Vestas chairman Bert Nordberg said: “Following the recent measures taken, it is now the appropriate time to make this change.

"The restructuring programme has resulted in a more competitive company and we thank Mr Engel for his leadership over the past eight years."

Engel has been with Vestas since 2005. His last few years in the post have been stormy, with wholesale changes to long-serving senior managers, and a major restructuring plan in an effort to get the wind turbine group's finances back on a sound footing.

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