EU official, currently heading the team on energy-intensive industries, raw materials and hydrogen at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Previously, head of policy coordination for Energy Union, 2030 climate and energy package, low emission mobility strategy and the circular economy at the Secretariat General. Past EU trade negotiator (steel, WTO market access and industrial tariffs). Former UK government official, coordinated UK preparations for 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Graduated in French and Politics from the University of Bristol. Studied at France’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA).
Ms Ditte Juul Jørgensen became the Director-General for Energy at the European Commission on 1 August 2019. In this capacity, she leads the Directorate-General and its
efforts to ensure access to affordable, secure, reliable and clean energy for all Europeans; to promote efficient production and use of energy; and to drive the process of becoming the first climate-neutral continent while contributing to Europe’s sustainable growth and job creation. Before assuming this role, Ms Juul Jørgensen served as the Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. During this time, Ms Juul Jørgensen steered work to ensure that all companies compete equally and fairly on their own merits to benefit consumers, businesses and the European economy as a whole. A committed civil servant in the European Commission since 1992, Ms Juul Jørgensen also held Head of Unit and Director positions in the Directorate-General for Trade. It was here that she managed European Union policy and negotiations in the World Trade Organization, provided legal advice and led dispute settlement work.
Ms Juul Jørgensen has almost twenty years of experience in multilateral trade policy and World Trade Organization matters. As Head of Unit, she has also worked on sustainable development, sanitary and phytosanitary issues and European Union trade relations with partner countries.
Ms Juul Jørgensen’s career also includes service as the Head of the Economic Section of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations in New York, where she represented the European Union on trade, sustainable development, international partnerships, finance and legal issues. Other formative experiences include work in the Directorate-General for Competition and at the European Court of Justice. Ms Juul Jørgensen is a law graduate from the University of Copenhagen and the College of
Europe.
Lord Peter Mandelson is Co-founder and Chairman of Global Counsel, a regulatory, political risk and public policy advisory business based in London, Brussels and Singapore. He is a former European Trade Commissioner and British First Secretary of State. As Trade Commissioner between 2004 and 2008, he negotiated trade agreements with many countries and led European negotiations in the WTO Doha World Trade Round.
Prior to this, Lord Peter Mandelson held a number of Cabinet posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown including Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Northern Ireland Secretary and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. He was Member of Parliament for Hartlepool in the UK from 1992 until 2004 and Director of Campaigns and Communications for the Labour party between 1985 and 1990.
As well as Chairman of Global Counsel, Peter is a Senior Adviser to Lazard. He is President of the German-British Forum, the UK’s primary bilateral forum for promoting dialogue on German-British business, social and political issues and President of the Great Britain China Centre.
Lord Mandelson is Chairman of the Design Museum in London and Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University.
Kadri Simson was appointed European Commissioner for Energy in 2019. Prior to that, starting in 2016, she was Estonia’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Infrastructure. She is a member of the Estonian Centre Party. From 2007 to 2016, she was a member of Estonia’s parliament. From 2009 to 2016, she served as chairman of the Estonian Centre Party, and from 2007 to 2009, the deputy chairman of the National Defence Committee. In 2013, she was elected to the Pärnu City Council and in 2009, she was elected as a member of Tallinn City Council. From 2003 to 2007, she was secretary-general of the Estonian Centre Party. In 2003, she served as a research assistant of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. From 2001 to 2002, she was the Advisor to the Mayor of Tallinn and in 1999, the Advisor of Tallinn City Council. She is a graduate of Tartu Secondary School No. 10. She acquired a degree in History at the University of Tartu and a Master’s degree in Political Science from University College London.
Leonhard Birnbaum was born in Ludwigshafen, Germany, on February 19, 1967. He studied chemical engineering in Karlsruhe. After a subsequent period of academic work at the Karlsruhe Research Centre, he obtained a doctorate from the University of Cottbus.
Leonhard Birnbaum began his professional career as a management consultant at McKinsey in Düsseldorf. After holding various positions – including at McKinsey’s off ice in Houston, USA – he was Senior Partner for the energy and industrial sector. In 2008, he joined RWE AG and was appointed to the Board of Management the same year. He served as Chief Strategy Officer and as RWE Group’s Chief Commercial Officer until 2013.
In 2013, Leonhard Birnbaum was appointed as member of the Board of Management of E.ON SE and took on a variety of responsibilities within the Board. From 2018 until 2021 he was responsible for the innogy integration project. From 2019 to 2020, he was also Chairman of the Board of Management of innogy SE.
In 2021, Leonhard Birnbaum was appointed to his current role as CEO of E.ON SE. In this position, he is responsible for E.ON Group’s Communications & Political Affairs, Corporate Audit, Culture & Performance, Group and Executive HR, HSE & Sustainability, Legal, Compliance & Security, Strategy & Innovation and Nuclear Coordination.
