Emma Ford was appointed in Ørsted as head of generation UK West earlier this year and is launching her plan about prioritising people through health, wellbeing, and safety.
In this role, Ford is responsible for managing six offshore wind farms across two sites, Barrow-in-Furness and Liverpool. They total 1.4GW of energy being supplied to the UK grid. With around 250 employees working across the wind farms, the region benefits from personnel with many years of experience at the company. Ørsted who have been on site for 15 years, remain on location, invested in upskilling their peers on the assets that have long served the area.
The west coast has been known for trail blazing in offshore wind; with Barrow wind farm being Ørsted’s first project in the UK to be providing green energy to the grid in 2006. Since Emma Ford has joined from her previous role at National Grid, she has been looking at all aspects of the business so she can reflect and set the goals she wants within her role. Ford believes to keep the status of trailblazing it’s a must to strip back to how mental wellbeing is managed and promote a healthy leadership.
Emma Ford, head of generation UK west, said: ‘Our largest assets are not our turbines, but the people who are keeping them running safely. We must look after our people first. From appreciating the small wins to giving people the space to be authentically themselves. I want my energy to empower my team to challenge and utilise their individualities. Having a diverse team of people with different strengths helps me see the end goal, but their expertise finds the most efficient routes to achieving it. I really appreciate the yin to my yang when facing challenges’.
Ford’s early career saw her graduate and go into a role as a geotechnical engineer, she soon realised she needed to be hands on, working with people. A role model in her early career saw her potential and transferrable skills and asked her to work on onshore wind projects. This is where her love for turbines was formed and helped foster a passion to promote the industry and the varied roles available. Her career took different routes, but Ford learnt that she thrived in leadership, so when the chance to come back full circle to renewable wind energy she was excited to explore Ørsted.
Ørsted’s values balancing life with work and putting family first, all whilst creating a world that runs entirely on green energy, drew Ford in. Ford’s biggest motivator is helping the future generations including her little boy aged 4, who says ‘Mummy makes the turbines go round which means our lights turn on’.
Benj Sykes, head of UK region for Ørsted said: “Emma’s knowledge of industry has already seen a number of positive changes in the short time since she’s been with us. She has a fierce passion for people, and her fresh perspective has given the team positive space to challenge. I look forward to working more with Emma and seeing even more collaborative working. “
Ford has made a commitment to Ørsted’s technicians to go offshore regularly. She brings along a snack and encourages the team to take ten minutes on the top deck of the turbine and check in with each other - fostering an environment that she’s happy to be challenged in and promoting mental wellbeing.
