Holding Slovenske elektrarne’s new Chief Executive Officer Uroš Podobnik is starting his mandate in a couple of weeks. He has been the Slovenian power utility’s COO for the past six years.
State-owned hydropower and solar power producer Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE) appointed its new management to take office on November 8. The supervisory board decided to promote Chief Operating Officer Uroš Podobnik to CEO. He is replacing Tomaž Štokelj, who remains with the Slovenian company and is taking over hydropower plant operator Soške elektrarne Nova Gorica (SENG), a subsidiary, on January 1.
The next COO is Ervin Renko, the current head of another firm from the group: HSE – Energetska družba Trbovlje or HSE-EDT. It manages the former Trbovlje coal power plant. It is now a storage site for petroleum products, while also featuring two idle gas-powered generators.
HSE stepping up investments in new technologies including electric mobility, AI
Of note, Holding Slovenske elektrarne recently spun off the beleaguered subsidiaries running the country’s last coal plant Termoelektrarna Šoštanj (TEŠ) and its accompanying mine Premogovnik Velenje. They all remained under the control of the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH or SDH).
In the latest announcement, HSE highlighted its investments in new energy facilities including energy storage, a segment of energy solutions and products for end customers, electric mobility, sustainability, digitalization and the integration of artificial intelligence into its business processes.
Numerous challenges in driving Slovenia’s energy transition
The group is consolidating its role as the driver of Slovenia’s energy transition and the largest renewable electricity producer, the update reads.
“I am taking over the leadership of the parent company HSE during a period of intense transformation and the largest development cycle in the history of the group. We face numerous challenges related to the development of new production capacities, the introduction of new technologies and the acceleration of Slovenia’s energy transformation,” Podobnik stated. He joined HSE eleven years ago and became COO in 2020.
Since 2019, Podobnik has also been a member of the Supervisory Board of Metropolitana, a company operating in real estate and forestry services.
After graduating with honors in law from the University of Ljubljana, he worked as an attorney, followed by management positions in Triglav skladi, now called Triglav Investments.
HSE’s goal is to remain a reliable partner to the environment, local communities, the economy and the state, even in a period of intense change, and to continue building on the group’s commitment and connectedness, according to next COO Ervin Renko.