Leonhard Birnbaum is President of Eurelectric, the European Electricity Association, Vice-President of the Executive Committee of BDEW, the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, a member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and, and Vice Chair of the World Energy Council.
Leonhard Birnbaum is married and has two daughters.
Mads Nipper leads Ørsted, the global green energy major and world-leading offshore wind developer, on its quest to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. He took the helm of Ørsted in early 2021 and has been heading the company during a crucial time when the global energy transformation is gaining ever stronger momentum, with renewable energy now cheaper than burning fossil fuels – but also in a time when accelerated climate action, decarbonisation, and energy independence have never been more important.
Since stepping in as CEO of Ørsted, Mads Nipper has announced a company-wide ambition of installing 50 GW renewable capacity by 2030 as well as to build a global leadership position within renewable hydrogen and green fuels. He has also overseen an expansion of Ørsted’s existing sustainability stewardship, including setting a target for net-positive biodiversity impact from all new renewable energy projects commissioned by 2030, being the first energy company in the world with an SBTi-validated net-zero target, and introducing an immediate internal ban on the landfilling of wind turbine blades.
Mads Nipper believes businesses should be a catalyst for change by combating climate change and meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For this reason, he is personally engaged in several governmental and business fora to promote a sustainable transformation. Among others, Mads Nipper is part of World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, he is Co-chair of the roundtable on hydrogen production under the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, and he represents Ørsted in the First Movers Coalition, a public-private partnership initiated by the US State Department and WEF. In early 2022, Mads Nipper was named one of ‘12 C-suite sustainability champions for 2022’ by the world-leading sustainability media GreenBiz.
Before joining Ørsted, Mads Nipper was Group President and CEO of the Grundfos Group. Prior to that, he was Chief Marketing Officer and member of the Management Board in the LEGO Group. His educational background is MSc in International Business from Aarhus School of Business, Denmark.
CEO of SolarPower Europe since 2019, Walburga Hemetsberger has over 20 years of professional experience in Brussels, working for a utility, trade association, the European Parliament and the European Commission. Walburga spent most of her career in the energy sector, covering in particular renewable energies and hydrogen.
A graduate from the Ecole Polytechnique and from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées (ENSTA Paris), Luc Rémont began his career in 1993 as an engineer at the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA).
In 1996, he joined the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry. He held several positions there, first in the Treasury department where he supervised relationships with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank, and later government equity interests in transportation companies. He then served as a Technical Investment Advisor on shareholding matters, and later Deputy Chief of staff to the French Ministers of Economy, Finance and Industry from 2002 to 2007.
In 2007, he joined Merrill Lynch and became in 2009 Country Executive and Managing Director of the Corporate and Investment Bank at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in France.
In April 2014, he joined Schneider Electric and became President of Schneider Electric France. In April 2017, he was appointed Schneider Electric Executive Vice President, International Operations, in charge of South America, Africa and Middle East, India, and East Asia Japan & Pacific.
Moreover, from 2015 to 2018, Luc Rémont was Chairman of Gimelec, a professional organisation which brings together 230 companies providing power and automation solutions for the energy, building, industry and infrastructure markets.
Between 2014 and 2020, he also was board member of Naval Group, a naval defence European leader. He is currently Non-Executive Director for Worldline, a European leader in secured payments and digital transactions. As of 23 November 2022 Luc Rémont is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of EDF.
Georgios Stassis is the Chairman & CEO of Public Power Corporation (PPC), the leading electricity producer and supplier in Greece.
With more than 22 years of experience in the energy sector, he has worked in senior positions in energy, construction, and telecommunication industries, and served on the Boards of various organisations and associations in Greece and abroad. Prior to his current position, he worked for ENEL SpA., the Italian multinational energy company holding the position of the Head of Enel Green Power, responsible for the area of Eastern Europe and the Middle East until 2015, and from 2016 until 2019 the position of President & CEO of Enel Romania SrL., the largest energy company in Romania.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Management in Construction and Structural Design and he has attended Executive Courses at Harvard Business School (US) and Elis Academy (Italy).
Emmanuelle Wargon is a politician born on 24 February 1971 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. She is the only daughter of the former Secretary of State Lionel Stoléru and Francine Wolff, administrator of the city of Paris.
After brilliant studies at HEC, Sciences Po and ENA, she started her career at the Cour des Comptes in 1997, first as an auditor and then as a referendary advisor. After joining Bernard Kouchner’s cabinet, she became Director of the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products in 2002. In 2006, she was appointed director of coordination and internal control at Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris but returned to the government with Martin Hirsch a year later to supervise the implementation of the RSA and the Grenelle de l’Insertion.
