Member News: North Star bolsters C-suite as business scales up for international growth

April 16, 2026
Member News: North Star bolsters C-suite as business scales up for international growth

North Star has strengthened its executive team in two strategic areas, reinforcing its status as a leading service operations vessel (SOV) owner-operator in Europe, and driving the expansion of its client base, talent pipeline and offshore wind operations.

Duncan Palmer has joined as the company’s first Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), and Joanna Lang has been promoted to Chief Legal & Compliance Officer (CLCO).

Kenneth Coughlan has also been appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO), succeeding James Bradford following his retirement and taking on the mantle of guiding North Star’s drive towards a lower-emissions fleet by 2045, reinforcing the company’s forefront role in maritime innovation.

Headquartered in Aberdeen with bases in Lowestoft, Newcastle and Hamburg, North Star employs around 1,500 seafarers and onshore personnel and is the UK’s largest employer of offshore cadets. The company has a renewables fleet of 10 SOVs in operation or in build, plus 37 emergency response and rescue vessels, which provide 24/7 safety-critical support to approximately 50 North Sea installations.

As CHRO, Duncan will spearhead North Star’s people strategy, shaping a high-performing, scalable organisation to support the company’s growing offshore wind and maritime operations. He brings 24 years’ experience in talent strategy across complex, global industries, including senior roles at Sodexo, Prosafe and Petrofac. He is a graduate of Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, and a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.

In her expanded role as CLCO, Joanna will oversee all legal and compliance matters across the business. Her remit spans shipbuilding contracts, vessel chartering, supply agreements, ESG reporting, compliance frameworks and corporate governance, while also providing support for strategic projects, financing activities and international expansion. With a 25-year legal and commercial career, including senior positions at Rovco, Rovop and Subsea7, she brings deep sector expertise and plays a central role in enabling North Star’s growth with robust governance and risk management.

As CTO, Kenneth will lead North Star’s technology and innovation strategy, focusing on fleet decarbonisation, newbuild programmes and alternative fuel adoption. Having started out on offshore on crew transfer vessels and progressing into SOV design and operations, he combines hands-on operational insight with technical leadership. A trained naval architect, Kenneth brings over a decade of experience in maritime and offshore wind, most recently as Global Head of Maritime Technical Projects at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, where he led SOV newbuild and advanced low-carbon initiatives, and was also a former North Star client.

Gitte Gard Talmo, Chief Executive Officer at North Star, said: “These appointments bring exceptional expertise and proven leadership to the business, strengthening innovation, decarbonisation and governance across our fleet, and reinforcing our position as a trusted SOV partner across Europe.”

Get in touch

AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

Contact Us
“

AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables
“

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
“

The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy
“

Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall
“

Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise