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Acwa Power CEO steps down

21 March 2023

Paddy Padmanathan has stepped down from his role as CEO of Saudi utility and hydrogen developer Acwa Power as of 20 March.

Padmanathan held the role of CEO for 18 years. He has agreed to continue to serve as a member of the board of directors, the company said in a bourse filing on 20 March.

Acwa Power acknowledged his “extensive efforts during his 18-year tenure as CEO for the company and his dedication during that period to elevate the company’s status as a leading global company in the field of renewable power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen production, which culminated by its successful listing as a public company”.

Marco Arcelli will replace Padmanathan as CEO, effective immediately.

Arcelli was the chairman of Ep New Energy, where he was in charge of the entry and growth in renewables of Eph, the seventh-largest electricity producer in Europe, Acwa Power said.

Arcelli spent 16 years at Enel, where, among others, he was CEO of Enel North America and Slovenske Elektrarne.

Expansion and growth

Acwa Power under Padmanathan is credited with some of the world’s record-low solar power and water desalination tariffs.

It is the co-developer, along with Saudi’s Neom and the US-headquartered Air Products, of the $8.5bn integrated green hydrogen-based ammonia complex in Neom, in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The company aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and halve its carbon intensity by 2030 compared to its 2020 baseline.

The company’s shares started trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in October 2021.

Before joining Acwa Power, Padmanathan worked with the US’ Black & Veatch for 23 years.

Padmanathan holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Manchester in the UK. He also has a postgraduate qualification in engineering management from the University of Lancaster, also in the UK.

MEED's April 2023 special report on Saudi Arabia includes:

> CONSTRUCTION: Saudi construction project ramp-up accelerates

> UPSTREAM: Aramco slated to escalate upstream spending

> DOWNSTREAM: Petchems ambitions define Saudi downstream

> POWER: Saudi Arabia reinvigorates power sector

> WATER: Saudi water begins next growth phase

> BANKING: Saudi banks bid to keep ahead of the pack

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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