Speakers

Andreas Kuhlmann was appointed dena’s Chief Executive in July 2015. In this position he has increased dena’s profile as a driver and pioneer of the energy transition. Exemplary projects include the international innovation initiative “Start Up Energy Transition”, which now brings together around a thousand start-ups from all over the world, as well as the “Integrated Energy Transition” pilot study, whereby dena, together with more than 60 partners from business and science, is developing strategies for the future. 

Andreas Kuhlmann sees the energy transition as one of the most fascinating change processes of the present day, which, in addition to challenges, above all also brings with it opportunities. In this sense, he injects his knowledge of the diverse national and international projects acquired at the interface of business and politics to the energy and climate policy debate. He also promotes more courage and determination in shaping the regulatory frameworks necessary for the success of the energy transition. 

Caroline leads the development of the Association’s policy and regulatory work – working closely with members and policymakers to promote the sustainable development of the decentralised energy sector in the UK. Caroline has previous experience in renewable energy and the built environment.

From working as an engagement manager in wholesale banking in 2006 to his work now, James has seen many changes in the industry and is often consulted to provide insight on strategic issues.

James studied Economics and Management at Oxford and spent a year in China before joining Oliver Wyman.

Based in our London office, James is a partner in our global CIB practice, advising wholesale banking clients on issues around their business strategy, capital and liquidity, approach to technology, or how they operate. In addition to this James leads on CIT coverage for a large multinational bank and financial services company as well as being the lead on climate change and sustainable finance in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Climate finance is an issue that holds great significance for James both in his capacity as climate change and sustainability lead and on a personal level. He believes financial services firms can play an important positive role in supporting and driving the accelerated transition to a lower-carbon economy.

Dr. Robert Denda is Head of Innovation and Industrialization at the Global Infrastructure & Networks business line of the Enel group, responsible for technologies developed and applied at Enel’s worldwide distribution grids, serving 73 million grid customers.
Previously, from 2014 to 2015 he worked within this business line function as Head of Smart Metering Solutions.
Previous responsibilities include the coordination of the smart metering roll-out project of 13 million meters at Endesa in Spain, R&D department director and innovation manager in the telecommunication sector, and Manager of technology services at Endesa Ingenieria.
He is also an active participant at European and international associations related to the Energy sector.
He holds a diploma degree in Computer Science and Business Administration and a PhD from the University of Mannheim, Germany

Ms Elizabeth Press is the Director of Planning and Programme Support at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). As part of her portfolio, Ms Press leads the development of IRENA’s Work Programme and strategic documents, and programmatic reporting to governing bodies. She represents IRENA in climate-related entities and initiatives and leads several special projects including on the geopolitics of energy transitions. Ms Press also oversees diversification of the Agency’s resource base and is IRENA’s focal point in Europe. Ms Press has served with IRENA since its inception in 2011. Before joining the Agency, she worked for some 18 years in the fields of development and peace and security, predominately with the United Nations. Ms Press worked in Africa, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South-East Asia. She has an MA in Public Administration.

With a French academic scholar for a mother and a pragmatic English businessman for a father, Francois’ view of business strategy and change was shaped early on.

It is underpinned by the themes of practicality, curiosity, humanity, commerciality, and a willingness to work hard. Great foundations for a consultant; he is now the lead Partner in Oliver Wyman’s Energy practice.

Francois specializes in strategy, post-merger integration, leadership development, and risk management. He’s lived and worked all over the world, too: London, Paris, Rotterdam, and the US and worked for Oil and Gas and Utility clients across North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Francois has also contributed to various management books, including The Discipline of Market Leaders;  Surfing on the Edge of Chaos and co-authored Strategic Thinking in Tactical Times.

Jay is an experienced, successful executive in both public and private energy companies. He has served as the CEO / President of venture backed energy companies, public and private energy technology company executive experience, and 30+ years P&L experience. He co-founded an energy technology startup that grew revenues through internal cash flow to $17 million annually with $100 million in forward contract values before outside funding. Jay has developed, built, owned, operated and financed renewable and CHP projects in long term PPA structures and is now in London focusing his efforts on growing Kiwi Power’s energy technology business internationally.

Jonathan Brearley became Ofgem’s Chief Executive Officer on 3 February 2020. This follows his previous appointment as our Executive Director for Systems and Networks in April 2018.

