James Fisher Renewables (JF Renewables), trusted technical and operations solutions provider to the offshore renewables industry, and a part of James Fisher and Sons, has appointed Maida Zahirovic as APAC regional vice president to strengthen operations within Asia Pacific including driving long-term, sustainable and profitable growth in the region.
With more than 11 years in the wind industry, Maida joins JF Renewables from her previous role as business director Taiwan at Vestas. Previous posts include sales and bid management leadership roles at MHI Vestas Offshore and project management and consultant roles with Siemens Wind Power and MAKE Consulting.
Having successfully closed the world largest offshore floating turbine supply agreement, Kincardine (49.6 MW), led the entry into Taiwan on the offshore wind projects with the highest localisation extent to date, Changfang and Xidao (589 MW) and Zhong Neng projects (298 MW) and supported the first commercial offshore project market entry in Japan, Akita Noshiro project (139 MW), Maida’s experience in novel segments and new market entries and understanding of government requirements, alongside customer challenges brings a solid foundation for successfully strengthening and sustainably growing JF Renewables APAC.
Maida Zahirovic commented: “I am delighted to be joining JF Renewables and I’ve been particularly inspired by the passion demonstrated by the business and the drive to create a sustainable impact through innovative solutions while retaining safety at the core of all activities conducted.
"With its deep technical knowledge and understanding of the marine environment, having supported the construction and development of over 17GW of offshore wind installed capacity, including more than 14 years of specialist offshore wind capabilities and over 170 years of maritime track record, JF Renewables is a solution provider at the forefront contributing to the energy transition that humanity needs and one which I’m excited to be part of!”
JF Renewables will play a key role in enabling a successful energy transition through delivering safe integrated solutions across the offshore wind value chain, among others, within site preparations, installation, commissioning and operations and maintenance.
Furthermore, given James Fisher and Sons group’s demonstrated model for partnerships and long-term agreements across the offshore landscape, JF Renewables has a foundation for safe scalability and knowledge transfer which will be a key pillar as it grows its footprint and business in APAC.
Wayne Mulhall, managing director, JF Renewables added: “This is a key appointment for JF Renewables, we will see significant offshore wind growth globally over the coming years combined with larger projects and new markets emerging as governments commit to renewable targets needed to combat the climate crisis humanity is facing. The appointment of Maida as APAC regional vice president demonstrates our commitment to supporting this activity in this region, building on our current investment in the region with the establishment of our Taiwan office and the appointment of our country manager, Kevin Wu.”
This follows the appointment of Wayne Mulhall as JF Renewables managing director in October, to ensure a holistic approach achieved across the business, with all renewable activities across the James Fisher and Sons group consolidated under the one brand.
Launched in March 2020, JF Renewables aligns the specialist capabilities from existing James Fisher and Sons group companies. Since the launch, the business has had a number of high-profile contract wins including undertaking work for customers such as RWE and Iberdrola. The business supports pure-play renewables developers, marine civil constructors and oil and gas majors alike in pushing the boundaries of what is possible to accelerate the energy transition, while maintaining existing energy infrastructure.