Mr. Cheikh Bedda, Director of Infrastructure and Energy Department, joined the African Union Commission in October 2016 bringing to the position over 23 years’ experience in the infrastructure sector.
An engineer, Mr. Cheikh Bedda has headed major portfolios, worked on a wide range of high value, innovative and complex infrastructure projects and has been involved in some of the most high profile infrastructure deals in West Africa, especially in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.
Prior to joining the African Union Commission, Mr. Bedda served as General Director of the Mauritanian Dairy Company and prior to that as General Director of the Energy Management Company for the Manantali and Vice-President of the West African Power Pool in Mali during which time he implemented bold policy reforms in the energy sector and pursued innovative programmes.
His earlier career saw him move progressively into key senior positions in the Public and Private sectors. He held the positions of Boat Maintenance Service (1994-1996) at SIPECHE PLC (private equity involved in processing, freezing and exporting seafood products) in Mauritania; Technical Director (1996-2002) at ITP, Mauritania; Northern Regional Manager and Lubricant Engineer (2003-2010) at Star OIL Mauritania (Private oil import and distribution company, technical partner of British Petroleum in Mauritania) in Mauritania; and General Director (20102013) at the Directorate for Refined Hydrocarbon Products at the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines of Mauritania.
A native of Mauritania, Mr. Cheikh Bedda holds a research master in Sustainable Development from Université du Maine, France and a Bsc (honours) in engineering from Ecole des Ingénieurs de la flotte Maritime, Ukraine.