BP Solar CEO Reyad Fezzani takes over as chairman of Tata BP Solar Shyamal Gupta retires
15 May 2009
New Delhi: Tata BP Solar India Ltd. today said Reyad Fezzani, CEO of BP Solar, has been appointed chairman of Tata BP Solar, in place of Syamal Gupta, who has stepped down after two decades with the company.
Gupta, wo has held several top positions with various Tata Group companies, had starrted his career with Tata Steel in 1955. He is credited with having brought together the UK-based BP and the Tata Group, to forge a joint venture way back in 1989, when renewable or solar energy was almost unheard of in India.
He has been Chairman of several Tata companies including Tata BP Solar, Tata International, Tata Elxsi, Tata Advanced Materials, and TCE Consulting Engineers, besides being on the board of several overseas companies including Tata Africa Holding (SA) (Pty) Ltd, South Africa, Tata South East Asia Ltd Hong Kong, Tata (UAE) FZE, Dubai, Tata Incorporated USA.
Fezzani is the CEO of BP Solar, the largest and most established renewable energy business in BP's global alternative energy portfolio.
An old hand at alternative power ventures within BP, Fezzani was earlier CEO with BP Wind & Solar, and prior to that had led BP's global chemicals business Aromatics & Acetyls (A&A).
Since joining BP in 1989, Reyad has held a number of senior operational and commercial roles across the BP Group, including head of the executive office of the group chief executive (Lord Browne of Madingly) at the time when BP launched its alternative and renewables energy business; vice president, strategy and planning, refining and marketing; senior vice president, USA Commercial Marketing for Refining and Marketing; vice president, supply and logistics; vice president of government and public affairs in exploration and production; project leader, M&A for E&P in Europe and finance executive, corporate finance.
Tata BP Solar, a joint venture between BP Solar (51 per cent) and Tata Power Company (49 per cent) and is a pioneer and market leader in the Indian solar energy market, manufacturing photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules and solar water heaters at its plants in Bangalore.
The company caters to a wide range of domestic and commercial applications including heating and lighting of homes and streets, providing reliable energy for businesses, grid-connect solar PV plants for power generation, road safety solutions, solar power for communication devices used by the military, as well as pumping water for field irrigation. Revenues for Tata BP Solar have exceeded Rs 1000 crores in the last financial year.
