December 20, 2019 — Erich Stephens, the public face of Vineyard Wind before it won an offshore wind contract in 2018, is leaving the company.
Vineyard Wind announced Thursday that Stephens, chief development officer and a founding principal of the company, would be departing.
Stephens told The Standard-Times it seemed like the right time to make a transition while the company waits for federal permitting of Vineyard Wind 1, to be located off Martha’s Vineyard, and before things ramp up for its second project in Connecticut.
“It’s really just a personal decision about the positions I want to have in my career,” he said.
Vineyard Wind has grown out of the entrepreneurial phase of its history and become a more mature development company, he said. Stephens said it’s not uncommon for the success of a young company to mean that, “exactly because of its success, it turns into something different in terms of your day-to-day work and responsibility.”
The company has tapped Rachel Pachter, vice president of permitting affairs, to replace him as chief development officer.
Stephens said he is excited about Pachter’s promotion because it allows her to advance her career and maintains continuity for Vineyard Wind.
Stephens has held senior leadership positions in the company, formerly called OffshoreMW, since 2009. Following last year’s selection of Vineyard Wind to build Massachusetts’ first offshore wind farm, he was responsible for pre-construction development.