Murat Çinar appointed as new CEO of DRI

New Chief Executive Officer of DRI Murat Çinar is taking office on September 3, replacing Ivan Geliukh.

A change at the helm of DRI is consolidating its position in the European renewables market, particularly in its core markets of Croatia, Italy, Poland, and Romania, according to the company’s new announcement. It said it has appointed of Murat Çinar as its new CEO, effective from September 3. DRI is the renewables arm of Ukraine-based DTEK in the European Union.

Çinar succeeds Ivan Geliukh, under whose leadership the company’s business strategy and organisational structure were updated, the management team was strengthened, and the business model was refined with a strong focus on sustainable growth, profitability, and operational efficiency, the company added.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Murat Çinar as the new Chief Executive Officer of DRI and extend my best wishes as he takes on this important role. Murat will play a key role in strengthening DRI and reinforcing its position as an active contributor to Europe’s energy transition. I would also like to express my gratitude to Ivan for his contribution in refining DRI’s strategy and creating a resilient business. I look forward to working with Ivan as he takes on new responsibilities within the wider DTEK Group,” said DRI’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board Maxim Timchenko.

Çinar to oversee next stage of development for DRI

With over 25 years of leadership experience in the telecom and technology sectors, Murat Çinar has held senior roles across more than 10 international markets, including Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and Qatar.

“Drawing on my experience in growth strategies, M&A, and change management, I look forward to leading DRI through the next stage of its development – executing our strategy to be an active player in Europe’s renewable energy market. I believe DRI has a key role to play in supporting European countries to achieve important decarbonisation targets and I’m excited to work with the DRI team to make these goals a reality, Çinar stated.

The new CEO served in Ericsson, Lifecell, Vega Telecom and Korek Telecom

He began his career in Ericsson (1999-2010), leading large-scale network deployments and operations in multiple countries. Çinar later served as chief technology officer of Lifecell (2011-2015) in Ukraine, where he was responsible for overseeing major infrastructure investments and network expansion strategies.

In 2015, he was appointed CEO of Vega Telecom Group, part of DTEK’s parent SCM Group. Çinar has led organisational transformation, improved profitability, and completed the company’s sale to Vodafone Ukraine, his biography shows. In 2021, he joined Korek Telecom as the chief transformation officer and in 2022 assumed the role of CEO, driving strategic growth and operational excellence for 12 million customers.

Four core markets

DRI is dedicated to accelerating the energy transition in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. The company’s mission is to work in underserved markets in Europe to achieve their net zero goals through the creation of a portfolio of renewable energy and battery storage across Croatia, Italy, Poland and Romania.

It has established a portfolio of onshore wind, solar and battery projects, and has three operational projects in Romania: two solar parks and one wind farm, which was the first in the country in one decade. DRI is an Amsterdam-headquartered renewables developer and operator with local offices in Zagreb, Rome, Warsaw and Bucharest.

Founded in 2021, DRI is a subsidiary of the DTEK Group. The parent company is the largest private investor in Ukraine’s energy sector, with 55,000 employees and over EUR 12 billion of capital invested since 2005.

Its businesses generate electricity at wind, solar and thermal power plants; distribute and supply power to end consumers; extract natural gas and coal; trade energy resources on Ukrainian and foreign markets; and provide domestic and commercial energy services. DTEK Group is 100% owned by SCM Holdings. The ultimate beneficiary and sole shareholder is Rinat Akhmetov, a businessman and philanthropist.