Paulo Fernando Soares Appointed as Group CEO, Kenersys

MUNSTER, Germany, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenersys, a Kalyani Group Company and wind turbine manufacturer today announced the appointment of Mr. Paulo Fernando Soares as the Group CEO, Kenersys with effect from April 13, 2010.

Prior to joining Kenersys, Paulo worked as the CEO of Suzlon China in Beijing for a period of 5 years. Under his leadership Suzlon has successfully negotiated significant amount of contracts in the Chinese market, which have allowed the company to secure a place as one of the leaders among the international players in the industry in China. As the CEO of Suzlon China, he was responsible for developing its business from a start-up phase to a completely established plant with a capacity to manufacture 600 MW per year.

Paulo has over 15 years of experience in the Hydro Power business in Brazil and China. He has worked with Siemens Hydro in Brazil, followed by Voith Siemens Hydro joint venture in Shanghai, China. During his tenure with Siemens, he has acquired in-depth knowledge across functions such as market development, manufacturing, project management, engineering and controlling. His last position was Vice President Project Management at Voith Siemens Shanghai in China from 2000 to 2005.

Paulo has a bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering at Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial – FEI and an Executive MBA in General Management at Fundacao Dom Cabral – FDC, both in Brazil.

Kenersys presently has two operating entities in Germany and India (Kenersys Europe GmbH and Kenersys India Private Limited respectively) for manufacturing, assembling, marketing and servicing wind turbines. Kenersys is co-funded by First Reserve Corporation, a leading US based, private equity firm with over USD 1.2 Billion investment in alternative and renewable energy companies.

Welcoming Paulo on board, Mr. Baba Kalyani, Chairman, Kalyani Group said, "We are happy to have Paulo as a part of our team and the new Kenersys Group CEO. Paulo brings with him rich and unique experience in the area of renewable energy. This will help us create opportunities and take Kenersys to the next stage, both in Europe as well as in India."

"I'm delighted to have been given this opportunity," said Paulo. "Together with the team at Kenersys, it will be my endeavour to take this company to greater heights in the Wind Energy business."

About Kalyani Group

Kalyani Group established in mid 1960s, is a leading Indian industrial conglomerate today with interests in forgings, automotive & non-automotive components, Engineering Quality steel and other niche segments such as conventional & non conventional energy, oil & gas, rail & marine & other heavy engineering components. The Group turnover is $2.4 billion and market capitalization of its listed entities exceeds $5 billion. The Group's manufacturing presence spans six countries across three continents viz. Asia, North America & Europe. The group has joint venture relationships with some of the world's leading players such as ArvinMeritor, USA, Carpenter Technology Corporation, USA, Hayes Lemmerz, USA, Gerdau SA, Brazil and FAW Corporation, China. The group places strong emphasis on technology, customer relationships and continuous & sustained development of its over 10,000 strong global human resources.

About First Reserve

First Reserve is the world's leading private equity firm in the energy industry. Throughout its 25-year history of investing solely in the global energy industry, First Reserve has developed a strong franchise, utilizing its broad base of specialized industry knowledge as an advantage. First Reserve believes that strategic diversification across a wide range of energy industry sectors has been a major contributor to the long-term, superior investment record achieved by the First Reserve Funds across economic cycles.

About Kenersys

Kenersys is a worldwide operating manufacturer of wind turbine generators. Founded in 2003 as a design and engineering company, Kenersys has become part of the Kalyani Group since 2007. With its two platforms K82-2.0MW and K100-2.5MW the company focuses on the onshore market. A total of 150 employees work for the company group, about 80 employees are engaged in development, logistics and sales of wind turbine generators at the headquarters in Europe and 70 employees in India. The production is based in Wismar, Germany, and in Baramati, India.

SOURCE First Reserve Corporation