He has wide-ranging energy sector experience, having led Electricity Market Reform as the Director for Energy Markets and Networks at DECC. Prior to this, he was Director of the Office of Climate Change, a cross-government strategy unit focussed on climate change and energy issues, where he led the development of the Climate Change Act. Earlier in his career, Jonathan was a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics from Glasgow University and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Baroness Brown is an engineer and a Crossbench Member of the House of Lords, with extensive experience in industry and academia.  For 16 years she was an academic at Cambridge University, going on to spend eight years at Rolls-Royce plc in senior roles including Director of Advanced Engineering for the Industrial Businesses and Director of Engineering and Technology for the Marine Business. Before becoming a Member of the House of Lords in 2015, she was Vice-Chancellor of Aston University for ten years.

Julia advises the UK Government a Vice Chair of the UK Committee on Climate Change and Chair of the Adaptation Committee.  She chairs The Carbon Trust and is a non-executive director of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.  Until its sale in 2017 she was a non-executive director of the Green Investment Bank.  She led the King Review on decarbonising transport (2007) for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and is the Sector Champion for the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, part of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy.

Julia was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to education and technology on 2015.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Kelly Speakes-Backman is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), and Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy. In her role, Speakes-Backman leads and directs the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, focused on creating and sustaining American leadership in the transition to a global clean energy economy.  She oversees the planning and execution of the organization’s $2.8B portfolio of research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation.

Speakes-Backman most recently served as the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association, the national trade organization for the energy storage industry. She has spent more than 20 years working in energy and environmental issues in the public, NGO, and private sectors. In 2019, Speakes-Backman was honored by The Cleanie Awards as Woman of the Year.

Kentaro Hosomi is Executive Vice President at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and as of 1 April 2021 also serves as Chief Regional Officer (CRO) for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region and CEO Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA, Ltd. In his current role, Mr. Hosomi leads MHI’s efforts to grow its business across the region and across MHI Group companies, including Mitsubishi Power, Mitsubishi Logisnext, Primetals Technologies and MHI Air-conditioning Europe.

He previously served as President & CEO for the company’s Energy Systems domain and was deeply involved in MHI Group’s energy transition strategy. Mr. Hosomi is also a member of the board for Vestas Wind Systems where MHI now holds a stake in.

Mr. Hosomi brings around 40 years of experience to MHI Group, and has a proven track record in the power and energy sector.

In 2011, Mr. Hosomi was appointed as General Manager of Business Development & Strategic Planning Department of Power Systems at MHI, where he was responsible for business development, strategic planning, alliances for the overall power systems business. There, he made achievements such as the acquisition of PW Power Systems (currently known as Mitsubishi Power Aero LLC) and the launch of Savannah Machinery Works in Georgia, USA (now operating under Mitsubishi Power).

Mr. Hosomi’s expertise in sales, marketing and commercial administration of various types of power plant projects contributed to the company’s global presence in the energy industry. Starting as a sales specialist for the Middle East and later on doing a five-year stint in London, UK, his career at MHI Group includes a track record worth a few decades of winning, executing and managing power plant projects successfully.

Mr. Hosomi earned his Bachelor’s degree in economics from The University of Tokyo, Japan.

Kingsmill Bond, CFA is the Energy Strategist for Carbon Tracker.  He believes that the energy transition is the most important driver of financial markets and geopolitics in the modern era.

Kingsmill has worked as a sell-side City equity analyst and strategist for 25 years, including for Deutsche Bank, Sberbank and Citibank in London, Hong Kong and Moscow.  He has written research on emerging market and global themes, including the wider significance of the shale revolution and the impact of US energy independence.

At Carbon Tracker he has written about the impact of the energy transition on financial markets, domestic politics and geopolitics, and authored a series of reports on the myths of the energy transition, looking at the many arguments made by incumbents to deny the reality of change.

He has an MA in history from Cambridge University, qualified as an accountant (CIMA), and is holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification.

Lord Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of companies, NGOs and experts working to achieve a net zero economy by 2040.  He is Chairman of insurer group Chubb Europe, Senior Fellow at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and is on the Advisory Board of Board of Shanghai energy group Envision.  From 2008-2013, Lord Turner chaired the Financial Services Authority, and played a leading role in the redesign of global banking and shadow banking regulation.  Alongside a business career, he has held a number of public policy roles: he was Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (1995-2000); chaired the Low Pay Commission (2002-2006), the Pensions Commission (2003-2006), and the Climate Change Committee (2008-2012).

Marco is a renewable energy expert and the Chief Operations Officer of Enegix Energy. As an electrical engineer with over 20 year experience he excels in the development, construction and operation of renewable energy projects including business development and consulting. Marco‘s development experience in renewable projects in relation to development studies, feasibility studies, design, technology, and financial models has been an invaluable part of the Enegix business as he drives the key aspects and pipeline of projects forward for green hydrogen production.

