António Lobo Xavier is the new chairman of EDP

António Lobo Xavier is leaving Morais Leitão, the law firm of which he has been a partner since 2006, to take up the position of chairman of EDP's General and Supervisory Board (GSB). He is chosen by EDP's main shareholders to succeed João Talone as chairman of the General Supervisory Board, the supervisory body of the executive committee.

EDP's general and supervisory board is currently made up of 16 members, nine of whom are independent, including the chairman, and the seven remaining represent two shareholders: China Three Gorges, that owns 20.86% of EDP and has four representatives on the general board and The Spanish Masavéu Foundation, which owns 6.8%, and is represented by two members. The current independent directors include Esmeralda Dourado, João Carvalho das Neves and Sofia Salgado.

By leaving Morais Leitão, the lawyer and Councillor of State eliminates any conflict of interest, under the law and EDP's own statutes, between the legal services provided by the law firm and his new duties at the electricity company.

António Lobo Xavier has held non-executive positions in the management of Sonae group companies, but also at BPI where he is non-executive vice-chairman, at Casa da Música and at the Fundação Serralves. He is responsible for various reorganization and restructuring operations, mergers and acquisitions involving issues related to double taxation, VAT and IRC. He is also an advisor to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

As a lawyer, in recent years he has been involved in succession planning for shareholders of various companies, as well as collaborating in the organization and management of the corresponding family offices. He is actively involved in various arbitrations, namely as an arbitrator for the Centro de Arbitragem Administrativa (CAAD). In 1989, he founded Osório de Castro, Verde Pinho, Vieira Peres, Lobo Xavier e Associados - Sociedade de Advogados, and was a partner until it merged with Morais Leitão in 2006.