Laurent Vernerey, the new president of APC-MGE, gives the keynote address to several hundred attendees at the Economic Outlook Luncheon yesterday at the Business Expo at the Rhode Island Convention Center, in Providence.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / Steve Szydlowski Steve Szydlowski

PROVIDENCE — In his first public speech in Rhode Island since he was named president of American Power Conversion Corp., the South Kingstown company acquired by the French firm Schneider Electric SA in February, Laurent Vernerey pledged to raise the company’s profile by increasing philanthropy and capitalizing on growing demands in the United States for energy efficiency.

APC has been a source of pride for the state’s business community. It was founded in 1981 by three researchers from MIT, and grew into a global leader in backup power and cooling equipment for corporate data centers. It is now the state’s 33rd largest employer, with 1,144 people at its headquarters.

But the future of APC in Rhode Island became uncertain in January, when shareholders approved the $6.1-billion sale to Schneider, leading to the replacement of the company’s longtime president, Rodger B. Dowdell Jr.

Schneider quickly merged its California-based MGE UPS Systems unit with APC. Last month Schneider renamed the company APC-MGE.

Yesterday, Dowdell’s replacement said he had no plans to diminish APC’s presence in Rhode Island. If anything, the acquisition and merger will make APC more visible in the region, Vernerey said in a speech at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

“I’ve been told that the presence of APC in the community has not been up to the level that has been expected,” he said, speaking fluent English with a heavy French accent. “I want to pledge myself to renew the presence of APC in the community. We believe we need to give back.”

Vernerey, 47, said he had appointed a director of community relations, Joe Gleason, and singled out the United Way as an organization that Schneider has supported in other parts of the country.

“APC is an incredible success story for the State of Rhode Island,” Vernerey said, speaking to hundreds of business leaders at the Economic Outlook Luncheon, part of the Business Expo, an annual convention organized by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.

Three months after the acquisition, Vernerey still sleeps in hotel rooms when in Rhode Island. But in an interview yesterday, he said his wife, Barbara, is searching for a house for the family to purchase in the state.

His oldest son, Max, 17, will spend his final year of high school in Australia, where Vernerey moved to serve as managing director of Schneider’s Pacific Zone. But his two other children — Luc, 15, and Elle, 13 — plan to transfer to Rhode Island schools, he said.

He said Rhode Island is strategically located near many data centers on the East Coast, and it is an easy commute to Europe.

“I am working on my Rhode Island accent,” Vernerey said. “I’m going to try to practice.”

Vernerey previously served in management positions for Schneider in France, rising to senior vice president of manufacturing and logistics.

He was hired by Schneider in 1985, after working at IBM France. He holds a bachelor of science degree, with majors in finance and marketing, from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce, in Dijon, France, and an MBA from Duke University.

Barbara Vernerey was born in Michigan, and the two met in Baltimore in the 1980s.

APC has moved much of its manufacturing overseas, primarily to the Philippines, and Vernerey provided little comfort yesterday to anyone who hopes those jobs will return to Rhode Island.

In his speech, he called China the “place where business is done,” and he said APC’s former industrial plant in South Kingstown is now staffed mostly by engineers.

APC sells electrical-surge protectors, as well as so-called uninterruptible power supplies — devices that give computer users an opportunity to save their work before a computer shuts down in a blackout.

Before the luncheon, Vernerey met with Governor Carcieri, who later acknowledged that companies expect major acquisitions to reduce expenses. And Laurie White, president of the chamber of commerce, said APC’s presence in the state is “not something we can take for granted.”

But in an interview, Carcieri said he is confident that APC will remain a fixture in Rhode Island.

Later this month, APC-MGE plans to hold its annual global sales meeting at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

“When you acquire a corporation, you’ve got to find savings. But you don’t acquire it if you don’t want to grow it,” said Carcieri, a former corporate executive. “Laurent lives in Rhode Island. This is the home base of APC. He wants a stronger, visible presence.”

bgedan@projo.com