28 April 2021 - The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) held its Ordinary General Meeting on 23rd April 2021 and re-appointed Claudio Pedretti as its President. ARE offers its thanks to the outgoing Board of Directors, Emily McAteer (Odyssey Energy Solutions) and Rebecca Symington (Mlinda Charitable Trust) for their contributions to ARE over the last years.

Claudio Pedretti is a recognised thought leader in the Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) sector who currently serves in several Boards of Directors, profit and non-profit. He brings over 10 years of experience in establishing and growing companies and brands at the international level. During his successful year as President of ARE, Claudio Pedretti coordinated the Board in its efforts to set up the strategy to renew the association and its governance, allowing for its current and future growth and development.

On being re-elected for his second mandate ARE President Claudio Pedretti said: “I am happy and honoured for this renewed trust that the assembly has unanimously expressed. The Board worked hard during last year and made strategic changes to the association to lay stronger foundations to sustain its growth. The Board has as well appointed a new CEO who has been extremely successful in implementing the board’s new vision. The association, after this assembly is more united than ever. This is a great sign of the “health” of ARE itself and a benefit for the market as a whole”.

ARE also welcomed four new valuable Board members:

  • Yoann Le Fol is the Regional Manager of Victron Energy and brings 10 years of experience in the off-grid market in Africa and an extensive network in the solar industry.
  • Rebecca Bregant is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of PineBerry and as such has been active in the rural electrification sector for over four years.
  • Rebecca Sleegers of Africa GreenTec joins the ARE Board with expertise in communication and internationalisation strategies and is keen to pursue her goal to see more women in leadership positions.
  • Iain Munro, Director of Ryse Energy, joins the Board with a wealth of experience across the energy, government and financial sector in strategy consulting, the utility sector in corporate finance, and in financial and strategic communications advisory.

ARE CEO David Lecoque confirms: “We are excited about the new Board leadership and we stand ready to work with the renewed Board to help drive ARE’s mission to deliver clean energy access for all by 2030. We are optimistic that the groundwork at ARE – as the oldest and largest sector federation for rural electrification - is now in place to soar and shine even brighter in 2021 and the years to come.”

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