2022 Speakers

Ahmed Mortada is a Senior Banker (Associate Director) at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), responsible for the Energy Sector for the EBRD in Egypt. This includes all investment-related activities mainly in the field of green hydrogen production, renewable energy generation, transmission and networks, through the provision of different financial instruments that span from project finance, corporate loans, equity and quasi-equity.  Prior to the EBRD, Ahmed was part of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Advisory Services team, analysing loan book portfolios of regional banks and advising them on developing their SME banking platforms. Ahmed also brings along years of investment banking experience, having worked on multiple mergers and acquisitions and fund raising exercises at Pharos Investment Banking. Ahmed started his career at Ernst & Young – Transaction Advisory Services, conducting independent financial due diligence and third-party equity valuations on target companies. Ahmed is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the American University in Cairo.

The Honorable Amarjeet Sohi is the Mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He immigrated to Canada at the age of 17, worked as a bus driver for the Edmonton Transit System and was an active member of the Transit Employee Union. He was elected to Edmonton City Council in 2007, serving for eight years before being elected as a Member of Parliament for Edmonton’s Mill Woods riding. During that time, he served as Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources from 2018 to 2019 and Minister of Infrastructure and Communities from 2015 to 2018. On 18 October 2021, he became the first person of a racialized minority to be elected Mayor of Edmonton.

Andrea S. Santos is a Brazilian Professor, 43 yrs, member of the “Women in Green Hydrogen
Network”. Andrea has Eighteen years of significant experience in the environmental area. She
has been working with sustainability and climate change issues, including public policy on
climate change, and the development of studies and projects for national and international
institutions. Biologist, Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering, Ph.D. from COPPE – Alberto Luiz
Coimbra Institute of Graduate Studies and Engineering Research of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ (2014); Master in Sustainable Development from the Center for Sustainable Development of the University of Brasília – UnB (2008); Bachelor in Biological Sciences from the Catholic University of Salvador (2001).

She was the coordinator of Climate Change and Sustainability in the Secretariat of Climate Change and Environmental Quality of the Ministry of Environment (SMCQ-MMA). She was a consultant at the Executive Secretariat of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change and was hired by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-Brazil) to develop management and technical consulting activities for the project. She is currently the Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Panel on Climate Change. She acts as a senior consultant in the areas of environment, climate change policies; climate change (mitigation; vulnerabilities, impacts, adaptation; and resilience of cities); Smart cities; transportation, and sustainability. She also has consolidated experience in project and people management. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor at COPPE/UFRJ, researcher and coordinator of the Sustainable Transport Lab (LabTS), and vice coordinator of the Transportation Engineering Program – PET/COPPE/ Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in the research lines on Technology and Sustainability in Transportation; Cities and mobility; and works in the area of Impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation in the transportation sector. She is the coordinator of the Green Hydrogen Project supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Brazil. Andrea was Contributing Author of the Sixth Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Contributing Author of the Third Assessment Report (ARC3.3) of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) of Columbia University.

Andrew Kamau is the Principal Secretary for Petroleum and Mining in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, charged with technical undertaking on behalf of the Government of Kenya in the areas of Oil, Gas, and Mining. He has a wealth of experience in the energy sector having worked in energy trading, oil and gas operations, and the mining sector for over 30 years.
Believing in steadfast leadership to deliver complex projects, Andrew has spearheaded several Government initiatives that have benefitted Kenyans. His vantage has allowed him insight on how to structure, negotiate, and navigate interventions that have lasting and positive impact. Among his greatest accomplishments in this regard, Andrew championed the rapid uptake of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a primary cooking fuel and moving the per capita consumption from 3kg to 7.5kg in eight (8) years. This initiative contributed to reduction of households reliant on charcoal and firewood as a cooking fuel and reduced serious indoor pollution incidence among vulnerable women and children.
Andrew advocated for initiatives to shift the transportation of most refined petroleum products from road to rail and lake barges, thereby reducing costs and the carbon footprint. He oversaw the construction of a new rail siding, connecting the Kenya Pipeline Storage to the Port of Kisumu, allowing for the transportation of refined petroleum products by rail barges from Kenya to Port Bell in Uganda. Relatedly, he led the team working on the rehabilitation of the long defunct Nairobi- Nanyuki rail line, allowing for fuel, agricultural goods, and passengers to be transported after nearly 30 years’ absence.

