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Press Release

Nitin Pandit Completes 13 Year Term as President of the IIEC

Board Appoints Felix Gooneratne as Chief Executive Officer

Bangkok, Thailand, February 17, 2014 – Dr. Nitin Pandit has left the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) after serving for 13 years as President.Nitin has joined the World Resources Institute (WRI) to continue his career in sustainable development.

Joining the IIEC in May 2000, Dr. Pandit developed many programs and policy implementation initiatives during his tenure to demonstrate how energy efficiency could be delivered in the most cost effective manner in developing and emerging countries.He and his Institute colleagues facilitated the development and testing of a variety of innovative mechanisms, particularly in key Asian counties such as Thailand and India, including energy efficiency building codes and eco-housing, as well as appliance standards and labeling.Other areas that Dr. Pandit and the IIEC focused on included end use water pumping interventions for energy efficiency improvement in housing, hybrid solar thermal systems, climate performance assessment of credit lines for small and medium enterprises, and methodologies to better understand the rural water-energy-biomass nexus.

Through Dr. Pandit’s leadership the IIEC has emphasized the use of innovative financing in order to accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency. The Institute’s path breaking work was recognized with an award from the World Bank’s Development Marketplace, and also jointly by the World Bank, L’Agence Française de Développément, and the Gates Foundation.

With Nitin’s departure, the IIEC Board of Directors appointed Felix Gooneratne to become the Institute’s Chief Executive Officer. Felix has assumed the overall management responsibility for the IIEC’s operations worldwide, having served the Institute since 2001 as the Asia Director based in Bangkok with responsibility for the management of IIEC offices in India, Philippines and Thailand.

In his departing statement, Dr. Pandit wished the IIEC Board, staff, and partners well, and urged the Institute to continue its important work in bringing about critical energy efficiency solutions to meet the considerable dangers of climate change.

The IIEC Board and its colleagues thank Nitin for his work with the Institute and hope that he will enjoy success in his new position with the World Resources Institute.