Sun Exchange today announced that energy industry veteran, Martin Webb, has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Founder and former CEO, Abraham Cambridge, will continue to serve on the Board of Directors and serve as senior strategic advisor to the CEO and leadership team.
Webb brings nearly three decades of energy industry experience, most recently having co-founded and served as CEO of Électricité de France (EDF) Renewables, an early-mover renewable energy company in South Africa.
Under his leadership, EDF achieved fast growth, ultimately becoming established as a leading independent renewable asset owner-operator in South Africa, building a project portfolio of renewable power assets of approximately 1 gigawatt through acquisitions, partnerships and organic growth.
Prior to EDF, Webb served as regional director for Europe at AES Wind Generation, and subsequently, the AES Corporation, a Fortune 500 global energy project developer, owner and operator. At AES, Webb led asset development in Southern Africa and established AES’s 3,000 megawatt greenfield project pipeline in the southern Africa region, prior to which he worked across energy markets in greenfield asset development and acquisitions throughout Latin America and in Australia.
Since 2015, Sun Exchange has enabled solar power for 70 businesses, farms, schools and other organisations in Southern Africa. Its solar projects have generated more than 14 gigawatt-hours of clean energy, avoiding more than 15,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Individuals and businesses from 180 countries across the world use the Sun Exchange platform to buy and own solar cells, produce clean electricity and earn with purpose.
Increasingly, Sun Exchange is partnering with companies that recognise the energy transformation opportunity goes beyond installing solar power on their own roofs. These sustainability-minded businesses are using the Sun Exchange platform to buy into solar projects powering other organisations, making a positive impact while generating an alternative income stream.
“Building and leading Sun Exchange and its talented and dedicated team over the last seven years has been one of the most rewarding experiences and greatest privileges of my life,” said Abraham Cambridge, Founder, Sun Exchange. “Martin’s depth of commercial expertise in the renewable energy industry globally and his profound belief in our vision of enabling access to clean energy for all people and organisations, make him the ideal CEO to lead the company in its next phase of growth. I’m excited for what the future holds for Sun Exchange as it deepens its impact in much-needed energy transformation across South Africa and beyond.”
“I’ve long admired how Sun Exchange has disrupted South Africa’s solar power landscape and I’m honoured to join the company as CEO,” said Martin Webb, Chief Executive Officer, Sun Exchange. “With deepening urgency for innovation to address the energy and climate crises, there is no better time to scale Sun Exchange and build on the solid foundation Abe created. I look forward to leading this talented team to capitalise on the vast opportunities that lie ahead as we connect the world to the sun.”
“With his three decades of energy industry experience working across six continents and a track record of leading and scaling renewable energy companies, the Sun Exchange board of directors is delighted to welcome Martin as CEO,” said William Barry, Managing Director, ARCH Emerging Markets and Chairman of the Board, Sun Exchange. “Martin brings an ideal combination of knowledge, experience and skills to lead the company into its next chapter of strategic growth.”
