Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has been appointed as a board member at Verra, which sets the world’s leading standards for climate action and sustainable development.

De Ruyter left Eskom in February 2023 after an explosive interview in which he exposed widespread crime and corruption at the power utility.

He then left South Africa to ensure his safety as he implicated high-level politicians and criminal syndicates in looting at Eskom.

Later that year, he joined Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs as a senior fellow for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

Senior fellows are leading practitioners in international affairs who spend a year or semester at Yale teaching courses and mentoring students.

De Ruyter is one of eight newcomers who joined twelve returning fellows at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs.

Yale said De Ruyter is a seasoned executive with a career spanning 34 years in South Africa and internationally.

Last year, De Ruyter said his plans included coming back to South Africa and possibly writing another book.

“It is a great privilege to teach at Yale. I find it hugely stimulating and engaging with bright faculty members and students,” he said.

However, as much as he enjoys his time at Yale, South Africa remains his home, and he still loves the country and its people.

“South Africa is the place I want to return to when the situation warrants it. That is my longer-term plan,” he said.

His plan for a new book is to make the case for enabling substantial capital flows from the global north to the global south.

This money should enable developing economies in the global south, like South Africa, to grow in a low-carbon way.

He said the way the global financial system is structured makes it difficult to invest in projects in developing economies in the south.

“To invest in a new generation plant in sub-Saharan Africa comes at a cost-of-capital which is ten times higher than in the global north,” he said.

De Ruyter appointed as a board member at Verra

In November 2024, Verra, the world’s leading standards setter for climate action and sustainable development, announced four new board members.

The new Verra directors are Janice Kotut-Sang, Jennifer McFarlane, André de Ruyter, and Tsuney Yanagihara.

“Together, they bring extensive experience as executives, founders, and strategic advisors across various sectors, including climate finance and climate technology,” Verra said.

Verra said it is a cornerstone of the environmental and social markets by managing high-integrity standards programs for climate action.

It includes the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, one of the world’s leading greenhouse gas crediting programs.

Verra said De Ruyter joined its board of directors in August 2024 and brings more than 30 years of global business experience in the energy sector.

“He has spent the last decade of his career in various senior executive roles, including as group chief executive of Eskom,” it said.

As Eskom chief executive, he developed a corporate strategy for the accelerated decarbonisation of the largest emitter on the continent.

This was done through a Just Energy Transition (JET), which created the first JET office to repurpose and repower decommissioned power stations.

“Recently, he was a visiting senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, the School of Management, and the School of the Environment.”

In this role at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, De Ruyter lectured on the just energy transition and climate finance.

“He is interested in climate finance as it applies to developing countries in a global context and is researching options for climate financing and carbon market reform,” Verra said.