She left the civil service in 2015 to return to the Danone group where she was in charge of communications and public affairs. She was appointed Secretary of State for Ecology in 2018 for Philippe de Rugy, Minister of Economic Transition and Solidarity. In 2020, she changed hats again to become Minister Delegate for Housing. Elected Regional Councillor of Île-de-France in 2021, she resigned in 2022 when she was appointed by Emmanuel Macron as President of the Energy Regulation Commission, despite the opposition of many parliamentarians who did not like her past as a lobbyist for Danone.
Since July 2022, Frauke Thies has been Executive Director of Agora Energiewende. Agora develops evidence-based and politically viable strategies to advance the goal of climate neutrality in Germany, Europe, and internationally. The Think Tank informs policymakers, economists, researchers, and civil society while encouraging a productive exchange of ideas.
Previously, Frauke was responsible for the climate portfolio of the Open Society Foundations in Europe. Prior to that, she worked in European associations for eight years, including as Executive Director of the European business association for digital and consumer-driven solutions for the energy transition, smartEn, from 2015 to 2020, and as Policy Director at SolarPower Europe from 2012 to 2015. Thies started her career at the environmental organisation Greenpeace, where she held various positions in EU energy policy, with secondments to the USA and India. Frauke holds a Master of Environmental Sciences from the University of Lüneburg and a Master of Business Administration from Vlerick Business School in Belgium.
Dr. Derk Swider is responsible for group strategy development and the Energy Economics, Policy and Foresight organization in E.ON SE. He builds the insights and capabilities to support the delivery of our ambitions to transform the energy world for a sustainable and greener future. As E.ON’s Chief Economist & Futurist he helps the organization to become future-oriented, to mitigate risks and grasp opportunities.
Catherine MacGregor joined the ENGIE group on 1 January 2021 as Chief Executive Officer. She has spent her entire professional career working in the energy sector.
From 2019 to 2020, she was a member of TechnipFMC Executive Committee and the head of Technip Energies, hosting the engineering activities. She was in charge of the entity’s IPO.
Previous to these positions, she has worked 23 years at Schlumberger, the world’s leading provider of reservoir characterization, drilling, production and processing technologies for the oil and gas industry. She occupied a number of roles in various geographies (Republic of Congo, the US, Malaysia, …): from Director of Business Entities (Wireline, Reservoir Characterization, Drilling, …) to Regional Division (Europe and Africa).
Appointed Chief Executive in August 2021. Previous to this, he headed up two of ESB’s main operating divisions as Executive Director of ESB’s Generation and Wholesale Markets business and then as Managing Director of ESB Networks. A Chartered Engineer, he holds a master’s degree in engineering from University College Dublin and an MBA from the University of Warwick. Worked with British Steel in the UK before moving to the energy sector in 1999 to lead the Synergen joint venture between ESB and Statoil.
Stefan Moser was born in Munich in 1971 and trained as an economist and a lawyer. He joined the Commission in 2000 in DG Competition to work on control of state aid to public undertakings and services, notably financial institutions. From 2005 to 2009, he worked in DG Environment on climate and environment policy, notably greenhouse gas emissions trading, transport emissions and air quality. From 2009 to 2015, he dealt with policy coordination in the Secretariat-General, in particular on climate, energy, environment, transport, agriculture and maritime policies. From 2015 onwards, he has served as head of unit in DG Energy, first on energy security and safety, and then on energy efficiency of buildings and products.
Emma Pinchbeck is the Chief Executive of Energy UK, a position that she has held since July
2020. She is an expert in whole-economy decarbonisation and the energy transition. She also
holds several board advisory positions. Emma has two children and shares childcare with her
husband. She is passionate about efforts to improve diversity in the energy industry.
From 2016-2020, she served as Deputy CEO of the trade body Renewable UK, in which role
she also sat on the Board of Scottish Renewables. Prior to this, Emma was Head of Climate
Change at WWFU-K. She has an MA from the University of Oxford.
Wytse Kaastra leads Accenture’s Sustainability Services in Europe and is also the European Utilities lead. With approximately 26 years of experience in the Energy and Utilities arena he is an expert in the European energy sector. Experience ranges from strategic growth and transformation strategies as well as large scale execution & implementation programs across Europe. Projects spanning both the business side as well as the execution with digital, AI & cloud technologies.
Over the past couple of years much focus has been on Energy Transition related services such as Renewables, smart grids, eMobility, Green Hydrogen, Energy management, digital Decentralized & Decarbonized energy solutions and Flexibility services.
Prior to joining Accenture in 1997, Wytse started his career at ExxonMobil as an economist in the downstream area. Wytse holds a master degree in Economics from Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
Mechthild Wörsdörfer is Deputy Director-General at the European Commission’s DG Energy, where she is in charge since October 2021 of the Coordination of the Just and Green Energy Transition. This includes steering the work on REPowerEU, accelerating the deployment of renewables and energy efficiency measures, and ensuring EU’s security of supply. Mrs. Wörsdörfer is also responsible for the relations with the Energy Community, and steers the bilateral relations with Ukraine, Moldova, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Prior to this, Mrs. Wörsdörfer was the Director responsible for sustainability, technology and outlooks at the International Energy Agency (2018 – 2021), Director at DG Energy in charge of renewables, research and innovation, energy efficiency (2017 – 2018) and Director for energy policy, international relations, legal aspects and economic analysis (2014 – 2017).