As a presenter and journalist, Anic van Damme makes TV programs and podcasts about technology and innovation and helps companies with their content strategy.

She does this for Accenture, Signify and Eneco eMobility.

Previously Anic worked for different national broadcasters in the Netherlands such as NOS and RTL, where she also was Head of Video for Bright, the tech platform of RTL.

The documentary ‘Hydrogen, our new energy?’ that she presented for National Geographic was broadcasted on TV last fall.

Anic loves tech that helps the world move forward. She would like to enthuse as many people as possible about the latest technological innovations and the impact they can have on our lives.

Antonio M.A. Pedro is the Acting Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Africa’s premier thought leadership institution focused on generating knowledge and applying policy research in support of accelerated economic diversification and structural transformation. A mineral exploration geologist with more than 40 years’ experience, Pedro has broad experience of and exposure to international development issues and management at national, sub-regional, and continental levels.

He has been involved in the promotion of regional integration and cooperation on the continent since 1984. He was Managing Director of several companies in Mozambique and Deputy National Director of the country’s Geological Survey.

Pedro spearheaded the formulation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) which was adopted by the African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government in February 2009. The vision advocates for “transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development”.  Pedro was appointed Acting Executive Secretary on 1 September 2022 and is also the Deputy Executive Secretary (Programme Support), following his appointment to this role in 2021. Prior to this, he was the Director of ECA’s Sub-regional Office for Central Africa based in Yaoundé (2016-2021), where he successfully led the organization of the DRC-Africa Business Forum aimed at deepening DRC and Africa’s participation in the battery and electric vehicle value chain. 

As the Director of the ECA Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, based in Kigali, Rwanda (2009-2016), he provided thought leadership and helped elucidate pathways and design practical tools and integrated solutions on issues of sustainable development and structural transformation, governance of natural resources, tourism, blue economy, ICT and infrastructure development, and regional integration.  Prior to joining ECA, he was the Director General of the Southern and Eastern African Mineral Centre (SEAMIC), in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he led the modernization and corporate restructuring process of the institution.

He is a member of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and Co-Chair of the SDSN Thematic Network on the Good Governance of Extractive and Land Resources (TG10). He is a former member of the International Resources Panel (IRP), and at the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Mining and Metals of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Arthur Delargy joined Liberty Specialty Markets in 2022 as Principal Risk Engineer within the Oil and Gas team. In his role, Arthur has a special focus on Energy Transition projects.

Prior to joining Liberty, Arthur worked as a Head Consultant for KBR Advisory Consulting (KBR).

A Process Engineer by background, Arthur has over 30 years of experience working both in Consultancies and as a Developments Advisor for IOC’s. He specialises in field development planning, gas monetization, new energies, digital transformation, operations & maintenance.

He has recently worked on a number of new energies projects, including developing Risk Assessment Frameworks for Green and Blue Hydrogen/CCUS and Plastics Recycling on behalf of Liberty, a green ammonia study, and feasibility of large scale CCUS in SE Asia.

Arthur has an M.Eng Chemical Engineering degree from Imperial College, London.

Bart Biebuyck is since May 2016 the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking
(Clean Hydrogen JU), a public-private partnership aiming at facilitating the deployment of fuel cells
and hydrogen technologies in Europe. Under his leadership, a strong emphasis on cooperation with
cities and regions led to the creation of the Hydrogen Valleys concept and the formation of the
European Hydrogen Valleys partnership. Dissemination of project results and building technology
awareness among the European citizens became an important priority. As an engineer he
understands the importance of basic research and is a key focusing point on the call preparations.
Before, Bart Biebuyck was at the Powertrain Division of Toyota Motor Europe where he held various
management positions. His expertise in the automotive industry includes extensive knowledge
related to the deployment of new technologies such as hydrogen and fuel cells in the European
market. Bart was responsible for the European trials of the Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle, which were
conducted partly in the German Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) program. He also had the
opportunity to develop and expand his expertise in Japan, where he lived and worked for two years.
In addition to his industrial experience, Bart has been politically active in his local town since 2006.
In 2013 he became the vice president of the City Council, responsible, among others, for the local
economy and education.
Bart’s term as the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking was extended for
four years until May 2023.
Bart studied Automotive engineering at the HTS Autotechnieken in Arnhem, The Netherlands.

