Board of Directors

Sonnedix is led by executives with global experience in project financing and asset management, engineering and operations, and every aspect of the renewable energy value chain. They work together to ensure Sonnedix contributes to smartly expanding the adoption and impact of renewable power, while growing sustainably, profitably, and responsibly.

Carlos Guinand
Executive Chairman
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Carlos Guinand
Executive Chairman

Carlos Guinand is an entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Sonnedix, an international renewable energy producer. He has been instrumental in setting the company’s strategic direction and growth while overseeing its governance and performance through his expertise in international governance and operational matters. Carlos also chairs the Performance Committee and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee.

Sonnedix was founded in 2009 as a small player in the nascent solar industry. Under his leadership, the company entered a partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management in 2014. Sonnedix has over $8 billion dollars in assets, a total capacity of over 8GW across ten countries with over 500 operating power plants.

Carlos has been fundamental in establishing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles for Sonnedix and has guided the company’s entry into new energy markets. His deep knowledge of the renewable energy industry, international business acumen, and keen capacity to anticipate market trends, has also helped Sonnedix deliver high-performance, cost-competitive, renewable energy technologies to many countries around the world.

In 2022, Carlos was appointed Chairman of Ventient Energy. With 2.8 gigawatts of wind generation across six countries, Ventient is one the leading independent generators of renewable energy in Europe and a sector leader in ESG. Ventient is owned by institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Over the course of his career, Carlos has gained wide-ranging expertise across industries including the solar sector and has had significant experience managing a portfolio of private equity investments in South America and Europe.

Axel Thiemann
Chief Executive Officer
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Axel Thiemann
Chief Executive Officer

Axel Thiemann became CEO of Sonnedix in September 2018 after serving as a member of the senior leadership team and Board of Directors. Since joining Sonnedix in 2011, Axel has played a fundamental role in its evolution, initially based in London, as COO with responsibility for Asset Management, Finance, HR and E&C, and more recently based in Miami, overseeing M&A, integration and strategy during a four year period when the company experienced five-fold growth.

Prior to joining Sonnedix, Axel spent seven years in banking and held various senior roles with Barclays Bank in London. Before this he was a consultant with McKinsey and Company in Cologne, Germany. Axel graduated as an Electrical Engineer from Hannover University in Germany and holds an MBA from IESE Business School, Spain.

To Axel, the most special thing about Sonnedix is its team of bright and passionate people across four continents that have come together to create a sustainable future for the world.

Susan Gonzalez
Director
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Susan Gonzalez
Director

Susan Gonzalez is an independent board director and senior consultant with more than thirty years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors.  Known for her strategic planning, asset management and development expertise Susan currently serves on the boards of South Jersey Industries, Generate Capital PBC (Chair, Finance and Audit Committee) and Sonnedix Power Holdings (Chair, Audit and Risk Committee).    Susan also acts as an advisor to the Infrastructure Investments Group, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

From 1998 to 2018, Susan was General Counsel and Managing Board member of InterGen N.V., a global independent power producer and ancillary services company with extensive international operations. Susan was recognized as an expert in the areas of risk management, governance and compliance on the senior executive team that took InterGen from a greenfield development company to a ‘best in class’ operating and development company, taking over 20 projects to completion and achieving $24+ billion in corporate and project financing.  Prior to this, Susan served as counsel to Stratus Computer, Major Australia Timber, and United Technologies Corp (Sikorsky Aircraft). From 2006 to 2018, Ms. Gonzalez was an Advisory Board Member to FM Global, a global commercial and property insurance company.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School and a Certificate in Comparative Law from the Universite Jean Moulin.

Petros Kitsos
Director
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Petros Kitsos
Director

Strategy Consultant and Private Investor; Co-Founder and Principal, The KT Family Trust (a private revocable trust) and Managing Principal, TBL Strategy (a strategic advisory firm).

Petros Kitsos is widely acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent strategic advisors in the Aerospace, Defense and Diversified Industrial sectors where his advisory and transactional involvement and expertise have contributed to the significant and successful growth of a variety of companies in the past twenty-two years.

Mr. Kitsos is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hamilton College, and holds an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. He also attended St. Antony’s College, Oxford.

The KT Family Trust is a private investment entity that focuses on significant minority investments in businesses geared towards industrial manufacturing and energy independence. TBL Strategy provides strategic advisory and consulting services to C-level executives across a broad array of industries.

