EDP Brasil, a company that operates in the whole value chain of the electric sector, confirmed the name of João Marques da Cruz as its new CEO at a meeting of the Board of Directors held last Friday (19). The executive has nine years of experience as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of EDP Global, with operations in the Distribution, Transmission, Commercialization, Renewable Energies and Free Market segments, an experience that was crucial for the appointing his name to lead the operation in the Brazil. Marques da Cruz takes over the Company after the appointment of Miguel Setas as responsible for the EDP Group's worldwide transmission and distribution network platform, after seven years as CEO of EDP in Brazil.

In addition, the Shareholders’ Meeting held on the same day established the new composition of the Board of Directors of EDP in Brazil, which will have Setas in the CEO chair. With him, Rui Teixeira, Vera Pinto Pereira and Ana Paula Garrido will be part of this administrative body. Thus, the Board of EDP Brazil, which already had the participation of Juliana Rozenbaum, will have 33% female representation, three times the national average, in line with its commitment to be an increasingly inclusive company. The creation of an executive vice-presidency for ESG was also approved, to be held by Fernanda Pires, current People, Digital and Society co-director.

New CEO

João Marques da Cruz joined the EDP group in 2007, as a member of the Board of Directors of EDP International, a consulting and management company for energy projects where he also served as CEO. In addition, he was a member of the board of directors of EDP Renováveis.

The executive has served on the Board of Directors of EDP Brazil since 2015. As CEO, his mission will be to executing a mandate for the continuity of Miguel Setas’ management, but with special attention to investments related to the energy transition. The Company must also continue investing in the growth of the Distribution, Transmission and Energy Solutions fronts, namely solar energy, considered priorities in the business plan.

Although he did not work directly in the national territory, Marques da Cruz has an old relationship with Brazil, having been included in several missions in the country due to his work, before joining EDP, as general director of TAP, president of the Executive Committee of Air Luxor and president of ICEP - Instituto do Comércio Externo de Portugal.

“It is an honor and a great responsibility to become the CEO of EDP in Brazil, a priority geography in the EDP group’s strategy. We have great potential to explore, especially in face of distributed solar generation. I hope to add knowledge to continue achieving successful results and fulfilling the purpose of being a leading company in the energy transition in the country”, says João Marques da Cruz, CEO of EDP in Brazil.

About EDP in Brazil

With over 20 years of experience, EDP is one of the largest private companies in the electricity sector operating throughout the value chain. The Company, which has over 10 thousand direct and outsourced employees, has six hydroelectric and one thermoelectric power plants, in addition to operating in Transmission, Marketing and Energy Services. In the Distribution, it serves approximately 3.5 million customers in São Paulo and Espírito Santo, in addition to being the main shareholder of Celesc, in Santa Catarina. In 2020, the company was elected as the most innovative in the electricity sector by the Valor Inovação ranking, of the Valor Econômico newspaper, and is a reference in Governance and Sustainability, having been on the B3 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) for 15 consecutive years.

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