Germany’s RWE Group has appointed Harry Roels as the new chairman of the board, replacing Dietmar Kuhnt. The appointment becomes effective when Kuhnt retires, at the end of February 2003, after eight years at the helm of RWE.

Roels, 53, was born in the Netherlands. He has held a range of positions in the Royal Dutch/Shell group, and was most recently responsible for group strategy and planning for the group’s gas and electricity businesses.