Crowley Maritime Corp. has named Bob Karl senior vice president and general manager of the company’s new business unit, Crowley Wind Services.
Karl will lead the company’s wind services team in the strategic development and expansion of services to support the emerging sector, Crowley said.
The development of a wind service business unit emphasizes the growing importance of wind to Crowley and its commitment to sustainable, clean energy services, the company said. The company said it will continue to leverage its expertise and assets to provide landside and marine logistic solutions throughout the wind lifecycle. These include solutions for port terminals and marshaling, vessel development and operation, engineering and the U.S. workforce.
Karl has over two decades experience in various global leadership and management roles at General Electric (GE), as well as other renewal energy and manufacturing roles. From 2011 to 2018, he was North American wind projects director for GE Renewable Energy and most recently served as chief operating officer of GE Renewable Energy Global Services since 2018.
“Bob Karl is an established leader in the international renewable energy sector, and his experience in collaboratively leading teams in both mature and emerging organizations will add significant value and growth at Crowley,” Chief Operating Officer Ray Fitzgerald said ina statement. “His success in building and enhancing teams in diverse, transformational environments fits well with our growth strategy for wind, our overall organization and our people and inclusive culture.”
Under Karl’s leadership, Crowley hopes to expand its development opportunities through more strategic partnerships. With the development of an offshore wind terminal currently underway in Salem, Mass., Crowley also has partnered with other industry leaders to develop dedicated U.S. marine assets as well as support the workforce development needed.
It's estimated that over 44,000 jobs in offshore wind are expected to be needed to reach federal goals of 30 gigawatts in power capability by 2030, according to the U.S. government.
