Kensington International Lands President of Global Power for Black & Veatch
January 29, 2019 – Oak Brook, IL-based-executive search firm Kensington International has placed former Siemens Process Industries CEO Mario Azar as the new president of global power for Black & Veatch. The assignment was led by the search firm’s founder and managing partner, Brian Clarke.
The search involved an extensive and thorough internal and external assessment and selection process that attracted a diverse and talented pool of candidates from within Black & Veatch and around the globe, said the search firm.
“Mario brings tremendous experience in the energy industry, specifically in adapting to changing global markets through business optimization, strategy development and managing organizational and culture change,” said Steve Edwards, chairman and CEO of Black & Veatch. “Having served client, supplier, partner and even competitor roles in the EPC space, his skills will be critical to successfully piloting our clients through this exciting period of market transformation.”
Mr. Azar is currently managing principal for ALP Citadel Management Services, a global consulting services firm he started in 2016 to advise European and private equity clients on energy targets, company conversions and stock restructuring. His 28-year career in energy (power generation and oil and gas) started in manufacturing and engineering and progressed to diverse leadership roles in products, services and solutions, culminating in his business unit CEO position within Siemens.
In his most recent role with Siemens, Mr. Azar had responsibility for five global P&L segments operating in 21 countries with more than 3,500 employees serving the oil and gas and marine markets. In a previous role leading Siemens’s Power Generation Solutions for the Americas, Mr. Azar restructured the business to weather the market downtown between 2008 and 2011 and retooled the organization such that overall profit margins improved by some 48 percent during his tenure.
Incoming Leader
In his new role, Mr. Azar will lead all aspects of the power business including business development, project execution, operations, workforce planning, and organizational capability and effectiveness. He will also serve on the company’s executive committee.
“Black & Veatch is recognized across the industry for its client-first approach to doing business, deep and broad experience in power, and a relentless commitment to safety, sustainability and innovation,” said Mr. Azar. “As needs for producing, delivering and storing electricity continue to shift across the globe, I look forward to working with B&V’s global team of thousands of professionals to build the new, innovative and more efficient energy infrastructure of the future.”
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Black & Veatch, a global engineering, consulting and construction company, specializes in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications and government and environmental markets. The company has a global workforce of more than 10,000 employees working in over 100 offices worldwide with projects in upwards of 100 countries and spanning six continents.
Veteran Recruiters
Since 1989, Kensington International’s executive search business has conducted thousands of search engagements for corporate and private equity clients and their portfolio companies. The team has a track record of recruiting board of directors, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CHROs as well as other top functional leaders in EPC/infrastructure, healthcare, retail, industrial/gas, oil and chemicals, private equity, financial services and consumer products.
Mr. Clarke is leader of Kensington’s infrastructure practice. He has conducted numerous senior leadership search assignments across the manufacturing, consumer, financial services, infrastructure and gas, oil and chemical sectors. Mr. Clarke has been recognized on BusinessWeek.com’s list of the World’s Most Influential Headhunters. Prior to founding Kensington, Mr. Clarke served as vice president of First National Bank of Chicago’s global industries division.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
