The FINANCIAL — Nandita Parshad has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Energy and Natural Resources business group, effective 1 January 2017.
The Energy and Natural Resources group has more than 90 staff covering the Bank’s entire region of operations. It invests over €2 billion year (approximately a quarter of the Bank’s annual business activity) with a current portfolio of over €10 billion. The group invests across the energy sector, helping the EBRD’s countries of operations meet the challenge of providing affordable, secure and, above all, sustainable energy. It combines these investments with policy dialogue and technical cooperation to help foster systemic reforms. Through its work in the mining sector, the group also helps countries develop their mineral resources in a manner which promotes sustainable and inclusive growth. Its work has been recognised by US Treasury Development Honors, Thomson Reuters PFI awards and other accolades, according to EBRD.
Ms Parshad was previously Director of the EBRD’s Power and Energy team, a role in which she oversaw the Bank becoming the largest renewable energy financier and enabler in its regions of operations. In this period the Bank invested more than €5 billion in about 4.5 GW of renewable energy capacity, overtaking its investments in conventional energy. These investments ranged from pioneering wind farms in Mongolia to competitive solar energy in Jordan. Ms Parshad’s appointment as Managing Director thus signals an even stronger focus of the EBRD on sustainable energy.
Ms Parshad said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the group at a time when the EBRD has committed to scale up significantly its financing for the green economy. The Bank’s countries of operations face great challenges in ensuring that they have secure energy at prices that are affordable and competitive, while addressing climate change and air quality. The Bank is committed to supporting them in meeting those challenges through investments across the sector, from sustainable energy production to the networks and interconnections that drive regional integration and energy diversity.”
The appointment comes after the EBRD’s previous Managing Director for Energy and Natural Resources, Riccardo Puliti, moved to the World Bank Group to head up its energy and extractive resources global practice.
Prior to joining the EBRD in 1992, Nandita Parshad worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and in New Delhi, India. She was born in Calcutta, India, and holds both undergraduate and graduate (A.B. and MPA) degrees from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She serves on several boards including for the United World Colleges (International) and was named Professional of the Year at the Asian Achievers Awards in 2013.
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