ARE Elects Alexis Rehbinder as President and Announces Two New Board Members
Brussels, 17 May 2023 – The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) held its annual General Assembly on 17 May 2023. During the meeting, ARE Members elected two new Board Members, namely Ieva Indriunaite (Camco) and Lynne Wesonga (CrossBoundary) and re-elected Alexis Rehbinder (GDS International), Camille André-Bataille (ANKA Madagascar), and Christophe Poline (Schneider Electric). ARE Members also elected Alexis Rehbinder as the new President of the association.
ARE wishes to express its gratitude to the outgoing President and Board Member Rebecca Bregant as well as Board Member Rebecca Sleegers for their valuable contributions.
Completing her term as ARE President, Rebecca Bregant said: “Today marks the conclusion of my term as President of ARE. I want to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the ARE Board, Secretariat, and our esteemed members for their invaluable support and dedication throughout my tenure:
- To the ARE Board, thank you for your collaboration and commitment in shaping the Alliance’s growth and impact. Your strategic insights have been instrumental in advancing our mission.
- I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Secretariat for their unwavering commitment and professionalism in ensuring the smooth operation of ARE. Your efforts have been essential to our success.
- I am especially grateful to our members for their active engagement and expertise in driving the cause of rural electrification. Your commitment to sustainable energy access has been inspiring.
As my term comes to a close, I extend my best wishes to the new President and Board. May they lead the Alliance with wisdom and vision, building upon our accomplishments and bringing us closer to universal energy access. The journey towards sustainable energy for all continues, and I am confident that ARE will achieve remarkable progress in the future. I will continue to support ARE and eagerly anticipate its ongoing success. Thank you once again to the ARE Board, Secretariat, and our dedicated members. It has been an honour to serve as President, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this exceptional organisation.”
Alexis Rehbinder is the COO of GDS International. He has been active in rural electrification sector since 2018. His academic background includes engineering and renewable energy studies.
Following his election as ARE President, Alexis Rehbinder said: “I extend my heartfelt admiration to the departing Board and President for their contributions. Looking ahead with the new board, we eagerly embrace the opportunity to set new milestones and surpass Alliance’s previous accomplishments. Together with the Secreteriat and our esteemed Members, we will empower the DRE sector on a global scale, making a lasting and positive impact on rural communities worldwide.”
Existing Board Members, Dario Traverso (Genius Watter), Jan Ijspeert (BAE Batterien), Nicolas Rohrer (Asantys Systems), Claudio Pedretti (Green Climate Ventures) and Irene Calvé Saborit (Sunkofa) will continue their terms.
In 2022, ARE achieved a range of significant milestones. The Alliance mobilised 7,500 key renewable electrification stakeholders through its events, facilitating numerous B2B matchmaking meetings. ARE was also active at the top political echelons, advocating for access to clean electricity for all and scaling up rural electrification markets. Moreover, the Alliance saw staggering growth, generating business, visibility, and knowledge, for the first time bringing together more than 200 members. In view of these, ARE also deepened its impact at the country level across Africa and Asia-Pacific, working in tandem with national associations, and expanded its activities towards the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean regions. During 2022, ARE and its Members’ brand soared, with high-profile interventions at events such as the G20, COP, The Economist, Reuters, and the Europe-Africa business summit, cementing its position as a leader in the field of rural electrification.
Hereby, ARE extends its warm congratulations to the new President and Board Members and wishes them success in their new roles.
David Lecoque, CEO of ARE, stated: “We are thrilled to welcome new ARE President & Board Members and confident that their expertise and dedication will help ARE towards achieving its objectives. It is Alliance’s vision that by 2030 everyone in the world and in particular all rural people in low-and medium income countries should have access to affordable, secure and clean energy and energy services. Together with all our Members and Partners, we will work to achieve this goal and build a climate safe future.”