Before joining Enegix Energy, Marco was the VP Power for Freeport McMoRan in Grasberg, Indonesia, and International Development Executive Manager for Pacific Hydro in Melbourne, Santiago and Natal. Marco has developed the largest run-of-river hydro project in the world, worth US$2.3 billion.

Marco holds an MBA at Melbourne Business School and Electrical Engineering BSc at Universidade de São Paulo. Having lived, studied and worked in 7 different countries, Marco can speak Portuguese, English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Bahasa.

Founder at Thinking the Unthinkable. International broadcaster. Moderator of public/private conferences (corporate/government). http://www.thinkunthink.org/

35 year analytical expertise in diplomacy, defence, international security.
– Main news presenter, the BBC’s international 24-hour news channel BBC World News 1996-2014.
– presented The Hub with Nik Gowing, BBC World Debates, Dateline London , plus location coverage of major global stories.
– 1979-1996 ITN : bureau chief in Rome/Warsaw’
– Diplomatic Editor Channel 4 News (1988-1996).
– BAFTA award for coverage of Martial Law in Poland 1981

Councils/boards
– Chatham House (1998–2004)
– Royal United Services Institute (2005–present)
– Overseas Development Institute (2007-2014)
– Westminster Foundation for Democracy inc vice chair (1996-2005)
– Wilton Park (1998-2012 )
– Hay Festival

Much sought-after analytical expertise on failures to manage information in new transparent environments of conflicts, crises, emergencies and tension. Peer-reviewed study at Oxford University is “Skyful of Lies and Black Swans”. Predicts new vulnerability, fragility and brittleness of institutional power in the new all-pervasive public information space.

Ongoing “Thinking the Unthinkable” study reveals candidly why so many leaders face new difficulties identifying what looms in the disruptions of the “new normal”. The findings are scary. Based on hundreds of interviews, inc 60 top level confidential interviews of corporate/public service leaders, plus new generation of millennials.

2014- Visiting Professor, Kings College, London in School of Social Science and Public Policy.

Member World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geo-Economics.

Honorary Doctorates – Exeter University 2012; Bristol University 2015 for ongoing cutting edge analyses and distinguished career in international journalism.

1994: Fellow Kennedy School of Government, Harvard.

Paddy Blewer has been appointed as Public Affairs Director of the IGU with effect 1 May 2021, based in UK. Paddy 20 years of experience at the nexus of energy, resources, geopolitics and capital markets – in communications and public affairs, with additional relevant experience in both global investment banking and also as a counterinsurgency analyst. Since 2003 he has worked across the energy value chain, with a strong focus on gas, advising producing states including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar, in addition to large producers such as Gazprom, KazMunaiGas and multiple IOCs.

Rana Adib is the Executive Secretary of REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century. REN21 is a global public-private multi-stakeholder network on renewable energy headquartered at the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris/France. Previously, Rana was REN21’s Research Coordinator developing the international expert community and leading the REN21 Renewables Global Status Report series to become an international reference.

Prior to REN21 Rana worked in private industry and applied research in the areas of renewable energy, energy access, and waste management. She was also responsible for coordinating the biogas-to-energy research programme of Veolia Environment.

Rana holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wedel in Germany. She has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector.

Richard Sarti is Director of Marketing and Sales.  He joins NODES AS from Nord Pool where over the past 10 years he successfully set up and lead the development of Nord Pool’s Exchange and commercial activities in the GB Wholesale Electricity Market. Prior to Nord Pool, Richard spent 10 years working within Market Data, Energy Trading and Risk Management Software Sales. Richard’s expertise resides in Business Development, Trading and Sales Management, he is an Alumni from London Business School, where he completed the Senior Executive Program, focusing on Leadership, Strategy and Transformation.

With a background in engineering, management, and classical Bharatanatyam dancing, Sayli brings a unique mix of skills to Oliver Wyman’s London office.

After completing an internship during the final year of her degree at the University of Oxford, Sayli joined Oliver Wyman full-time. She applies her problem-solving skills to help financial institutions adapt their organizations and strategies to changing market dynamics and evolving regulatory standards. In recent years, she has been an integral member of Oliver Wyman’s Climate & Sustainability platform, support financial institutions on the design and implementation of their climate capabilities and business strategies. She is currently seconded to the World Economic Forum as a Project Fellow, collaborating on the Financing the Transition to a Net-Zero economy initiative.

