May 5, 2008 - The fast-growing clean energy industry is facing a surprising obstacle to further expansion - a shortage of experienced business leaders, according to a new study from industry analysts New Energy Finance and executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

The survey of senior executives revealed major concerns surrounding talent recruitment, with 37% of respondents identifying the problem as “very serious” and 59% describing it as “moderately serious.” Only 4% said they do not consider recruitment an issue.

Overall, senior managers said that finding executives to drive the growth of their businesses was a key challenge for the next 12-18 months, on a par with other key concerns such as the availability of projects and assets, capital availability and cost, and government and regulatory support. The shortage of senior management - CEOs, CTOs, and project managers - is even more serious than the shortage of technical skills and scientific talent, respondents said.

As a result, firms are looking outside their sector for top-level recruits. Just 32% of respondents said that most staff came with significant experience in the clean energy sector. Nearly half (48%) said most recruits came with experience in the traditional energy sector, while 31% said they had significant experience in “other young, high-tech industries.”

"Very rapid growth in investment in clean energy is putting strain on the availability of senior managers with sector experience," says Michael Liebreich, CEO of New Energy Finance. "There is strong momentum behind the growth of clean energy worldwide, but this is creating shortages not just of components such as silicon and transport infrastructure such as crane ships for offshore wind, but also of human capital.”

Clean energy firms have their recruiting work cut out for them: Investment in the sector topped $1 billio in 2007, and the market is expected to triple within ten years.