Our Story

Our roots are in Abu Dhabi with operations in the UAE and beyond. We’re a top 10 integrated utilities champion in the EMEA region with power and water and oil and gas operations in 11 countries around the world.

Our story begins in 1998 with the privatization of Abu Dhabi’s power and water sector, underscoring the importance of water security and provision of power to communities across the UAE. This move paved the way for TAQA’s establishment as a publicly listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in 2005. Since then, we’ve grown into a diversified company with operations in the UAE as well as Canada, Ghana, India, Iraq, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and United States.

We are proud to be a company that provides energy and water to communities around the world.

Purpose

Powering a thriving future by efficiently providing sustainable and reliable energy and water to unleash the unlimited potential of people and places.

Vision

To be the sustainable energy champion and power and water partner of choice for business, government and society.

As Abu Dhabi’s integrated utilities leader, we are building an inspiring tomorrow for our people, our partners and our shareholders.

Mission

We innovatively develop, generate, transmit and distribute energy and water efficiently and affordably to the communities and industries that rely on us to thrive.

We leverage our scale, agility and financial strength to be a leading representative of Abu Dhabi’s vision of progress, collaboration and a sustainable future.

Our Leadership

Board of Directors
H.E. Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi
Chairman

Elected to the Board in 2019, elected Chairman in 2020

Career and experience: H.E. Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi is the Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, a company holding interests in state-owned entities across various development-related sectors including Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower). He also serves as Chairman of Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) and a Board Member of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), Aramex, Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) and Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions & Benefits Fund. He previously held several positions at Mubadala Investment Company, including Director of Manufacturing and other management posts from more than 10 years. Prior to joining Mubadala, H.E. Al Suwaidi worked at Union National Bank (UNB), Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), and the General Secretariat of Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

Qualifications and recognition: H.E. Al Suwaidi has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UAE University.

H.E. Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajeri
Vice Chairman

Elected to the Board in 2011, elected Vice-Chairman in 2020

Career and experience: H.E. Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri has more than 25 years of experience in international finance. He is Chairman of Gulf Navigation, vice-Chairman of Islamic Arab Insurance Company (“Salama”) and previously was a Member of the Executive Advisory Board of MSCI Barra. H.E. Al Hajeri is an Executive Director at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). He previously was a Board member of the CFA Institute.

Qualifications and recognition: H.E. Al Hajeri has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Lewis & Clark College in the United States and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He also attended the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School.

H.E. Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2020

Career and experience: H.E. Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri is the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower). He was previously the Chairman of the Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi (DED) and a member of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi. As Chairman of the DED, H.E. Al Hajeri was responsible for overseeing and driving the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s economic agenda and strategy. Prior to his appointment as Chairman of the DED in 2017, H.E. Al Hajeri served as the Chief Executive Officer of Tawazun Economic Council, and Tawazun Holding company since 2008. H.E. Al Hajeri was also actively engaged with various key Abu Dhabi Government initiatives, as well as serving throughout his career as a Member of the Board of Directors at a number of leading government and semi-government organisations, including SENAAT and ADNEC.

Qualifications and recognition: H.E. Al Hajeri has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Lewis & Clark College in the United States.

Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2020

Career and experience:Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi is Chief Investment Officer of ADQ. He is responsible for managing the company’s portfolio of assets in the Utilities, Industries, Logistics and Food & Agriculture sectors. Khalifa Al Suwaidi serves as Chairman of SENAAT, Agthia, NPCC, and Al Foah. He also serves as board member of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC). Prior to his current role, he held various senior management positions including, most recently Executive Director of Refining & Petrochemicals at Mubadala, where he managed the company’s portfolio, and Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi National Chemical Company. He was also previously Senior Vice President of the Service Venture Unit of Mubadala Development Company.

Qualifications and recognition: Khalifa Al Suwaidi holds a bachelor’s degree in business, majoring in marketing, from California State University in the United States and has an Executive MBA with distinction from Zayed University.

Salem Sultan Al Dhaheri
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2011

Career and experience: Salem Sultan Al Dhaheri is currently Deputy Director at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), having held various positions since joining the authority in 1993. He is also a Member of the Board of Directors of SENAAT and Al Etihad Credit Bureau, Audit Committees of Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions Benefits Fund, ADNOC, Emirates Investment Authority (EIA), Etisalat and General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA).

Qualifications and recognition: Salem Al Dhaheri is a Certified Public Accountant. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Metropolitan State College in Denver, United States.

Khaled Abdulla Al Mass
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2014

Career and experience: H.E. Khaled Abdulla Al Mass is the Chairman of iMass Investment, which is an Investment Holding Company that specializes in Investment Banking Advisory, Direct Investments, Artificial Intelligence and Fin-Tech.  H.E is also the Chairman of iTech Engineering Consultancy, which specializes in Building Information Modeling (BIM) solutions and he is a Board Member of the National Health Insurance Company (Daman) and Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insurance Company (Enaya).

Qualifications and recognition: H.E. Al Mass has a bachelor’s degree in Management from Marylhurst University, United States.

Jasim Husain Thabet
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2019

Career and experience: Jasim Husain Thabet is an energy executive with over 18 years of UAE and regional experience in the power and energy sectors. In his current role as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) he leads the power and water sector transformation across a portfolio of assets throughout the value-chain (from generation to distribution). Jasim Thabet also sits on the board of Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADPower and the procurer of power and water for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and beyond. Prior to his time at ADPower, Jasim Thabet served as Chief Executive Officer of National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) from 2012 to 2019, at Mubadala Investment Company from 2009 to 2012, as well as other roles in the energy sector prior to that.

