Jean BallandrasCEO Asia-Pacific, Akuo
Jean Ballandras is graduated from Sciences-Po Paris and Ecole Nationale d’Administration. He previously worked for the Government in French Guiana at the development of the European Space Center. Later, he monitored several key projects in islands of French Polynesia, including water supply, airports and renewables. In 2005, after two years as technical advisor of Président de la République Jacques Chirac, Jean Ballandras was appointed deputy High Commissioner at Réunion Island.
There, he devised the GERRI project (Green Energy Revolution - Reunion Island), a master plan aimed at
integrating all innovations and technologies in the field of renewables to reach self-sufficiency. In less than four years some groundbreaking projects have been kick-started: Wind farms, Solar farms, Sea Water Air Conditioning, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, micro algae cultivation for biofuel and an early framework for electric vehicle charging.
In 2011, Jean Ballandras joined Akuo as General Secretary, to implement the strategy of the company in two fields: marine renewable energies and carbon neutral solutions for insular territories.
In May 2015, Jean was appointed “Senior Advisor to the Minister, in charge of Renewable Energies” by French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, 6 months prior to the signature of Paris COP 21 Agreements on Climate Change.
In August 2017, he left Akuo’s Paris headquarter to become CEO Asia-Pacific for the Group. Based in Sydney, Jean monitors the development of Akuo’s projects in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and the Pacific to generate green power using the full spectrum of existing renewable energy sources: wind, sun, battery storage systems.
About Akuo
Akuo is an independent global renewable energy producer and developer. The Group is present across the entire value chain: development, financing, construction, and operation. As of the end of 2023, Akuo had a total capacity of 1,8 GW in operation or under construction and a total project portfolio of over 20 GW. With more than 450 employees, the Group, which is headquartered in Paris, France, develops projects in more than twenty countries around the world.