Craig Broussard is a founder of and currently serves as the President & Chief
Executive Officer for Magnum Development. He also serves as Chairman,
President & Chief Executive Officer of the Mitsubishi Power Systems, Magnum
Development joint venture ACES Delta.
ACES Delta is developing the world’s largest green hydrogen production and
storage facility at the Western Energy Hub (Delta, Utah), an ~ 11,000-acre master
planned industrial complex focused on providing renewable and traditional energy
storage and transitional generation solutions. His extensive energy experience
includes serving in a variety of executive positions in public/private industry both
domestically and internationally.
He has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the
University of Phoenix and a degree in Management Studies from Templeton
College, Oxford University. He has certificates of completion from Templeton
College, Oxford University’s Advanced Management Program and the University
of Idaho’s Public Utilities Executive Program.
He currently serves on the board of the Utah Foundation, Sawtooth Caverns LLC,
Magnum Development LLC and ACES Delta LLC.

Daria Nochevnik has spent the last decade working in energy and climate policy and regulatory affairs presently as Director for Policy and Partnerships with the Hydrogen Council, a global coalition of CEOs representing over 140 industrial leaders in hydrogen around the world committed to accelerating the transition to net-zero in line with the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement.
In her current role with the Council Ms Nochevnik is leading the work on hydrogen policy and sustainability, as well as partnerships with global intergovernmental organisations, including the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE).
Prior to joining the Council, Ms Nochevnik held strategic advisory roles in the sector working with policymakers and industry on the enabling regulatory frameworks for hydrogen, energy market regulation, as well as carbon pricing mechanisms and certification systems. In the past decade she worked with the European Federation of Energy Traders where she led Carbon Neutrality Strategy working on the evolution of energy and carbon market design in the EU.

Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik is currently the President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS). A Malaysian aged 48, he holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Finance & Accounting from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and a Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).

His areas of expertise include developing and steering key business strategies, organisational transformation, and financial and risk management. He has vast experience in strategic planning, finance, and business strategy development with a focus on the oil and gas and energy industry. He is recognised for advocating a just and responsible energy transition and is spearheading regional partnerships across multiple stakeholder groups in policy shaping, innovation and technology.

Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik was a PETRONAS scholar and upon returning from his studies, he has held various important roles in the Group. He served as the Executive Assistant to the late PETRONAS Chairman, Tun Azizan Zainul Abidin and later held numerous leadership roles including as the General Manager / Chief Financial Offer (CFO) – KLCC Property Holdings Berhad, Head, Finance & Risk Management (Gas & Power) and Head, Group Strategic Planning.

Between 2012 and 2018, he served as Deputy CFO and CFO of two public listed companies before becoming a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia leading the firm’s oil and gas practice. In 2018, Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik returned to PETRONAS as the Executive Vice President and Group CFO and was at the same time appointed as the Executive Director of the PETRONAS Board. He also currently holds Board positions in PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, PETRONAS International Corporation Ltd as well as PETRONAS Refinery and Petrochemical Corporation Sdn. Bhd.

Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik was appointed President and Group CEO of PETRONAS in July 2020, responsible for the formulation, direction and steering of key strategies of this Fortune 500 global organisation.

In addition to his responsibilities in PETRONAS as well as board stewardship in the above companies, he is the Chairman of the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) Audit Committee, the National Trust Fund, the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) Audit Committee and the CEO Action Network. He is also a Council Member of the World Business Council for Sustainability Development (WBCSD), the ECERDC and NCIA, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Merdeka Award Trust as well as a member of The National Employment Council (Majlis Pekerjaan Negara).

