nature less likely to be active in conventional recruitment processes.

Partnerships and Events

Learn about our real estate partnerships

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