Acwa Appoints New Chief Executive

The appointment follows a planned leadership transition, with outgoing CEO Marco Arcelli, who held the role since March 2023, now serving as an advisor to the chairman to ensure a smooth handover. Before Arcelli, the company was led for nearly 18 years by Paddy Padmanathan, who grew Acwa Power from a startup into a global entity with assets valued at over $75 billion by the time he stepped down in 2023. Dr. Serhan's expertise aligns with Acwa's aggressive growth strategy, particularly in green hydrogen. His extensive background includes leadership roles as managing director of Linde Engineering and president of Global HyCO at Praxair, both major players in the industrial gases and hydrogen sectors. Acwa Power is central to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims for 50% of the nation's energy to come from renewables by the end of the decade. The company is a key vehicle for this transition, with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia holding a 44% stake. The new chief executive takes the helm as the company pursues a goal of tripling its assets under management to over $250 billion by 2030. To fuel this expansion, Acwa completed a major capital increase in 2025, raising SAR 7.1 billion (about $1.9 billion). The company's project pipeline is expanding rapidly. In late 2025, Acwa Power and its partners reached financial close on seven massive renewable energy projects in Saudi Arabia, totaling 15 GW of solar and wind capacity with an investment value of $8.2 billion. Globally, Acwa Power's portfolio includes 111 projects in operation or under construction, with a total investment value of approximately $114.8 billion. These assets have the capacity to generate 93 GW of power—over half of which is from renewables—and manage 9.3 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day.