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.

Corporate Brochure

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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 provide the clean power and water that governments, businesses and consumers need for a sustainable and successful life

Mission

Be a low carbon power and water champion

Our Values

Safe: We put safety above all else

Sustainable: We do what is right for our environment, community and people

Collaborative: We are stronger together

Innovative: We seek creative ways to deliver results

Excellence: We strive for exceptional performance

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) and a Board Member of ADNOC Distribution, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation,  Emirates Global Aluminium and Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions & Benefits Fund.

He previously held several positions at Mubadala Investment Company, including leading Metals and Mining and other management posts from more than 10 years.

Qualifications and recognition: H.E. Al Suwaidi holds 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 26 years of experience in international finance. He is the Vice Chairman of Islamic Arab Insurance Company (“Salama”). He is a Board Member of INSEAD and is an Executive Director at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

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 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 several leading government and semi-government organizations, 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 at ADQ, where he manages portfolio companies in the Utilities, Industries, Logistics and Food & Agriculture Sectors.

In addition, Mr. Al Suwaidi is the Chairman of the Board at SENAAT where he oversees the holding company’s performance and management of its subsidiaries. Other board positions he holds include Chairman of Agthia as well as being Vice-Chairman of Abu Dhabi Ports and Board Member of EWEC.

Prior to his current roles, he held various senior management positions including Executive Director of Refining & Petrochemicals at Mubadala Investment, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi National Chemical Company (Chemaweyaat).

Qualifications and recognition: Mr. 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.

Khaled Abdulla Al-Mass
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2014

Career and experience: Khaled Abdulla Al-Mass is an executive board member of iMass Investments LLC, an investment holding company that specializes in investment banking advisory, direct investments, artificial intelligence and financial technology.  Mr Al-Mass is also an executive board member of iTech Engineering Consultancy, which specializes in Building Information Modeling solutions and a Board Member of Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), Advanced Cure Diagnostic Centers and MHDH.

Qualifications and recognition: Mr. Al-Mass holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Marylhurst University, United States.

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 Al Etihad Credit Bureau and a member of the 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: Mr. Al Dhaheri is a Certified Public Accountant. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Metropolitan State College in Denver, United States.

Mansour Mohamed Almulla
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2021

Career and experience: Mansour Mohamed Almulla is the Chief Investment Officer for Alternative Investments & M&A at ADQ.  He is responsible for all M&A and alternative investment initiatives including investments in mutual funds and opportunistic investments in early/late technology funds.

Mr. Almulla is a Board member and the Audit Committee Chairman of Abu Dhabi Ports Company as well as a Board Member and Audit Committee member of Etihad Aviation Group.

Previously, Mr. Almulla held various positions in Mubadala spanning 15 years, including Chief Financial Officer for Petroleum & Petrochemicals in Mubadala investment Company PJSC and Chief Financial Officer of Mubadala Petroleum LLC.

Qualifications and recognition: Mr. Almulla holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration (Information Systems) from Portland State University, United States.

Hamad Al Hammadi
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2021

Career and experience: Hamad Al Hammadi has 15 years of experience in the water and power sector. He is currently the Portfolio Management Director at ADQ, a company holding interests in state-owned entities across various development-related sectors. Prior to his current role, he held positions at Mubadala Development Company and the Carlyle Group.

Mr Al Hammadi also serves as the Chairman of AD Power, Board Member for TAQA Morocco, Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company (ADSCC), Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), TA’ZIZ and Nabil Foods. He was previously a Board member in SMN Power, a publicly listed power generation company in Oman.

Qualifications and recognition: Mr. Al Hammadi holds a bachelor’s degree of science in accounting from the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE.

Jasim Husain Thabet
Board Member

Elected to the Board in 2019

Jasim Husain Thabet serves as TAQA’s Group 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 an energy industry veteran with more than two decades of experience.

Prior to his role at TAQA, he served as CEO & MD of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, where he 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.

Mr. Thabet sits on the board of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Etihad Aviation Group and Abu Dhabi Ports.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Saint Martin’s University in the United States.

