Pierre Gadonneix

• Chairman, World Energy Council

• Honorary Chairman, Electricite de France (EDF)

• Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Latécoère

Pierre Gadonneix has a long-standing commitment to the World Energy Council. He was appointed WEC Chair in 2007, then re-elected in September 2009 for a three-year term (2010–2013). He was Chair of the Conseil Français de l’Energie from 1993 to 1999, where he continues to serve as a board member. From 1995 to 2004, he was a member of the WEC Programme Committee, then Vice Chair in charge of the WEC’s activities in Europe for three years.

Achievements

During his time as Chairman he has steered the World Energy Council during a time of economic crisis and following the Fukushima and Gulf of Mexico accidents. Mr Gadonneix has strived to ensure that the WEC keeps up with the unpredictable times. He is a champion of global governance on energy safety.  After the Fukushima accident, he urged the WEC to produce a report on the status of nuclear energy worldwide one year post-Fukushima, which highlights the ever more acute need for international governance and safety standards for all types of energy , including nuclear. In 2012, Pierre Gadonneix urged the global community to produce an international framework for safety of oil exploitation offshore.

One of the Chairman’s early initiatives addressed the need that policymaking needs to balance the trade-offs between energy security, social equity, and environmental protection – the energy trilemma. The result, the WEC “Assessment of country energy and climate policies”, has set the benchmark on exemplar policymaking since the first time the report was published in 2008.

Pierre Gadonneix has also forged cross-sector collaboration with other, like-minded organisations to help meet similar energy-related goals. In 2012 he set up the WEC’s partnership with the World Water Council to jointly address the overlapping issues relating to energy and water usage. Later that year, Pierre Gadonneix set up a partnership with Prince Albert II Foundation regarding energy efficiency and issues linking water and energy. He also developed the WEC’s relationship with the World Trade Organization to support streamlining the cross-border trading of energy and green goods. He regularly represents the WEC at global events such as the Rio+20 Earth Summit in Brazil, UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, and the International Economic Forum of the Americas, where he shares the WEC’s vision for sustainable energy. During his mandate as WEC Chair, Mr Gadonneix has relentlessly worked to make the WEC more visible. Successes include the 2010 World Energy Congress in Montreal, which drew more than 7000 participants.

In November 2012, Pierre Gadonneix has been presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Platts Global Energy Awards. The award, in the Vision & Leadership category, recognises his extensive career in the energy sector.

Background

From 2004 to 2009, Pierre Gadonneix was Chairman and CEO of EDF, one of the leading players of the international energy industry. Over this period he ensured the implementation of the group’s industrial plan resulted in profitable growth, mainly in Europe. Under his impetus, EDF pursued its international expansion in energy markets, especially in China, the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. He was also at the helm when EDF listed on the Paris stock exchange in November 2005 and became a member of the CAC 40 index.

Prior to joining EDF, Mr Gadonneix was Chairman and CEO of Gaz de France from 1996 after serving as CEO from 1987. At this time when European markets were opening to competition, he introduced the group’s industrial strategy and oversaw its reorganization that positioned the group as a gas-oriented leader in the European energy market. From 1978 to 1987, after two years as Technical Advisor to the Minister of Industry and Research, Pierre Gadonneix was appointed Director of Metallurgical, Engineering and Electrical Industries at the French Ministry of Industry. In this capacity, he made a significant contribution to the restructuring of the French steel industry.

Education

Mr Gadonneix is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, where he taught economics from 1983 to 1992, and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs. In 1975 he was awarded a Doctorate from Harvard Business School. Pierre Gadonneix is also the Chair of the Harvard Business School Club de France since 2011.

Personal

Pierre Gadonneix was a member of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council in France (CESE) from 1993 to 2010 and was a member of the Board of the National Foundation for Political Sciences (FNSP) until 2011.  He is a Commander of the Légion d’honneur and a Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite.

Born in New York City on 10 January 1943, he is married and has three children.