Eversheds stengthens Energy practice
Eversheds Sutherland has hired Rafael Cruz Torres to strengthen its Energy practice
Eversheds Sutherland has hired Rafael Cruz Torres as counsel, for the Energy department of the firm’s Spanish office.
Rafael Cruz, who until now held the position of global general counsel of the thermal division of the ContourGlobal group, has more than 20 years of experience in energy, in all types of negotiations and corporate operations. These include commercial and contractual advice regarding a wide range of issues, including solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, hydraulic and oil & gas plants (combined cycle, fossil fuels).
Throughout his careerr, Cruz has negotiated and advised on the creation of joint ventures, venture capital companies, management companies, and all kinds of operations both for the development of portfolios and for the acquisition, financing, sale and management of the same, including power purchase agreements (PPAs) between individuals and with governments, turnkey engineering (EPCs), operation and maintenance, etc.
A gaduate in Law from the University of Jaén and a member of the Madrid Bar Association since 1999, he began his career at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, after which he joined the international firm Linklaters as an associate until 2005. After that, he joined the firm Allen & Overy in Madrid as a senior associate, specialising in infrastructure and renewable energy in the firm’s Corporate department. In 2013, he joined the venture capital fund manager Plenium Partners as director of legal advice, a company specialising in the acquisition, management and operation of renewable energy assets in Spain, Italy and Portugal. In 2018 he was appointed general counsel of the thermal division of ContourGlobal, listed on the London Stock Exchange, where he has been responsible for the legal management of eighteen jurisdictions in Europe, Africa and Latin America, and has been a member of the group’s Senior Executive Committee.
Jacobo Martínez, Eversheds’ managing partner said: “Rafael is an excellent professional who has proven and extensive experience in the energy sector. The incorporation of him to our team will be a definitive boost in a practice that is going through a decisive moment, given the boom in the energy sector in Spain, the investor appetite and the complex regulations of the market. With the incorporation of Rafael, we consolidate our ability to offer highly qualified advice to the needs of our clients in one of the most strategic sectors of our firm at a global level.”
Rafael Cruz said: “I appreciate the trust placed in me by Eversheds Sutherland, and I hope to be able to offer clients differential advice, based on knowledge of the real needs of the sector, at a time when the energy sector is facing continuous challenges from the global world. such as supply chain problems or the continuous technological evolution and the search for alternative energy sources that require innovative legal advice.”
