The issue of adjusting compensation based on employee location has long been a topic of debate, particularly among multinationals entering the U.S. market for the first time. A common misconception is that employees living in secondary markets should earn less than those in primary markets, such as New York. The lower cost of living, in their calculations, justifies lower compensation.

While this logic may hold in most industries, it does not reflect the realities within the power and emerging infrastructure sectors. In these sectors, location-based salary scaling often fails to account for the high demand and limited supply of uniquely qualified executives. Compensation benchmarks from global consulting firms—though widely used—often rely on generalist data sets that lack nuance and relevance to novel infrastructure such has power, transmission and data centers.

These compensation models resemble real estate appraisals, using “comparables” that are anything but equivalent. For example, comparing a Chief Development Officer in power generation to a Head of Project Management in highway or bridge construction ignores the fundamental differences between the roles and intricacies of the industries they assist. Power plants, no matter the technology, require highly specialized knowledge and are significantly more complex. To make complicate matters further, these firms make strong suggestions regarding hiring, thwarting the success of these businesses they aim to serve.

Demand is at the core of monetary rewards and title allocation. The demand for executives with expertise in greenfield development, power markets, high voltage electrical engineering and asset management is exceptionally high. These skills are not only rare but take years to develop.

To illustrate the vast talent gap between companies: we asked a seasoned Vice President of Talent Acquisition whether their team handled transmission internally or used consultants. Her response: “What do you mean by transmission?”

Such examples highlight how critical and scarce deep sector knowledge is—and why compensation should be driven by expertise and demand, not zip codes.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies in power generation, transmission, and digital infrastructure, with a focus on C-suite, leadership, and critical hires.

To learn more, please visit us at joeamara.com

For the first decade of my executive search career, relocation was expected. Remote work was rare—outside of project development, it just wasn’t part of the conversation. Today, that conversation has completely flipped: it is now uncommon to relocate, no matter the position.

Several of the searches we’ve completed this year required relocation. However, not one client followed through on their relocation plan. Every client chose the top talent for the role—regardless of location.

If hiring the best person is your top priority, it remains unwise to eliminate candidates based solely on location. The demand for professionals with experience in developing and building novel infrastructure grows every year—and that was before AI and data centers began driving exponential load growth. Today, multiple sectors are competing for the same technical talent. For example, where power producers once led the demand for transmission experts, data center and long-haul transmission developers are now aggressively recruiting from the same pool.

When companies implement a return-to-work policy, they already know they’ll lose a percentage of their staff in a short period of time. In fact, some companies quietly welcome it—it’s a subtle form of headcount reduction that avoids the noise of formal layoffs. But for businesses with real growth ambitions, like digital infrastructure, transmission, and power generation, relocation is a constraint.

It is easy to understand why companies want everyone in the office. It builds stronger relationships, encourages productive discussions, and helps ideas flourish. However, as any HR professional knows, building a harmonious office environment no easy task, especially as generational expectations shift. Dress codes, flextime, interpersonal conflict, commuting—and here in Chicago, ice and snow—are all part of the challenge.

No matter the compensation package delivered, offer letters which require relocation will lose to those offers without relocation. This is especially true for parents, or roles which require heavy travel. The relocation battle isn’t going away. But make no mistake: the companies that thrive will be those that adapt.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies in power generation, transmission, and digital infrastructure, with a focus on C-suite, leadership, and critical hires To learn more about us, please visit joeamara.com  

Executive Placement Spotlight: Director, Structured Finance

At Joe Amara Executive Search, we specialize in connecting top talent with leading organizations in the power generation and emerging infrastructure sectors.

Our expertise lies in recruiting for C-suite and senior leadership roles across the Americas. To learn more about how we can help you build exceptional teams, visit joeamara.com.

We are Excited to Announce a Key Executive Placement!

We are thrilled to share the successful placement of a Director, Structured Finance for an IPP/Digital Infrastructure company. Our client is co-located natural gas fired power generation with data centers in several key markets.

For more information or to learn how we can support your executive search needs, contact us at info@joeamara.com.

Executive Placement Spotlight: Chief Commercial Officer

At Joe Amara Executive Search, we specialize in connecting top talent with leading organizations in the power generation and emerging infrastructure sectors.

Our expertise lies in recruiting for C-suite and senior leadership roles across the Americas. To learn more about how we can help you build exceptional teams, visit joeamara.com.

We are Excited to Announce a Key Executive Placement!

We are thrilled to share the successful placement of a Chief Commercial Officer for a large multi-national, technology-agnostic independent power producer with an impressive project pipeline exceeding 35GW.

This accomplished executive will lead the company’s commercial efforts across multiple key markets and technologies such as wind, solar, and battery storage.

For more information or to learn how we can support your executive search needs, contact us at info@joeamara.com.

Executive Placement Spotlight: Vice President of Transmission

At Joe Amara Executive Search, we specialize in connecting top talent with leading organizations in the power generation and emerging infrastructure sectors. Our expertise lies in recruiting for C-suite and senior leadership roles across the Americas. To learn more about how we can help you build exceptional teams, visit joeamara.com.

We are Excited to Announce a Key Executive Placement!

We are thrilled to share the successful placement of a Vice President of Transmission for a prominent, technology-agnostic independent power producer with an impressive project pipeline exceeding 5 GW.

This accomplished executive will lead the company’s transmission interconnection efforts across multiple key markets, including MISO, PJM, SPP, WECC, and ERCOT, driving the expansion of clean energy solutions nationwide.

For more information or to learn how we can support your executive search needs, contact us at info@joeamara.com.

An asset-backed trading firm has hired a Senior Director of Commercial Grid Analytics. Reporting to an MD, the Sr. Director is responsible for congestion modeling, pricing and trading strategies, constrained economic dispatch modeling, optimal power flow, siting, acquisitions and operations of standalone storage assets.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies within renewable energy and emerging infrastructure. Joe has completed over 300 searches throughout the United States and Latin America.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies within renewable energy and emerging infrastructure. Joe has completed over 300 searches throughout the United States and Latin America.

A storage developer has hired a Senior Vice President of Strategy. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the SVP is responsible for conceptualizing a greenfield development strategy. The SVP will build a multidisciplinary team to focus on siting, land acquisition, government affairs, grid analytics and permitting.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies within renewable energy and emerging infrastructure. Joe has completed over 300 searches throughout the United States and Latin America.

A solar independent power producer has hired a Chief Operating Officer. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the COO is responsible for leading engineering, procurement, and construction on a multi-gigawatt solar portfolio. The COO will deliver projects from origination through to commercial operations.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies within renewable energy and emerging infrastructure. Joe has completed over 300 searches throughout the United States and Latin America.

An asset-backed trading firm hired a Vice President of Project Development. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the VP is responsible for greenfield development, due diligence on acquisition projects, permitting and team building. Along with greenfield development, the VP will also advance an early-stage multi-gigawatt pipeline.

Joe Amara Executive Search represents companies within renewable energy and emerging infrastructure. Joe has completed over 300 searches throughout the United States and Latin America.