Previously, Mrs. Wörsdörfer was Head of Unit on the 2030 Energy and Climate Framework and served in the Cabinet of Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for Enterprise Policy and Information Society. Mrs Wörsdörfer studied Economics at the University of Heidelberg, the University of Montpellier and completed her studies with a MA in European Economics at the Free University of Brussels.
Mr. Paul Voss is Director General at European Aluminium, the industry voice of the aluminium value chain in Europe. Mr. Voss is a long-term public affairs and governmental relations expert with 20 years of experience in the Brussels and energy sector. Prior to joining the aluminium industry, Mr. Voss served as Managing Director at Euroheat & Power, the association for the European district energy sector, and as Head of Public and Industrial Affairs at energy solutions provider Danfoss District Energy.
A British-Belgian national, Paul Voss is married with three children and holds degrees in Political Science and European Public Administration from Universities in Canada, France and Belgium.
Dr. Caroline Golin is a global expert in market design and renewable energy policy. In her current role, she leads global energy policy strategy for Google’s data centers, working closely with executives and teams across Europe, Asia, and North America. Caroline is helping lead Google’s most ambitious sustainability moonshot yet; complete decarbonization of its operations by 2030. This goal is the first of its kind for a major corporation and sets the bar for global corporate sustainability and climate action. Her work has helped make Google’s data centers the most energy efficient in the world and complete groundbreaking projects, such as repurposing infrastructure to power the world in the 21st century. Caroline holds a Masters and PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology and lives in Atlanta, GA.
Vivek is Chief Technology Officer at Powerledger. He has global experience in engineering, IT, OT, sales, and general management. He has secured, led, planned, delivered, and supported digitalization, energy, and sustainability-related mega projects in Asia, North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. He has worked and led teams at Fortune 100 companies as well as budding startups. He has work ethics, leadership skills, talent for building things, capacity to create/maintain/improve relations, history of taking, executing, and leading the most complex orders in the electric power industry. He has unbeaten global experience in life-cycle projects (R&D/development, pre-sales, sales, delivery, and post-delivery services).
Since 2016, the former CEO of Salzburg Netz GmbH Michael Strebl (58) has been Chairman of the Wien Energie Management Board. The proven energy expert held various positions at Salzburg AG for over 20 years. He completed a technical degree and a degree in business administration. Born in Salzburg, he is married and father of two children. He has been working in the energy industry since 1994 and gained experience in Austria as well as internationally, for example at the renowned London School of Economics (LSE) in England or at Siemens/USA in Silicon Valley.
Tom van Ierland joined the Commission in 2006. Within DG Climate Action he is head of unit C1 ‘Low carbon solutions (I): Montreal Protocol, clean cooling & heating, twin transitions’. This unit is leading on policies related to F-gases and ozone depleting substances and looks into the interconnections of the policies fields of climate, energy, digitalisation and standardisation. He has been closely involved in the development of the overall climate change policy framework both at the EU and international level and the economic modelling underpinning it. He started his career at the Belgian’s Federal Planning Bureau in 1999 where he focused on emission trading. He was a member of cabinet of the Belgian Federal Minister for the Environment. He worked 2 years as consultant for Price Waterhouse Coopers. He has a broad experience both in the international negotiations on climate change as well as in the development of EU Climate Change policies.
He holds academic degrees in Applied Economics, Environmental Economics and Computer Sciences from the University of Leuven and University College London.
Ms. Wanda Buk holds the title of attorney, she graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Łódź, as well as the Faculty of French Business Law at the Université de Poitiers in France. She also graduated International Military Relations at the War Studies Academy, European Academy of Diplomacy, postgraduate studies at the Warsaw School of Economics and the prestigious Leadership Academy for Poland programme organised by the Center for Leadership in cooperation with Harvard University. She started doctoral studies at the War Studies Academy.
Ms. Wanda Buk has held position of the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Digital Affairs since July 2018. She has been managing Telecommunications Department, Legal Department, International Policy Department and Office of the Minister (in the scope of matters resulting from the reporting relationship of the Digital Poland Projects Centre with the Minister). At the same time she has been a member of the Committee for European Union, the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers and the Joint Central Government and Local Government Committee.
From January 2016, Wanda Buk was the director of the Digital Poland Project Centre. She managed the institution responsible for implementation of European funds earmarked for the digitisation of the country. She was responsible for the implementation of EU-funded projects with a total value of PLN 10 billion,
She worked in a number of law firms, where she implemented infrastructure projects, including ones financed from public funds. She also advised entities operating on the regulated market. She was a member of Supervisory Boards in companies such as Nask 4 Innovation sp. z o.o., NUW sp. z o.o. and Mana Solid Invest sp. z o.o. Ms. Wanda Buk is fluent in English and French.
