Govt approves candidates for ECU supervisory board

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the submission of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) on the appointment of the supervisory board of JSC Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU), which, based on the results of a competitive selection, will include three independent members and two representatives of the government, the privatization agency said.

According to his post on the website on Monday evening, the independent members of ECU will be Managing Director of the consulting company Stratos Energy Consulting Peter Styles, a member of the board of the energy distribution company Yedas Grids (part of the energy holding Çalık Enerji, Turkey) Abdullah Koksal and a senior manager of the consulting company LCHM (Great Britain) specializing in compliance and audit issues Alexandre Mougel.

Deputy Chairmen of the State Property Fund Oksana Osmachko and Ihor Tymoshenko will be appointed members of the Supervisory Board from the government.

It is noted that Styles held the position of executive member of the board of the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) for more than 20 years, and before that he worked for nine years as vice president of Enron Europe. He has significant experience in implementing large-scale projects in Europe related to electricity generation, electricity and gas trading, as well as in the field of renewable energy and carbon emissions trading.

Koksal worked for the Ukrainian energy holding DTEK for more than three years, in particular, he led the launch of the energy supply brand YASNO. He held senior positions in the energy company Enerjisa (Turkey, a venture asset of Sabancı Holding and E.ON), serving 9 million customers, and also worked for Siemens in Turkey.

Mougel, working in senior positions at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and ING Bank (UK), was responsible for activities in the primary capital market, including raising funds for large energy companies. In 2021-2023, he held the position of member of the supervisory board of PJSC Centrenergo.

Osmachko previously held senior positions in private enterprises and associations specializing in foreign economic activity. Before working at the State Property Fund, Tymoshenko held senior positions in the executive authorities of Rivne region for more than 30 years. In particular, he worked as deputy chairman of Rivne Regional State Administration, headed its department of economics and investment policy, and the department of economic development and trade.

In total, 41 candidates took part in the competitive selection for the positions of independent members of ECU.

"When forming the Supervisory Board of ECU, the SPF set itself the task of creating opportunities for the company to occupy new positions in the domestic and foreign markets. In a highly competitive selection for the positions of independent members, we were able to select candidates whose experience can give ECU new impetus for development. Their experience (…) will strengthen the state company," Head of the SPF Vitaliy Koval said. "With the experience and expertise of the members of the newly formed supervisory board, we plan to continue developing ECU as an energy trading company capable of successfully competing in the Ukrainian and European markets. Our ultimate goal remains unchanged – stable and high-quality energy supply to Ukrainian consumers in war conditions, as well as increasing state revenues from energy trading," ECU CEO Vitaliy Butenko said.