Mr. Kitsos enjoyed a distinguished fifteen-year career in investment banking with Citigroup, Salomon Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers where, among other responsibilities, he served as Head of the Global Defense & Aerospace Group, Head of Western Region Mergers & Acquisitions and Co-Head of the Los Angeles office.

Mr. Kitsos served as Alumni Trustee of Hamilton College from 2004 to 2008 and as Alumnus Trustee of Anatolia High School from 1999 to 2003. He also served (from 2006 until 2011) as Director and chair of the Compensation Committee of a public company in which the Trust was (at that time) a significant investor.

Marko Josipovic
Director
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Marko Josipovic
Director

Mr. Josipovic is an Executive Director in the Infrastructure Investments Group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, based in New York.

He currently has investment and asset management responsibilities for Sonnedix Power Holdings and North Queensland Airports. He has previously also worked across some of the fund’s investments in thermal power generation and water and wastewater.

Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2016, Mr. Josipovic spent three years in the infrastructure investment team at IFM Investors in Melbourne, Australia. In that role, he was responsible for transaction execution and asset management across a range of sectors, primarily focusing on transportation and utilities. He began his career at National Australia Bank, first as a graduate in the wholesale banking analyst program and then in the bank’s infrastructure project finance team in Sydney.

Mr. Josipovic graduated from The University of Adelaide with a double degree of Bachelor of Laws (Honors) and Bachelor of Finance.

Karen J. Plessinger
Director
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Karen J. Plessinger
Director

Karen J. Plessinger is an independent board director with more than thirty years of energy and utility finance, investment and private equity experience. A knowledgeable non-executive director, Karen currently serves as chair for the SouthWest Water Company and member of the audit & risk committee, and was previously a member of the compensation committee and chair of the strategic growth committee.

As one of the founding members of ArcLight Capital Partners in 2001, Karen helped establish the firm’s strategy in private equity investment in power and energy assets, from start­up to $5.0 billion in committed funds. She worked extensively with portfolio company management teams and boards in the midstream and regulated areas before becoming a consultant for the firm from 2009-2010. Prior to joining ArcLight, Karen was the Managing Director of Shoreline Utility Advisors for two years and Utilities Research Director at Angelo Gordon, where she was co-portfolio manager/analyst of hedged utility funds and advised the risk-arbitrage desk and distressed desk on utility positions. Before this, Karen spent two years as the utility analyst at Merrill Lynch Asset Management’s (now BlackRock) Global Utility Fund, and two years as the utility analyst at Franklin Resources (now Franklin Templeton).

Karen has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she is the past president and member of the College of Business Finance Advisory Board.

Anders Dahl
Director
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Anders Dahl
Director

Anders Dahl is a Non-Executive Director in the Boards of Värmevärden, Klimatet Invest, and Charge Amps, with over thirty years of knowledge in energy, industrial, and financial companies.

Anders started his international career in 2000, as Production Director of Vattenfall’s heat and power plants in Poland. Later, in 2005, he was appointed to build up the company’s wind power development from scratch, currently ranking as top 2 global offshore wind. During his time at Vattenfall, Anders also occupied the role of Head of Division of Renewables and Distribution & Sales, including a role as member of the company’s Executive Group Management.

Additionally, Anders has been member of the Board of Directors of different companies in connection to Vattenfall’s operations in Sweden such as the nuclear plants of Forsmark AB and Ringhals AB, Vattenfall Service Nordic AB (chairman) and KSU AB (chairman). From 2013 to 2015, he was member of the Board of the Swedish Energy association, Svensk Energi, and since 2012, he is a member of IVA (The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences).

Mr Dahl graduated from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering – Energy.

Investor Information

Sonnedix Power Holdings Limited (collectively with its subsidiaries, “Sonnedix”) is majority owned by institutional investors, attesting to our company’s stability, value and long-term potential. We aim to grow sustainably and create value by leveraging our prudent capital structure and sponsorship and investing in high-quality assets with predictable cash flows. We are also continuously building and executing upon a pipeline of new projects and M&A opportunities.

Our Group’s parent company is Sonnedix Power Holdings. The Group prepares consolidated accounts under IFRS for this Group. Separately, the Group also prepares consolidated accounts for Sonnedix Italia SpA (Italy), VE Sonnedix Equityco, S.L (Spain), Sonnedix España Equityco, S.L.(Spain) and Sonnedix España Finance 2, S.L.(Spain) — these are available here on our website.

The Group has 4 publicly-listed bonds, which were used to finance assets in the abovementioned groups.