Qualifications and recognition: Jasim Thabet holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Saint Martin’s University, Washington State, USA.

Executive Management
Jasim Husain Thabet
Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Jasim Husain Thabet serves as TAQA’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, a role he has held since July 2020. Jasim, who was elected to TAQA’s Board of Directors in 2019, is a utilities industry veteran with more than two decades of experience. Prior to his role at TAQA, he served as CEO & MD of ADPower, where leveraged the company’s portfolio of assets throughout the value-chain to support the transformation of the power and water sector in the UAE. He also served as CEO of the National Central Cooling Company PJSC (Tabreed), where he drove capacity expansion and revenue growth.

Jasim sits on the board of the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), the procurer of power and water for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Jasim holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Saint Martin’s University, Washington State, USA.

Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri
Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Saeed Hamad Al Dhaheri serves as TAQA’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, a role he has held since July 2020. He previously served as the company’s CEO from 2018 to 2020 and was previously its Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to joining TAQA in 2014, Saeed held leadership positions at Abu Dhabi Media Company, Etihad Rail and Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA). He is currently a board member at Massar Solutions, Sohar Aluminium and TAQA Morocco.

Saeed holds a master’s degree in management from Abu Dhabi University and a bachelor’s degree in international business from Eckerd College in the United States.

Stephen Ridlington
Chief Financial Officer

Stephen Ridlington serves as TAQA’s Chief Financial Officer, a position he has held since June 2020. Prior to his role at TAQA, Stephen Ridlington was Chief Investment Officer at ADPower. He previously held positions with BP, TNK-BP, and the National Central Cooling Company PJSC (Tabreed), serving as CFO at the latter.

 

Stephen holds a Master of Philosophy in Economics from St Antony’s College, Oxford, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Sussex.

Omar Abdulla Alhashmi
Executive Director of Transmission and Distribution

Omar Alhashmi serves as Executive Director of TAQA’s Transmission & Distribution business line, a position he has held since July 2020. In this role, he oversees the company’s diverse portfolio of transmission and distribution assets.

Prior to his role at TAQA, Omar Alhashmi was the Executive Director – Asset Management at ADPower, where he supported the development of the company’s transformation plan, structure and governance. He has also held leadership positions in Etihad Airways and Mubadala Investment Company.

Omar holds a Master of Business Administration from the London Business School and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the George Washington University.

Farid Al Awlaqi
Executive Director of Generation

Farid Al Awlaqi head’s TAQA’s Generation business line, a position he has held since July 2020. In this role, he oversees and develops the company’s global power and water generation portfolio business.

He previously served as Senior Vice President in the Energy platform at Mubadala Investment Company. He has global energy industry experience with a particular focus on the gas sector and technology. He has fulfilled a broad aspect of roles from operations to business development, investment and asset management.

Farid holds a Sloan Masters from the London Business School, a Master of Engineering in Petroleum Engineering from the Imperial College of the University of London. Farid is also a prize winner from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Franco Polo
Executive Director of Oil and Gas

Franco Polo heads TAQA’s Oil & Gas business line, a position he has held since July 2020. An oil executive with more than 30 years of experience in international exploration and production, Franco Polo previously served as the Executive Vice President of Upstream of the Asian Pacific region at Eni, an integrated energy company.

Franco holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Bologna, Italy.

Stephen Wackerle
Chief Risk and Internal Audit Officer

Stephen Wackerle serves as TAQA’s Chief Risk and Internal Audit Officer, a position he has held since June 2020. He oversees and objectively reviews the organization’s business processes and risk management procedures. Prior to this role, he held similar leadership roles with ADPower and BP.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Post- Graduate degree in Accounting from the University of Cape Town.

Mohammad Sharafi
Chief Legal Officer and Board Secretary

Mohammad Al Sharafi serves as TAQA’s General Counsel, a position he has held since June 2020. He joins TAQA from ADPower, where he served as the General Counsel, leading the company’s legal, governance, compliance and government relations functions.

Mohammad holds a Post-Graduate diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Westminster, London.

Noel Aoun
Acting Head of Strategy & M&A

Noel Aoun serves as TAQA’s (acting) Head of Strategy and M&A. He previously served as Group Strategy and Business Development Director at TAQA, a role he has held since March 2018. In his role, Noel leads the development of TAQA’s corporate strategy and operating model, whilst coordinating strategies across the organization’s business units. Prior to his position at TAQA, he held leadership positions in Schneider Electric and Booz & Co.

Noel holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD and a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ecole Supérieure des Ingénieurs de Beirut.

Sean McCarthy
Acting Head of Group Communications

Sean McCarthy serves as TAQA’s (acting) Head of Group Communications, where he oversees the company’s external communications, employee engagement, CSR and government advocacy efforts. Prior to his role at TAQA, he served as Director – Corporate Communication at ADPower. Previously, Sean held senior roles in corporate affairs at global firms including BCW, Weber Shandwick and Edelman.

Sean McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts & Sciences in Strategic Communications and English Literature from the University of Iowa in the U.S.

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