Vadym is an energy storage professional whose main interests are grid flexibility, energy markets regulations, and all kind of energy storage. He is a lead of Power Plant Recovery Task Force aiming to restore damaged DTEK Energy power plants after russian’s missiles and drones attacks.
He earned engineering and business degrees and speaks fluent English, Ukrainian, and Russian (prefers not to speak). Vadym commissioned the first grid-scale battery energy storage in Ukraine and is very well aware of the li-ion batteries manufacturing process and China.
Fergal Ahern is Head of Business Development Ireland for Energy Customer Solutions at SSE. Fergal has been working in the energy sector for over 13 years and has extensive experience across renewable energy supply, Demand Side Response, Solar and Energy Efficiency.
In his role within SSE, he is responsible for creating partnerships, joint ventures and making the acquisitions required to deliver low-carbon solutions to customers. He also oversees the development of traceable green solutions ranging from CPPA’s to 24/7 CFE. Additionally, he is also responsible for meeting SSE’s commercial targets under Ireland’s Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme.
Graduated in econometrics, Femke has over 15 years of experience in climate and energy policies in civil society, politics, industry, and research. Since October 2020, she has been Programme Manager at the European Climate Foundation focused on building and heat decarbonization.
Andrus Durejko is the CEO of Enefit from April 2023. Enefit operates in the Baltic and Nordic electricity and gas markets, as well as the global liquid fuels market. Enefit offers energy solutions ranging from electricity, heat and fuel production to sales, customer service, and consulting.
Prior to Enefit Andrus Durejko was working as Chair of the Management Board at Ericsson Eesti and Ericsson Latvia. In addition, he has worked as an Ericsson Eesti AS Board Member in the field of technology, program director in Nordic and Baltic countries and chief technology officer. He was also Regional Director of Ericsson Ukraine in the field of mobile core networks.
Andrus Durejko is an Advisory Board Member at the AI and Robotics (AIRE) Center. He has graduated from Estonian University of Life Sciences in Electrical Power Engineering (M.S) and completed MBA courses in Estonian Business School.
Felipe Castro is a policy officer in the European Commission in the area of Energy Security and Safety, domain of cybersecurity. He joined the European Commission in 2015, first in the Internal Audit Services and then the Directorate-General of Energy, dealing with technology and cybersecurity topics. Currently he is working on cybersecurity legislation and digitalization in the energy sector. He holds a master degree in telecommunication engineering from the University of Valladolid (Spain) and a second Master in Business Administration by the University UNED (Spain). He worked 17 years in telecommunications in the private sector in Germany, France and Belgium. He is also affiliated professor in the Business School SKEMA in France.
Bas Kruimer is Business Director Digital Grid Operations & Cyber Security at DNV Energy Systems in The Netherlands focusing on digital systems, automation strategy & deployment plus with special attention to utility cyber security. Having a background in SCADA, SA/IEC61850, Smart Metering and OT Cyber Security Bas works with a team of experts/consultants supporting utilities in their diverse Next Generation Grid Operations, network control, grid automation, digital transition and cyber security challenges.
Graduated as power engineer from Delft University of Technology end 80’s Bas started his international career in electrical power transmission and distribution over 30 years ago at ABB Network Control & Protection, followed by KEMA/KEMA Quality, Eneco/Joulz, Quanta Technology and Accenture/Accenture Security.
Recently Bas has been appointed Fellow of Delft University of Technology in the department of Electrical Sustainable Energy on the topic Control Center of the Future & Grid Cyber Resilience supporting Master & PhD students and connecting to industry and partnerships. Bas is also a regular speaker/trainer on Next Generation Grid Operations & Cyber Security.
Cora van Nieuwenhuizen is a former Dutch politician (VVD). She served as member of the Council on both local and regional level, as vice-governor in Noord-Brabant, as member of the National Parliament in the Netherlands and also as member of the European Parliament (ALDE).
From 2017 to 2021 van Nieuwenhuizen was Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Water Management.
Currently she is the chair of the national sector association of energy companies Energie-Nederland.
Van Nieuwenhuizen is known for her pragmatic approach and willingness to work across party lines to achieve results.
Niels Fastrup is an investigative reporter with DR, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. He is the lead journalist behind the documentary “Putin’s Shadow War”, an investigation into Russia’s covert warfare in the Nordics and Europe more broadly. He is specialized in national security issues and has in recent years made a number major revelations that have made global headlines.
