Arun Banskota Appointed CEO
OAKVILLE, ON, July 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Algonquin Power
& Utilities Corp. ("APUC" or the "Company") (TSX: AQN) (NYSE:
AQN) announced today the retirement of Ian
Robertson as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and the
appointment of Arun Banskota as the
incoming CEO. This transition has been a multi-year initiative by
APUC's Board of Directors to support a smooth transition to new
leadership while maintaining the Company's strong track record of
growth and delivering long-term shareholder value.
"Ian has been a pioneer in the renewable energy business and
brought to the Company an entrepreneurial spirit that will endure,"
said APUC Chairman Ken Moore. "As a
driving force behind the Company's extraordinary growth, the
Company's performance is a direct result of Ian's passion and
dedication which has resulted in APUC becoming a blue chip TSX60
company delivering essential utility services while also being a
global leader in renewable energy."
Mr. Robertson co-founded the Company in 1988, focusing initially
on developing hydroelectric facilities, followed by expansion into
other generating modalities, including wind and solar energy, as
well as leading the Company to become a large North American
regulated utility delivering water, natural gas and electric
services. APUC has grown to approximately U.S. $11 billion of total assets including over 2 GW
of installed renewable generating capacity and has over 800,000
regulated utility customers.
"We are immensely grateful for Ian's countless contributions
over the years, and his legacy of strong business performance,
operational excellence, and commitment to sustainability. We wish
Ian well in his future endeavours," Moore said.
Arun Banskota, who joined APUC as
President in February 2020,
officially takes over the role of CEO today. Mr. Banskota was
previously Managing Director, Global Power, El Paso Corporation,
where he had P&L responsibility for a 6,500 MW global portfolio
of 32 power plants, project development and approximately 10,000
employees. Most recently, Mr. Banskota led the planning,
engineering, and execution of datacenter capacity, globally, for
Amazon Web Services. Since his appointment as President, he has
been working closely with Mr. Robertson to facilitate a seamless
transition.
Mr. Moore further commented: "Under Arun's leadership, together
with the Company's executive team, APUC plans to continue executing
and building upon its current five-year strategic growth plan. With
its strong financial position and entrepreneurial culture, the
Company is also positioned for continued growth and success as the
utility sector evolves in the future."
About Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.
APUC is a diversified international generation, transmission and
distribution utility with approximately U.S.$ 11 billion of total assets. Through its two
business groups, APUC is committed to providing safe, reliable and
cost effective rate-regulated natural gas, water, and electricity
generation, transmission and distribution utility services to
approximately 805,000 connections in the United States and Canada, and is a global leader in renewable
energy through its portfolio of long-term contracted wind, solar
and hydroelectric generating facilities representing over 2 GW of
installed capacity and more than 1.4 GW of incremental renewable
energy capacity under construction.
APUC strives to deliver continuing growth through an expanding
global pipeline of renewable energy, electric transmission, and
water infrastructure development projects, organic growth within
its rate-regulated generation, distribution and transmission
businesses, and the pursuit of accretive acquisitions. APUC's
common shares, Series A preferred shares, and Series D preferred
shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols
AQN, AQN.PR.A, and AQN.PR.D, respectively. APUC's common shares,
Series 2018-A subordinated notes and Series 2019-A subordinated
notes are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols
AQN, AQNA and AQNB, respectively.
Visit APUC at www.algonquinpowerandutilities.com and
follow us on Twitter @AQN_Utilities.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Certain written statements included herein constitute
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities laws in each of the provinces of Canada and the respective policies,
regulations and rules under such laws and "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws in
the United States, including
Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(collectively, "forward-looking statements"). The words "will",
"expects", "intends", "plans", "should" and similar expressions are
often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not
all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Specific forward-looking statements contained herein include, but
are not limited to statements regarding the expectations regarding
the CEO transition; the expected performance of APUC,
including the execution of and building upon APUC's strategic
growth plan, the delivery of long-term shareholder value; and
APUC's positioning for future success in an evolving utility
sector. These statements are based on factors or assumptions that
were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or
projection, including assumptions based on historical trends,
current conditions and expected future developments. Since
forward-looking statements relate to future events and conditions,
by their nature they rely upon assumptions and involve inherent
risks and uncertainties. APUC cautions that although it is believed
that the assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances, actual
results may differ materially from the expectations set out in the
forward-looking statements. Material risk factors and assumptions
include those set out in APUC's most recent annual and interim
Management's Discussion and Analysis and most recent Annual
Information Form, filed with securities regulatory authorities in
Canada and the United States. Given these risks, undue
reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements,
which apply only as of their dates. Other than as specifically
required by law, APUC undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent
or otherwise.
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SOURCE Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.