Maria Elena Ruiz Paños Named Head of Legal for Highview Power

Highview Power, a global leader in long-duration energy storage solutions, is pleased to announce that Maria Elena Ruiz Paños will join the company as Head of Legal, effective July 1, 2021. In this role, Ruiz Paños will leverage more than two decades of international legal affairs, labor experience, and business negotiations expertise, much of it related to renewable energy, to manage Highview’s corporate legal team and guide executives through wide-ranging legal issues.

Before joining Highview Power, Ruiz Paños served as General Counsel of Legal Affairs for Abengoa’s worldwide business development and operations, driving and structuring negotiations and bidding processes. During her time with Abengoa, she also served as Head of Latam Legal Affairs and Head of Legal Affairs – Construction Division. Her work included supervising and managing Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreements, and joint ventures. She also set up corporate structures throughout Africa, East Asia, Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. She also served as “in-house” counsel for the first and largest thermosolar plants in Chile, Southern Africa, and the UAE.

“Highview Power is expanding globally, and Maria Elena’s extensive experience with business negotiations, hands-on contract work for renewable projects, and knowledge of international legal affairs will be extremely valuable as we continue forging new partnerships and launching new CRYOBattery™ long duration energy storage projects,” said Javier Cavada, CEO of Highview Power. “Maria Elena brings an excellent and well-established reputation to Highview. We are fortunate to have someone of her legal calibre fill such an essential role on our team.”

Ruiz Paños started her legal career with Arcelor, working first with Arcelor Group in Madrid and then with Arcelor Mittal in Luxemburg. She earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Antonio de Nebrija and her master’s degree in international trade from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, both in Madrid, Spain. Additional degrees and certifications include the Management and Entrepreneurship course from LSC and the University of Peking in Beijing, China; an International Arbitration certification from IE Law School in Madrid, Spain; and completion of the Executive Development Program for Directors from ESADE – Loyola in Seville, Spain and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.