Ms. Lazzerini is Principal Specialist, Clean Energy at Sustainable Energy for All, building the organization’s presence in Asia Pacific, managing the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy compact and the development of the Southeast Asia Renewable Manufacturing Initiative. Before joining SEforALL, she was Senior Sustainable Energy Expert at the Energy Community Secretariat’s European Green Deal Unit (Vienna, Austria) where she supported Contracting Parties in developing sustainable energy policy, climate legislation, and integrating energy and climate planning. She was leading the Just Energy Transition initiative of the Secretariat, in particular supporting coal regions and gender equality.
She brings over 16 years of work and research experience, mostly in the field of international climate mitigation policies, with focus on Europe (Western Balkans, Eastern Countries) and Asia (China, Korea, Japan, ASEAN, ASEM). Before joining the Energy Community, she was research fellow on sustainable development at Tsinghua University (Beijing), policy officer for Asia international relations within the European Commission Environment Directorate General (Brussels) and senior energy analyst at Enel Foundation (Italy). She worked with UNIDO on green industry policy and co-authored several publications on energy transitions with EURICUR (Rotterdam). She cooperated with the World Economic Forum to evaluating the impact of renewables on off-grid households in emerging economies and co-authored a chapter of ‘Innovating Climate Governance’, published by Cambridge University Press in March 2018.
Ms. Lazzerini holds both a Bachelor and a Master degree in Economics, Languages and Juridical Institutions of Eastern Asia from Ca’ Foscari University, Venice; a Postgraduate Master degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe, Natolin, Poland, and an executive MBA on Renewables from Berlin University of Applied Sciences (BHT). She is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian. She speaks well German.
Julia Souder is Executive Director of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council. The nonprofit is dedicated to advancing the long duration energy storage technologies needed to enhance California’s ability to achieve its climate goals while operating a safe and reliable energy grid. She is also President & Founder of JAS Energies, a clean energy and grid planning consultancy.
With nearly 20 years of experience in the electric industry, Souder has expert knowledge of the relationships among utilities, federal and state government agencies, non-profits, advocates and other stakeholder groups. She is a proven leader and coalition builder who understands the opportunities and challenges facing the U.S. electricity sector in reducing carbon emissions, developing new renewable energy infrastructure, creating markets and implementing a new clean energy vision.
Previously, Souder was a director at the Natural Resources Defense Council where she oversaw energy policy creation and implementation with a focus on grid operations and transmission planning. She has also worked in multiple roles at the U.S. Department of Energy and served as director of intergovernmental relations for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and as a project developer for Clean Line Energy Partners.
Philippe Delorme is Schneider Electric’s Executive Vice President of Europe Operations since April 2022 and serves on its Executive Committee.
Philippe leads a passionate team that provides world-leading technologies, software and services to deliver efficiency and sustainability to customers in Europe, contributing to the development of Europe’s agenda to accelerate green and digital transformation.
With over 25 years’ experience at Schneider Electric, Philippe led various operational teams in the U.S. and France at the start of his career, before moving into global roles. In 2009, Philippe became Schneider’s Chief Strategy & Technology Officer and, since 2011, he has led different global businesses. In 2019, Philippe was appointed Executive Vice President of Energy Management and he has been a member of Schneider’s Executive Committee since 2009.
Philippe graduated from the Centrale Paris engineering school and holds an MBA from Sciences Po Paris in France.
Claire Waysand is a former student of the Ecole Polytechnique and a graduate of the Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique and of the London School of Economics where she obtained a Master’s of science in economics. She also has a PhD in economics.Claire Waysand
Claire Waysand began her career at INSEE, before going on to hold various positions within the French Treasury Department. As such, she served as a member of the European Economic and Financial Committee (EFC) from 2005 to 2009 and was a director of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Claire Waysand joined the International Monetary Fund in Washington in 2009, as assistant director of the Europe department, and then the Strategy, policy and review department.
After having served as Deputy Director of the Treasury, Claire Waysand became Deputy chief of staff of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in 2013, taking over as Chief of staff of the Minister of Finance and Public Accounts, becoming the first woman to head the Finance cabinet.
Oliver Franz took up the position of Vice President European Associations at E.ON in July 2022.
Before joining E.ON SE, Oliver was Head of Regulatory Strategy and Regulatory Service within innogy SE where smart metering used to be an important part of his work.
He previously held various positions in regulatory management of the RWE Group.
Recently, Oliver has also been working on E-Mobility.
Oliver is a regulatory expert focussing on energy markets and energy networks for the most part but also have knowledge on financial regulation. He specializes in telco regulation; especially in the FttX environment.
He also teaches energy economics and regulatory economics at different institutions (inter alia TU Berlin).
Oliver is chair of Eurelectric Distribution & Market Facilitation Committee.
