Andre de Ruyter’s new job
Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has taken up a new role consulting for renewable energy companies, while maintaining itinerant positions as a teacher and researcher.
The outspoken executive revealed what he has been doing to keep busy in a brief Q&A session after a speech at the second annual BizNews Investment Conference.
De Ruyter has consistently captured headlines during his tenure at Eskom, which continued after his explosive resignation from the group in December 2022 and final exit in 2023.
The former Eskom CEO disappeared without a trace after leaving the power utility amid controversy.
At the time of his departure, he made eye-opening allegations about rampant corruption at the company that extended to the highest levels of government.
He resurfaced to face questions in parliament in April 2023, and eventually doubled down on his claims and allegations in a tell-all book, published the same year.
However, he would only physically turn up again in September 2023, joining 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.
They teach courses, consult with students about career ambitions, enliven the conversation on campus, and conduct research emanating from their experiences.
Following his stint at Yale, De Ruyter said he took his family on a road trip around the United States, spending time in the ‘flyover’ states before journeying through California and back to the East Coast.
“I did a cross-country trip from Connecticut through the Southern States to California and up through California to come back through the Northern States,” he said.
Following his time in America, De Ruyter went to Oxford to spend more time teaching and engaging with faculty.
“So, I guess my best job description at the moment is being an itinerant scholar, while also doing some consulting for renewable energy companies,” De Ruyter said.
Renewable energy consultant
De Ruyter shifted course again in 2025, where he was appointed as a board member at Verra, the world’s leading standards setter for climate action and sustainable development.
Verra, a non-profit organisation, plays a pivotal role in the environmental and social markets by managing high-integrity standards programs for climate action.
This includes the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, which stands as one of the world’s leading greenhouse gas crediting programs.
Despite the criticisms of De Ruyter’s time Eskom, he was a huge proponent of renewables and green energy at the utility, and was a core driver behind a transition to cleaner energy.
During his tenure as Eskom’s CEO, De Ruyter began the development of a comprehensive corporate strategy aimed at accelerating the decarbonisation of the utility.
Eskom is recognised as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the African continent, and one of the biggest polluters in the world.
His strategy involved a Just Energy Transition (JET) plan, which included creating a dedicated JET office to facilitate the repurposing and repowering of decommissioned power stations.
While the JET and transition to cleaner energy is still part of South Africa’s general energy plans, since De Ruyter left Eskom, the focus has been more on stabilising the grid by whatever means possible.
This includes burning through billions of rands of diesel, extending the use of coal-powered plants, and getting permission to skip emissions standards.
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