Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power Co. said on Monday that Suntharesan ‘Paddy’ Padmanathan has retired from the CEO position as of today, March 20.

The board named Marco Arcelli as his replacement, who will take over the CEO task immediately, the company said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange.

Padmanathan, who held the CEO post for 18 years, will now continue to serve as a board member.

Arcelli has over 30 years of experience in the energy field, having worked as Chairman of Ep New Energy, in charge of the entry and growth of the seventh largest electricity producer in Europe in renewables.

Earlier in the day, the Riyadh-headquartered utility developer signed three power purchase agreements (PPA) and investment agreements with Uzbekistan to develop solar and battery storage projects with a combined value of $2.5 billion.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)