Engie Names Insider as COO

Paulo Almirante has been appointed chief operating officer (COO) of French utility giant Engie, the company said July 6.

He remains executive vice president, in charge of European generation, north/south/east Europe, Brazil, the Middle East, South and Central Asia and Turkey, and environmental and social responsibility.

Prior to joining Engie in that position in 2016, the Lisbon-educated mechanical engineer  was Iberia regional director for UK-based International Power from 2005 to 2013, then CEO of Trustenergy 2013-16. 

Engie said the appointment was made in order to coordinate the performance of its operational entities, two years on from the launch of its restructuring for a "decarbonised, decentralised and digitised" world. Since 2015, the French group says its restructuring has allowed it to reinvest €14bn ($16.4bn) into growth areas - largely through divestments including the $4.7bn sale of its upstream gas and oil business - and make 43 client-facing acquisitions.

Paulo Almirante (Photo credit: Engie)