Indian RE Sector Faces A Leadership Crisis

WalkWater Talent Advisors, an Indian executive search firm, has unveiled a study highlighting a significant leadership talent crisis within India's rapidly growing renewable energy sector. India’s ambitious goal of increasing non-fossil energy production capacity to 500 GW by 2030, as part of the Panchamrit plan, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2070, faces a significant challenge: the current gap between the demand for and supply of skilled professionals, it said.

The study surveyed 65 organizations and tracked the movement of 204 CXOs over the past three years. The findings reveal a stark shortage of leadership talent, further underscored by the sector's rapid expansion and increasing complexities of renewable energy projects.

Key findings from the study include:

• The Renewable Energy Industry has onboarded high number of CXOs since 2021. 56% of leadership hires have been COOs, followed by CFOs at 47% and CBDOs at 45%
• A strong preference for talent with prior renewable energy experience is limiting the inflow of fresh ideas and perspectives
• It has been observed that CEOs (7%), COOs (12%) and CBDOs (14%) have seen very less movement from allied industries, highlighting the under-utilized potential for talent acquisition from related industries
• However, as one would expect, CFO roles exhibited a higher rate of cross-sector movement at 42%.

Kunal Girap, Co-Founder and Director of WalkWater Talent Advisors, stated, "India's renewable energy sector is experiencing an unprecedented boom, with organizations experiencing a surge in orders that are fueling rapid expansion. However, the talent pool, particularly in leadership, has not kept pace with this growth. This mismatch threatens the sector’s capacity to capitalize on the market’s potential. Our study highlights the critical leadership shortage and its implications for the sector's future. To sustain growth and achieve Panchamrit goals, it is essential for the industry to adopt a more inclusive approach to talent acquisition, considering candidates from cross - sector and investing in targeted leadership development programs”.

While the shortage of talent was predictable, considering how quickly the situation on the ground has changed vis a vis project development, manufacturing and related services in the sector, what has been dissappointing so far has been the impact of efforts to prepare for the shortage. That until recently, the sector had a very limited public participation in terms of listed firms, the poor academic linkages, and the perceived nature of the work (regulated sector) might have played a role as well.

In recent months, a raft of startups targeting the sector have clearly indicated that the mood has changed, and India should actually be looking to grab the opportunity in clean energy beyond the country's borders over the next 2 years .