THE Board of Directors of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has appointed Michel Gantois as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, effective May 31st.

His appointment follows the departure of Emanuel DaRosa, who will move to East-West-Power Barbados (EWPB), a majority shareholder of JPS, to take up the post of vice-president.

Gantois expressed elation on being appointed to lead the country’s main power utility company.

“I look forward to joining the JPS team and to leading the company towards its next phase of growth, building on the excellent work performed so far by so many,” he said.

He described JPS as a company with strong roots in the community, having a proud history in supplying essential services to the people and the industries of Jamaica.

The incoming president and CEO comes to the office with extensive international experience in energy and finance. Through his numerous years of working in the industry he will help JPS expand its assets and revenue, implement commercial and regulatory strategies, build partnerships and optimise existing operations.

Previous to this assignment, he led the development of a hydrogen business unit for a listed mining company in Australia. He also worked for a decade at ENGIE, an international energy company, where he held several posts as CEO for Australia, Peru and Pakistan; chief financial officer (CFO) in Asia; and director of finance for North America. Prior to joining ENGIE he was vice-president for Kelson Energy, a US private power company.

— Kellaray Miles