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

Jasim Husain Thabet serves as TAQA’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, a role he has held since July 2020. Mr. Thabet, who was elected to TAQA’s Board of Directors in 2019, is an energy industry veteran with more than two decades of experience.

Prior to his role at TAQA, he served as CEO & MD of Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, where he 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.

Mr. Thabet sits on the board of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Etihad Aviation Group and Abu Dhabi Ports.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Saint Martin’s University in the United States.

Steve Ridlington
Chief Financial Officer

Steve Ridlington serves as TAQA’s Chief Financial Officer, a position he has held since July 2020. Prior to his role at TAQA, Mr. 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.

Mr. Ridlington 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.

Gareth Wynn
Chief Communications Officer

Gareth Wynn serves as TAQA’s Chief Communications Officer, a position he has held since January 2021. In this role, he oversees all external, internal, government advocacy and corporate social responsibility activities across the Group.

Mr. Wynn has more than two decades of experience as a senior communications leader in international energy companies. He most recently served as Stakeholder and Communications Director for Oil & Gas UK, the leading representative organization for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. He has also held key senior management positions at EDF Energy and FTI Consulting.

Mr. Wynn holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Microbial Technology with honors from the University of Warwick.

Omar Abdulla Alhashmi
Executive Director of Transmission and Distribution

Omar Al Hashmi serves as the Executive Director of TAQA’s Transmission & Distribution business, 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, Mr. Al Hashmi was Executive Director – Asset Management at Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower), where he supported the development of the company’s transformation plan, structure and governance. He previously served as the head of strategy development in Etihad Airways and Vice President in the Industry platform at  Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala).

Mr. Al Hashmi 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 heads 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 generation and water portfolio.

He previously served as Senior Vice President in the energy platform at Mubadala Investment, where he held various roles from operations to business development, investment and asset management.

Mr. Awlaqi 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. He 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 over 30 years of experience in international exploration and production, he previously served as the Executive Vice President of Upstream of the Asian Pacific region at Eni, an integrated energy company.

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

Steve Wackerle
Chief Risk and Internal Audit Officer

Steve Wackerle serves as TAQA’s Chief Risk and Internal Audit Officer, a position he has held since July 2020. Mr. Wackerle oversees and objectively reviews the organization’s business processes and risk management procedures. Prior to this role, he held similar leadership roles with Abu Dhabi Power Corporation and BP.

Mr. Wackerle 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 Chief Legal Officer and Board Secretary Counsel, a position he has held since July 2020. He joins TAQA from ADPower where he served as the General Counsel, leading the company’s legal, governance, compliance and government relations functions.

Mr. Al Sharafi 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
Executive Director of Strategy

Noel Aoun serves as TAQA’s Executive Director of Strategy. 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.

Christian George
Executive Director of M&A

Christian George serves as the Executive Director of TAQA’s M&A function, a position he has held since August 2021. In this role, he leads development of the company’s investment strategies and the process of mergers and acquisitions within TAQA Group’s portfolio.

He previously served as the Head of Corporate Transactions at Saudi Aramco, where Mr. George led the transformation of the business’s upstream and downstream sectors. He also served as the Corporate Development and Strategy Director of Shoaibi Group in Saudi Arabia, where he led the development of group strategy.

Mr. George holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance from Kingston University, London and holds qualifications as an ACA (Chartered Accountant).

Nabil Almessabi
Chief Human Resources Officer

Nabil Almessabi serves as TAQA’s Chief Human Resources Officer, a position he has held since August 2021. In this role, he oversees the strategic development of human resources and administration, as key enablers to TAQA’s growth ambitions.

Prior to his role at TAQA, he served as Chief Human Resources Officer for TRANSCO and was the Executive Director of Human Capital & Communications at Abu Dhabi Power Corporation. With more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Almessabi has held leading positions across the oil and gas, real estate and tourism sectors in the UAE.

Mr. Almessabi holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the UAE University, a Management Diploma from the University of Cambridge – Judge Business School and a Global Executive MBA from INSEAD.

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