Wind pioneer Volker Friedrichsen joins the Board of Supervisors of the BGZ Group – Martinus Scherweit becomes the new CEO

After more than ten years as a member of the Board of Directors of the BGZ AG Volker Friedrichsen resigned his position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) according to plan as of 31st December 2010. The sixty-four-year-old wind pioneer has joined the Board of Supervisors of the BGZ Group founded by Friedrichsen himself and remains its majority shareholder. With the establishment of WKN Windkraft Nord already in 1990 Friedrichsen had laid the foundation for the Husum company group. Before 2000 when the skilled banker began devoting himself completely to the further development of the company he had founded, Friedrichsen had been the Managing Director of the German subsidiary of the turbine manufacturer Vestas for ten years.

Friedrichsen as CEO. Scherweit, born in 1964 and CEO of the BGZ subsidiary WKN Windkraft Nord AG, was already managing the entire operative business of the BGZ Group during the past months as the group’s Chief Operative Officer (COO). In 1991 the mechanical engineer began his career in the wind branch at Windtest Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog. In 1994 Scherweit was appointed Managing Director of energy-consult, today also a subsidiary company of the BGZ Group, and where he became managing partner in 1997. Since 2004 Martinus Scherweit has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of WKN AG.

Further, as of 1st January 2011 Wichard von Harrach has been appointed COO to the BGZ Board of Directors. Since 1st October 2009 Wichard von Harrach has already been supporting the Management of WKN Windkraft Nord AG alongside Martinus Scherweit and Michael Ostwald. Wichard von Harrach, born in 1969, is a graduate economist and was previously employed as Vice President Project Development at Siemens Project Ventures (SPV) in Erlangen.

Von Harrach contributed decisively to setting up the WKN/Siemens joint ventures “Innovative Wind
Concepts” as well as to the Siemens Project Ventures in the BGZ Group.

Michael Ostwald, as Chief Financial Officer, continues to be accountable for the finances of the company group and to serve not only as a member of the BGZ Board but also of the WKN Board.


The BGZ Group
BGZ Beteiligungsgesellschaft Zukunftsenergien AG is a management holding company in the sector of sustainable energy. The value chain includes planning, projecting, financing as well as the operation and management of energy production systems like wind farms and solar as well as bio energy plants. The BGZ Group is also represented internationally by several subsidiaries throughout Europe and in the USA. More than 53 percent of the BGZ shares are privately owned by the founder. Roughly 17 percent are held by private and institutional investors, while another share of more than 29 percent is owned by Siemens Project Ventures.

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