Khaled El-Marsafy elected to BPL Global Board

Smart Grid Technology Company BPL Global Appoints New Board Member 

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – February 6, 2008 – BPL Global™, Ltd., a smart grid technology company dedicated to leading the transformation of energy and information delivery, has appointed Khaled El‑Marsafy as a board member of the company.

Mr. El‑Marsafy currently serves as the General Manager of Al‑Deera Holding Company, (KSE: ALDEERA) which is publicly listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. In his role at Al‑Deera, Mr. El‑Marsafy is responsible for implementing the firm’s short-term, as well as long-term growth plans by strategically investing into private and public companies worldwide.

“I am honored to be appointed to the BPL Global board," said Mr. El‑Marsafy. “BPL Global is one of the few companies operating on a global scale to address the critical market needs for improved efficiency and reliability in the utility sector. The company has demonstrated strong growth with leading‑edge smart grid software, a well‑designed business model and most importantly a world‑class management team. I will continue to leverage my network on behalf of BPLG to further accelerate growth on an international basis.”

Mr. El‑Marsafy has more than 16 years of experience in the global financial markets and investment banking sector. He has obtained valuable experience in private equity and asset management by working at a number of investment firms, including Fletcher Asset Management, a New York‑based PIPE Hedge Fund where he spent more than four years structuring the company’s private equity investments in public companies across various sectors. Prior to that, he spent more than four years with Union Bank of Switzerland where he was a product manager and risk controller in the bank’s equity trading group.

“We are excited to have Khaled as a board member. Khaled’s sophisticated investment experience and extensive international network will benefit our customers, our company and our shareholders,” said Keith Schaefer, CEO of BPL Global.

Mr. El-Marsafy serves on a number of boards, including: Univest Group, Kuwait National Lube Oil Company, Yotel Ltd., Diwan Capital, Univest Brokerage Company, Bag Borrow or Steal and Kuwait Holding Company.

Mr. El‑Marsafy earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and International Finance from the University of Hartford. He is also a member of the Arab Bankers Association of North America and the Young Arab Leaders – Dubai Chapter.

About BPL Global
BPL Global, Ltd. (BPLG) is a smart grid technology company dedicated to leading the transformation of how energy and information are delivered. The company provides software solutions to electric utilities enabling an intelligent grid to more efficiently manage demand, integrate distributed energy resources, improve service reliability, and optimize cost and capital productivity. BPL Global partners with local utilities, ISPs, equipment suppliers and financiers to create end-to-end solutions integrating the best in software, communications, hardware and managed services to aggressively deploy our solutions around the world. Part of the clean technology sector of the electric utility industry, our applications provide the critical foundation for a coordinated, intelligent grid to deliver energy more efficiently for a greener environment.

About AL-Deera Holding Company
Established in 1998, Al-Deera Holding is a Kuwaiti shareholding company (Ticker: ALDEERA), listed on the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange since 2005, Al-Deera Holding Company is considered as one of the leading companies in its line of business. The Company focuses on investment in private and public companies which witness strong growth.

Since its inception, ALDEERA has adopted a balanced expansion strategy that allowed for mitigating risk, while maximizing investment return. By maintaining a diversified portfolio – both in terms of the geographical and industrial distribution of investments – the company has been able to maintain steady growth in its net profits; as a result of such a strategy.

ALDEERA’s investments have also focused on building alliances and strategic partnerships that allow for developing the company’s competitive edge especially in as far as competing for top-tier business opportunities is concerned. www.aldeeraholding.com.