Press Releases
10/25/2023
Avangrid Establishes New Compliance Unit to Expand Leadership Involvement in its Compliance Program
Avangrid Establishes New Compliance Unit to Expand Leadership Involvement in its Compliance Program
ORANGE, Conn. — October 25, 2023 — Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a member of the Iberdrola Group, announced today that it will expand leadership involvement in its Governance and Sustainability System by establishing a Compliance Unit. This enhancement to its program, which was approved by the Avangrid Board of Directors, is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to maintaining corporate governance best practices.
“As a leading sustainable energy company, we will always continue to evolve our governance structure and actions to ensure we’re on the leading edge of best practices,” said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. “This new Compliance Unit is intended to take advantage of best practices identified in the Iberdrola Group while also meeting U.S. standards for effective compliance programs. I’m confident that this enhancement to our program will ensure that we continue to be a leader in ethics, compliance and corporate governance.”
Avangrid’s Compliance Unit will oversee the company’s Compliance Program and report to the Governance and Sustainability Committee of the Avangrid Board of Directors. It will include an independent chair, the Avangrid Chief Compliance Officer, heads of other areas related to risk management and regulatory compliance, and an independent non-voting secretary. The Compliance Unit will be responsible for compliance with the “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,” managing the company’s Helpline, ensuring effectiveness of the Compliance Program, and more. Operationally, the Compliance Program will continue to be overseen by Avangrid’s Chief Compliance Officer.
This enhancement to Avangrid’s Compliance Program will bring several potential benefits to the company, including:
- Additional industry expertise from the independent chair, who will be an established expert in U.S. corporate compliance best practices.
- Internal compliance and risk management expertise from other Avangrid business areas.
- Additional resources devoted to governance and oversight.
- Increased program visibility, leadership access and influence, and support for ethics culture.
In addition to the enhancement to its Compliance Program, Avangrid’s Board of Directors also approved German Gonzalez Avecilla as the company’s new Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer due to Alistair Raymond, who formerly held the position, accepting a new leadership role within the company.
Avangrid is a recognized leader in ethics, compliance and corporate governance with countless third-party recognitions and honors. Avangrid has been listed among the World’s Most Ethical Companies for five consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute, has been named on the JUST 100 Companies by CNBC and JUST Capital for three years running, and has been honored four times with the World Finance Best Corporate Governance Award.
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About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. is a leading energy company in the United States working to meet the growing demand for energy for homes and businesses across the nation through service, innovation, and continued investments by expanding grid infrastructure and energy generation projects. Avangrid has corporate offices in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Oregon, and operations across 25 states with approximately $50 billion in assets. Avangrid owns and operates seven electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. It also owns and operates nearly 100 energy generation facilities across the United States with a capacity of more than 11 Gigawatts, enough to power over 3 million homes. Avangrid employs approximately 8,500 people and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2026 for the eighth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the Iberdrola Group. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
