Appointment underscores growing market opportunities and continued need for expertise in power generation, transmission and distribution
Continuing with its global growth strategy, Black & Veatch today named Youssef Merjaneh as Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as the region’s focus on the dynamic energy transition continues.
The company's expansion in the EMEA region and Youssef’s appointment come at a transformational time for Black & Veatch. In 2020, the company announced it would cease participation in any new coal-based power design and construction and focus its capabilities on supporting the other parts of its portfolio including renewable generation, transmission and distribution, and other aspects of conventional generation including gas, hydrogen, and carbon capture.
While Europe has been building renewable capacity for many years and continues to do so, the Middle East and Africa regions are also following a similar path, and Black & Veatch's full Power portfolio is a perfect fit to support the entire region with this transition both on the power generation and delivery fronts.
“Although EMEA is a highly diverse region, the power landscape shares a common dynamic: Rising demand has to be met while carbon emissions have to fall,” Youssef said. “Europe is taking a lead in the drive to accelerate the path towards zero carbon energy. Development of alternative energy sources is integral to the strategies of Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and African nations are also making NetZero commitments.”
Youssef has 19 years of global business experience in operations, sales, business development, strategy and project management, with a strong focus on the Middle East and Europe. His background is in power, oil & gas, transportation and IT. He was most recently CEO and Managing Director at RATP Dev Mobility Egypt. Prior to that, Youssef led the ABB Division in Saudi Arabia for Electrical Motors and Drives, and earlier in his career he held several positions at Siemens, including leadership roles in Power Generation Services, Power Transmission and Distribution, and Mobility.
“We have been delivering Power solutions in the Middle East for more than 45 years, while our power business in Europe and Africa has continued to grow to meet the rising client demand for innovative solutions around energy transition. Youssef’s appointment is intended to enhance our local focus and expand our footprint in the region we consider strategic to our global business," said Mario Azar, President of Black & Veatch’s power business.
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Editor’s Notes:
- Recent successes for Black & Veatch’s Europe power team include
- Delivering financial close for ING Bank on three windfarms in the Irish Republic
- Securing UK energy regulator Ofgem’s Renewable Obligation Statistical Audit Programme
- Authoring a first of a kind report on MeyGen Phase 1, which will help the commercial viability of tidal stream energy
- Deploying digital twin technology to support the optimisation and cost reduction of Orbital’s floating tidal turbines
- Youssef has a bachelor and master's in engineering and a master’s in business administration; he is fluent in English, Arabic and German.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries by addressing the resilience and reliability of our world's most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2019 were US$3.7 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.
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