Wojciech Dąbrowski has been holding management positions in the power sector for 10 years. Since the 20th of February 2020 he has been the President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. Prior to this, as of November 2017, he was the President of the Management Board of PGE Energia Ciepła S.A., where he has built a solid heating sector business line within the PGE Capital Group. He has also many years of experience working at management and top management positions in the central and local and regional government administration. He has also worked as a legal and investment consultant on applications for the European Union funds and has managed the teams involved in investment projects. He was overseeing preparations and implementations of investment and modernisation projects as well as M&A activities and also enterprise restructuring and development projects improving their operations and profitability. Graduate of Warsaw University, Faculty of Law and Administration where he obtained the master of law degree. He has also completed postgraduate studies at the Warsaw University of Technology Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, in the Operation of steam, gas, and combined-cycle power plants and combined heat and power plants, as well as at the Kozminski University and the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management – Public Administration Management.
Rob Chapman provides executive oversight for EPRI’s broad portfolio of grid and end-use customer research. This research spans across a large segment of the energy industry value chain encompassing Integrated Grid and Energy Systems, Transmission, and Distribution Infrastructure, and Electrification and Sustainable Energy Strategy. In this role, Chapman also serves as EPRI’s executive sponsor for the institute’s Efficient Electrification Initiative focusing on broadening industry collaboration, including international and government engagement.
Prior to joining EPRI, Chapman worked for Pacific Gas & Electric Energy Services Company (PG&E) from 1995 to 1999. He was the director of the western region responsible for leading a team of engineers in establishing integrated energy services for commercial and industrial customers. Chapman earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.
Mr. Timchenko has led the company since its foundation in 2005. Under his leadership, DTEK has evolved from a regional conventional energy company into Ukraine’s largest private investor and integrated European energy company which introduces innovations
and new technologies.
During Russia’s war against Ukraine, Mr. Timchenko demonstrated
outstanding leadership skills and ensured DTEK’s efficient functioning. DTEK formed its anti-crisis headquarters with key personnel in western Ukraine and organised the evacuation of DTEK employees and Ukrainians from combat zones. The company continues to provide millions of Ukrainians with electricity, as well as constantly ensures the
restoration of grids and offers humanitarian aid. Mr. Timchenko has always strongly supported Ukraine’s European course, energy market reforms and investments in clean and affordable energy, energy efficiency, and clean-tech. He believes that Ukraine can become a leader of decarbonisation in Central and Eastern Europe and help Europe reach its decarbonisation goals.
Maxim Timchenko started his career in 1998 at ricewaterhouseCoopers, where he advanced from the position of consultant to senior auditor in just four years. In 2002–2005, he worked as a senior manager at SCM. In this position, he supervised the work of SCM’s energy business until establishment of DTEK. In 1997, Maxim Timchenko graduated with honours from Donetsk State Academy of Management (Production Management). He continued his education at the University of Manchester, where he obtained a diploma with honours and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economic and Social Studies. Maxim Timchenko is a member of the Electricity Governors community, which brings together business leaders and partner organisations from the World Economic Forum.
He is a member of the UN Global Compact Network Ukraine Supervisory Board, as well as a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). Mr. Timchenko has been recognised as Ukraine’s top executive by various business media ratings.
Paul leads EY Global Digital Grid services. An advisor to utilities, regulators and governments, he has extensive experience stewarding energy companies through complex technology-driven transformations.
With over 10 years of experience in energy and international management consulting, he focuses on emerging energy technology and the digitization of the sector.
Paul is frequently invited to speak at leading global conferences on the future of energy and the digitization of the network business. He received an MSc in Management from Cass Business School and a BSc in Business and Computing from the University of Malta.
Lonneke Tabak leads Accenture ’s Dutch Energy Transition Services Group. Her focus is on flexibility in energy markets; however, she has broad experience in the European energy transition field and has done multiple projects for a variety of clients in the electricity and gas value chain. Prior to joining Accenture, Lonneke led a project to connect electric vehicles to the primary reserve market by demand-response.
Florian Kolb is a senior executive and has extensive professional experience in the European energy (RWE, innogy/E.ON) and Silicon Valley tech industry, as a business leader and board member. His core focus and expertise areas include energy data tech & data-driven business models, digital innovation, strategic venture investments, M&A, and restructuring.
Florian is the Chief Commercial Officer and General Manager Energy of Intertrust Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based energy data technology and energy data security company. He is responsible for Intertrust’s energy business, product sales, business & corporate development, and M&A.
Intertrust is headquartered in the Silicon Valley, has offices in Europe and Asia, and about 110 employees, Intertrust is funded and owned by a consortium of energy companies (E.ON, Jera, Origin Energy) with over 100bn USD in annual sales. Additional shareholders come from healthcare (Philips) and electronics (Sony, Panasonic), as well as a 2bn USD Silicon Valley equity and venture capital firm (World Innovation Lab).
Florian holds a Master’s degree in political economics from the University of Passau, Germany, and has participated in executive programs at INSEAD and IMD Lausanne. He has worked with Stanford University at various occasions and is a regular speaker at key industry and innovation events.
