SSE plc has announced the appointment of a new independent non-Executive Director, Maarten Wetselaar, who will join the Board on 1 September 2023 following a comprehensive search and selection process. On appointment, Maarten will also join the Nomination Committee, Audit Committee and Energy Markets Risk Committee.
Maarten Wetselaar is currently chief executive of CEPSA (Compania Espanola de Petroleos, S.A), the Spanish multinational oil, gas, and diversified energy company. Maarten joined CEPSA on 1 January 2022 following over 26 years at Shell, including the last six years as a member of the Executive Committee in charge of the Integrated Gas and New Energies business.
He has held a variety of international leadership roles which included playing a pivotal part in establishing Shell’s renewables business activity and with previous positions spanning finance as well as strategic and operational activities. More recently, at CEPSA, Maarten has launched a transformational strategy to convert the company into a European leader in green hydrogen and biofuels. Having spent his entire career in the energy sector, including living and working in a number of international markets across Europe, the Americas and Asia, Maarten will bring a wealth of relevant experience for SSE’s growth plans domestically and internationally. He clearly also brings current working knowledge across capital markets, commodity markets and large capital investments in the sector.
As announced previously, Dame Sue Bruce DBE who joined the SSE Board in September 2013 will stand down at the end of this month and Peter Lynas who joined on 1 July 2014 will stand down after the AGM in July 2023 and therefore will not be subject to re-appointment by shareholders. Correspondingly, following completion of the above changes, the Board of SSE plc will comprise the Chair, three Executive Directors and eight independent non-Executive Directors; and will comprise seven men and five women.
Each Director of SSE plc is subject to annual re-appointment and Maarten’s appointments to the Board from September 2023 will be the subject of a resolution at the Company’s Annual General Meeting 2024.
Sir John Manzoni, Chair, said:
“I am very pleased that Maarten is joining SSE’s Board. Maarten is a true leader in the energy transition and will bring further international depth to the Board, which will prove valuable as we begin to take our significant low carbon energy infrastructure capabilities to new markets. I look forward to working with him as we deliver on our exciting plans.
“Sue and Peter have made a significant contribution to SSE’s decision-making over a number of years as the organisation has moved from strength to strength. We thank them for their efforts and wish them all the best in the future.”
