EDP Launches the Search for a New Chief Executive as Miguel Stilwell de Andrade Chooses to Leave in 2027

Miguel Stilwell de Andrade, chief executive of EDP (Energias de Portugal), will leave the energy group when his current term ends at the annual shareholders' meeting in 2027. EDP told the market on Wednesday 4 November that he has informed its supervisory board he will not stand for re-election, and that a search for his successor has begun. For households, nothing changes now: he stays in post until the 2027 meeting, and electricity prices for regulated customers are set by the regulator, not by EDP's boardroom.

What EDP announced

In its market notification (full text, PDF), EDP said Stilwell de Andrade, who chairs its Executive Board of Directors, will keep performing all his duties until his term concludes, with the backing of the General and Supervisory Board (the board that oversees the executive team).

That supervisory board will run the transition. Its Corporate Governance and Sustainability Committee will lead a formal search, supported by an independent international executive search firm and open to internal and external candidates, so that the 2027 shareholders' meeting can elect the company's governing bodies for the next term.

EDP also said a second executive board member, Vera Pinto Pereira, will not seek another term and will stay until the current mandate ends.

Why he is going

Stilwell de Andrade has been at EDP for 25 years, 15 of them on the executive board and the last six as chief executive, according to the company. "This was not an easy decision, but it is the right decision," he said in the statement, adding that EDP, in its 50th anniversary year, is "in a strong position" and that it is "time to close this chapter". He told ECO, which reported the news first on Wednesday, that it is "the right time to leave EDP".

António Lobo Xavier, chairman of the supervisory board, thanked him for "remarkable growth" over two terms and said the board would handle the succession with "rigour, independence and transparency".

Results due this week

The departure comes on the eve of EDP's nine-month results. EDP's financial calendar lists the results presentation for Friday 6 November at 8:30 Lisbon time. Jornal de Negócios notes that EDP closed the first half with a profit of 732 million euros, 3 percent more than a year earlier, and in July raised its 2026 target for recurring net profit to 1.4 billion euros. Its renewables arm, EDP Renováveis, reported on Wednesday that profit up to September had roughly quadrupled, ECO reported.

What it means for you

• No change to your contract or bill from this announcement. EDP says the outgoing chief executive will keep executing its business plan and its commitments to customers until the 2027 meeting.
• Regulated prices are the regulator's call. EDP's group runs E-Redes, the main electricity distribution grid, and SU Eletricidade, the supplier of last resort for regulated-tariff customers. Their regulated earnings and the 2027 regulated tariffs are set by ERSE, the energy regulator, which approves final tariffs by 15 December 2026, EDP noted in October. Our report on ERSE's 2027 proposal explains what it means for household bills.
• Other EDP matters carry on. The leadership change does not settle open disputes such as the councils' claim over taxes on the 2020 sale of six Douro dams, which we covered on Monday.

EDP says it will keep the market informed as the search progresses.