Elena is Director of Strategy at Public Power Corporation (PPC) in Athens, responsible for developing and delivering the group’s strategy on decarbonisation and energy transition. Prior to joining PPC, and for more than ten years, Elena had senior positions in energy investment, analysis and consulting organizations in London, UK.
Elena is a Mechanical Engineer by training graduated from National Technical University of Athens. She also holds a master’s degree in Applied Economics and Finance from Athens University of Economics and Business, and one in Sustainable Energy Futures from Imperial College London. She is a mentor on various network groups encouraging young girls and women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and promoting women’s leadership on climate change.
David Weston is Editor in Chief at FORESIGHT Climate & Energy, with almost ten years experience as a journalist with a focus on renewable energy and wider business reporting. Based in London, he has produced content extensively online, in print, audio, and video. He has previously covered consumer news, local affairs and national politics.
Andrea Falciai is Accenture’s European Utilities Industry Lead, with more than 25 years of experience in the Energy and Utilities industries. He has a strong background in system integration and consulting, with an international attitude. Falciai has spent his career working with clients in their digital and business transformation, leveraging technology and innovation but with a close look at people and their journey. He has a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering and is passionate about energy in all its forms. He is a believer in teamwork and diversity as key drivers to bring value to clients and communities.
Michael Lewis is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Düsseldorf-based Uniper is an international energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. With around 7,000 employees, it makes an important contribution to security of supply in Europe. Uniper’s core businesses are power generation in Europe, global energy trading, and a broad gas portfolio. Uniper procures gas – including liquefied natural gas (LNG) – and other energy sources on global markets. The company owns and operates gas storage facilities with a capacity of more than 7 billion cubic meters. Uniper plans for its 22.5 GW of installed power-generating capacity in Europe to be carbon-neutral by 2035. The company already ranks among Europe’s largest operators of hydroelectric plants and intends to further expand solar and wind energy, which are essential for a more sustainable and autonomous future.
Uniper is a reliable partner for communities, municipal utilities, and industrial enterprises for planning and implementing innovative, lower-carbon solutions on their decarbonization journey. Uniper is a hydrogen pioneer, is active worldwide along the entire hydrogen value chain, and is conducting projects to make hydrogen a mainstay of the energy supply.
Michael Lewis has been working in the energy industry since 1995. Prior to assuming his position as CEO of Uniper, he was the CEO of E.ON UK (2017-2023) as well as CEO (2015-2017) and COO (2007-2015) of E.ON Climate & Renewables.
Apart from his position as CEO of Uniper, he is also Council Member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at the Imperial College Business School, as well as Member of the Board of Energy UK.
He holds degrees in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Law.
Sabine Erlinghagen is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the global Grid Software business at Siemens. She holds a PhD from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and has profound experience in the energy sector with a focus on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Customer Success, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Grid Software enables grid operators as well as industry and infrastructure companies to accelerate and secure the energy transition in a sustainable and profitable way. Grid Software connects the physical and the digital world with an integrated OT and IT landscape – following its design principles of modularity, openness, user-centricity, interoperability and resilience.
Kristian Ruby took over as Secretary General of Eurelectric, effective 1 January 2017. Prior to his appointment, he worked at WindEurope as part of the Executive Management team where, in his capacity as Chief Policy Officer, he was in charge of developing and implementing the political strategy of the association. Mr Ruby previously also held positions as assistant to the former European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard and served, for a number of years, as a public servant in the Danish Ministries of Climate and Energy as well as Environment.
Sasha Twining has been a radio and TV presenter, both nationally and internationally, for some 25 years.
She’s heard worldwide on the BBC World Service, hosting the flagship programmes ‘Business Matters’ (also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the UK) and ‘World Business Report’.
Her television work includes the BBC consumer champion show ‘Inside Out’ and the weekly Politics Show. Previously she was an anchor on the rolling news channel Sky News, and a correspondent for ITV. Internationally, Sasha was the London correspondent for breakfast and daytime programmes on the Nine Network (Australian national television).
In addition to her broadcast work, Sasha moderates debates and chairs events for both the public and private sector. She works in fields including energy transition, sustainability, technology, communications and retail. Details of her work can be found on www.thecorporatefacilitator.com
Sasha is an advocate of new technology – she has an embedded NFC chip, and presented a BBC programme about the innovation.
Bruce Douglas has been working in renewable energy for 20 years. He is currently the Director of Communications and Business at Eurelectric a member-led association based in Brussels representing the European electric utility sector.
Previously he was Deputy CEO of SolarPower Europe, Coordinator of the RE-Source Platform – the European alliance for corporate sourcing of renewable energy – and the Co-Chairman of the Global Solar Council (GSC), the representative body for the entire global solar PV sector at an international level, representing over 2000 solar companies around the world. Before that he was Chief Operating Officer at WindEurope for 10 years, founding Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Managing Director of FLiDAR, an offshore wind company.
He has a Master degree in renewable energy systems technology and is fluent in English and French.
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