Hunter Philips: Why We Focus Exclusively on Energy and Power
There is a simple reason Hunter Philips focuses exclusively on energy and power: this market is too important, too technical and changing too quickly for recruitment generalists to understand it properly.
Renewable energy is no longer a developing corner of the global power market. In 2025, the world added a record 692 GW of renewable capacity, taking total renewable power capacity to 5,149 GW. Renewables represented 85.6% of all new power capacity added globally during the year.
But those headline numbers only tell part of the story.
Behind every new solar project, wind farm, battery storage facility, grid connection and data centre sits a network of people responsible for making it work. Developers need projects financed. Engineering teams need to solve increasingly difficult technical problems. Grid operators need to accommodate new generation and demand. Construction teams need to deliver.
And businesses need people who already understand those challenges.
That is where specialism matters.
Energy is becoming more complex, not less
It would be easy to look at record renewable deployment and assume the industry has reached maturity.
The reality on the ground is different.
Solar and wind continue to expand at extraordinary speed. Solar alone accounted for around 511 GW of new renewable capacity in 2025, while wind contributed almost 159 GW. Together, the two technologies represented 96.8% of net renewable capacity additions.
But generating more renewable electricity creates another challenge: getting that power where it needs to go.
The IEA estimates that more than 2,500 GW of renewable generation, storage and large-load projects, including data centres, are currently sitting in grid connection queues around the world. Annual grid investment may need to increase by roughly 50% from today's $400 billion by 2030 to meet forecast electricity demand.
That changes the talent conversation.
A business might not simply need an "engineer". It may need somebody with experience of a particular technology, grid environment, project stage or market. A developer entering a new country might need leadership that understands local regulation as well as international project delivery. A battery storage business moving from development into construction needs different people from the team that got its projects off the ground.
Those distinctions matter.
Recruitment looks different when you understand the market
There is a difference between finding somebody with the right words on their CV and understanding whether that person can actually solve the problem a client has.
That difference is one of the reasons we have chosen to specialise.
Our work covers the areas shaping modern energy and power: solar PV, onshore and offshore wind, battery storage, grid infrastructure and the rapidly growing relationship between power and data centres.
Working within these markets every day gives our team context.
When a client explains why a project is delayed, why a particular hire has proved difficult or why they need to build an entirely new function, we understand what sits behind the conversation.
Equally, when a candidate tells us they want to move, we can have a more useful discussion than simply asking what salary they are looking for.
What projects have they delivered? At what stage? What scale? Where do they want their career to go next? Which companies genuinely offer that opportunity?
Good recruitment starts with those questions.
The people challenge is not disappearing
There were at least 16.6 million people working directly and indirectly in renewable energy globally in 2024, according to IRENA and the International Labour Organization. Yet the organisations also point to something important: employment growth has not kept pace with record capacity deployment, with factors including automation, economies of scale and grid bottlenecks changing where and how people are needed.
That makes the talent market more nuanced.
More capacity does not simply mean "more jobs". It means demand shifts between technologies, disciplines, geographies and project stages.
The people in demand today will not necessarily be the same people in demand three years from now.
For employers, understanding those movements can make the difference between building a team ahead of the market and competing for talent once everybody else needs the same people.
For candidates, it can mean recognising where their experience is becoming more valuable before the opportunity becomes obvious.
This is why our consultants spend their time in one market.
Specialism allows you to see patterns earlier.
A network is only useful if you understand the people in it
Recruitment companies often talk about the size of their networks.
We think the quality of those relationships matters more.
A database containing thousands of names is not particularly useful if you do not know who is genuinely good, who might consider moving, what motivates them or which environments they perform best in.
Some of the strongest people in energy and power are not actively applying for jobs. They are delivering projects, leading teams and building businesses.
Reaching them takes time.
It means staying in contact when there isn't an immediate vacancy to discuss. It means knowing what is happening in their market. And it means being credible enough that when an interesting opportunity does appear, they are willing to have the conversation.
That is difficult to achieve if energy is simply one of a dozen sectors on your website.
For us, it is the whole conversation.
Expert Thoughts
Philip Cottam, Managing Partner - Executive Search and Founder at Hunter Philips, says specialisation matters in energy and power because the most important hires require an understanding of the market that goes well beyond a job description.
"When you're recruiting senior people in energy and power, you're rarely just filling a vacancy. You're often finding someone who will lead a market entry, build a team, take projects through development or delivery, or help shape the direction of a business for years to come. To do that well, you need to understand the market those people operate in, who the strongest individuals are and, importantly, why they might consider moving. That's why we've always chosen to focus on energy and power. It allows us to build genuine relationships across the sector and have informed conversations with clients and candidates. At executive level especially, people expect you to understand their world. Specialism isn't really a differentiator at that point - it's a requirement."
Energy and power are becoming increasingly connected
One of the most interesting changes in the market is that traditional boundaries are disappearing.
Renewable generation cannot be considered separately from grids. Grids cannot be considered separately from storage. And future electricity demand cannot be discussed without considering data centres, electrified transport and other large new loads.
The IEA expects solar PV and wind's share of global electricity generation to increase from around 17% today to 27% by 2030. At the same time, electricity demand from areas including data centres, electric vehicles and heat pumps is increasing.
This interconnected market needs people who can operate across increasingly complicated projects and organisations.
It also means recruitment partners need to keep learning.
We do not claim to know what the energy market will look like in ten years. Nobody does.
What we can do is spend every day speaking to the people building it.
Why we stay focused
Hunter Philips could recruit into other industries.
We choose not to.
Our focus allows us to build deeper relationships with the people shaping energy and power globally. It helps us understand where demand for talent is moving and gives us a clearer picture of what good looks like within individual markets.
Most importantly, it means clients and candidates do not need to spend the first half of a conversation explaining their industry to us.
Energy and power are going through one of the most significant periods of investment and change in their history.
We think that deserves our full attention.