Sayli has been the co-lead for Oliver Wyman’s diversity network EMPOWERED, where she helped launch the first reverse mentoring session as well as helped grow the network and built connections with universities to ensure a diverse pool of candidates for jobs and internships. In 2017, she was chosen as a Rising Star in Consulting by WEARETHECITY and in 2018, she was selected as a Top 50 Female Future Leader by FT Heroes.

When she is not working, Sayli enjoys dancing, playing cards, staying active and spending time with friends and family.

She is an expert in sustainable development with more than 20 years of experience in formulating public policies and executing projects. She has worked in more than 15 Latin American countries in multidisciplinary projects financed by various multilateral organizations (IDB, World Bank, CAF, European Union, UNDP), bilateral (AECID, GIZ) and National governments.

João Saldanha de Azevedo Galamba was born in Lisbon in 1976.

Graduated in Economics from the Faculty of Economics of Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

He completed the academic part of the PhD in Political Science at the London School of Economics, having taught Political Philosophy in the Government department.

He worked at Banco Santander de Negócios, at consultant DiamondCluster International, at the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and at the Mission Unit for Integrated Continuous Care.

He came to parliament in 2009, being a deputy in the XI, XII and XIII Parliamentary terms. He was coordinator of Socialist Party deputies on the Budget and Finance Committee and Vice-President of the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group.

He is Secretary of State for Energy since October 2018.

Torsten Kallweit is Bosch’s Head of Corporate Office Health, Safety, Environmental and Fire Protection, as well as Sustainability. He is responsible for the development and implementation of the Bosch’s CO2 strategy. He is also CTO of the advisory service Bosch Climate Solutions.

After studying Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin Torsten started his career at the strategic consulting division of Accenture, and later moved to BT Group, working on the development of consulting business in Germany and Eastern Europe. In 2008, he moved to the machine and plant manufacturer Voith for the development and implementation of economic and ecologic concepts in manufacturing and product life cycle. In 2011 he became Corporate Head of HSE and Sustainability department of Voith Group, and moved to Bosch in 2017.

Vanessa serves as the Director of Energy Innovation and Impact reporting to Chief Environmental Officer. Her group is responsible for charting the way for Microsoft to be carbon negative by 2030.  Vanessa has been advancing green infrastructure, the energy transition and sustainability through innovation, program development, policy advancement, and operational excellence – at global scale. She started her career at the French Ministry of Finance and Energy, was part the French climate change negotiation team,  and then shifted to private equity finance of green infrastructure.  She dedicated her career to climate change adaptation, mitigation financing and innovation, and has used the power of advanced technology and financial instruments to transition to a low-carbon economy. She is French and Indian, holds masters’ degree from Sciences-PO Paris, ESCP Paris, and is a graduate of Ecole nationale d’administration.

Vonjy Rajakoba has been Head of Professional Power Tools in the UK, since 1 April 2020 and was appointed as Managing Director of Bosch UK on 1 December 2020.

Born in Madagascar, he went on to study International Business Administration in France, where he received his Master’s degree in International Business Management from Aix-Marseille University and specialised in Cross-Cultural Marketing from Aarhus School of Business in Denmark.

After his studies, he held several senior Sales and Marketing positions across international organisations in the consumer electronics industry. He joined Bosch in 2009, heading up the European sales organisation for Bosch Sensortec before leading the worldwide sales team.

Before taking over his current position, Vonjy set-up and led the Bosch Power Tools business in Africa.

Vonjy is married and has two children. He is a keen sportsman, enjoys travelling and is passionate about social entrepreneurship.

Wesley is the founder and chief executive officer of Enegix Energy, an innovative energy company with a vision to deploy and manage renewable, utility scale energy grids powered by hydrogen. His leadership has driven the company forward with a bold vision to enable the transition to an equitable, affordable and clean electricity future for an ever growing global population with a strong focus on power and fuel markets.

Wesley Cooke is an accomplished company leader with over 15 years of business experience and possesses a broad set of skills across leadership, innovation, technology, product development and market compatibility, business strategy, distribution and marketing.

With the recent announcement of the Base One project in Brazil, the company’s 3.4 GW baseload hydrogen production facility will play an important role in the adoption of hydrogen for grid and mobility in key markets globally.

He has a desire to see hydrogen adopted with a strong focus on sustainability, equality and innovation. His key responsibilities include driving the vision and product development roadmap for the company, leadership of the global Enegix team and managing key hires to meet growth targets, and commercial, partnership and government negotiations leading to successfully implemented projects with scale potential.