Datuk Tengku Muhammad Taufik is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Oil & Gas Governors Forum, the WEF Industry Action Group and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). He is also the Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP).

In 2021, he was conferred the Darjah Kebesaran Panglima Jasa Negara (P.J.N.) which carries the title “Datuk,” in recognition of his services to Malaysia.

David Caine is a Partner at ERM in the hydrogen Ventures team for EMEA. He is a Chartered Engineer with a Master’s degree in Business Administration in the Global Energy Industry.  He is the Project Director for the ERM Dolphyn project – producing green hydrogen at large scale from offshore floating wind.  He has worked at ERM since 2009 and has been supporting the development of the Dolphyn project since its inception.  At various stages he has been the technology lead, project manager, and project director.

Prior to developing the Dolphyn concept David worked in process safety for the Oil and Gas and Petrochemical sectors, based both in the UK and Abu Dhabi.  During this time he has supported projects from early Feasibility through to Operation Support for major operators including Shell, Total, ADNOC Group.

David helped to build ERM’s in-house service offering in Hydrogen.  Supporting Gas Network Operators, Energy Producers, Regulators and Governments to build the case for safe hydrogen operation in the UK and abroad.

Dr. Lovato is a seasoned industry expert in the power utility space with focus on Independent Power, Desalination and Hydrogen Projects, preferably developed, financed constructed and operated through concession or utility outsourcing contract models.

In ACWA Power since 2009, Dr. Lovato has contributed to the impressive growth of the company leading the development of several IPPs in the region and various global landmark projects, especially in the renewable and hydrogen sectors. Amongst those, he also led one of the largest utility scale green hydrogen production projects in the world, which indicates to the sector the way ahead for the development of such mega-projects accelerating energy transition.

He is leading the newly created function at ACWA Power for Green Hydrogen.

Dr. Lovato received a Ph.D. in Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen and is located at ACWA Power Dubai’s office being based in the region since 2005.

Dr. David Burns is Vice President of Clean Energy Development at Linde. Prior to this, Dr. Burns served as Vice President for Hydrogen and Syngas Global Business Development.

Dr. Burns joined Linde (formerly Praxair) in 2005 and, since then, has made significant contributions to the development of new business in the hydrogen and energy industries globally. Prior to Linde, Dr. Burns worked at Dow Chemical, where he held several business management roles.

Dr. Burns has a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Leeds in the UK and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Dina Barbian holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management (specialising in manufacturing technology) and a doctorate in Sustainability Economics. She wrote her doctoral thesis entitled “Economics and Sustainable Development – Developing an Approach to Implementing Sustainability” back in the 1990s. This makes her one of the first to deal with the topic of sustainability in the German-speaking world.

She lectures on “Sustainable Development & National Strategies”, “Digitalisation & Sustainability” and “Supply Chain Management”. From 2011 to 2014, she was Visiting Professor at the Summer University in Aarhus (Denmark) as well as in Sofia (Bulgaria) with the lecture “Sustainable Development and National Strategies”. In 2018, she was Visiting Professor at the School of Science and Technology in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) with the lecture “Digitalisation & Sustainability”.

Her research areas concern sustainable digitalisation, technological sustainability, sustainability management, national sustainability strategies, climate neutrality strategies, decarbonization technologies, sharing economy, energy and resource efficiency, circular economy, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), cyber-physical systems as well as interdisciplinary interface topics from the fields of production, logistics, digitalisation and sustainability. She is author of books and several scientific articles.

Dr. Samir J. Serhan is Chief Operating Officer for Air Products.

He joined Air Products in 2016 as executive vice president, leading the company’s Technology, Engineering, Project Execution, Procurement, Manufacturing, Construction and Start-up functions, as well as having profit and loss responsibility for the Equipment Sales and Plant Support, Liquefied Natural Gas technology and equipment, Air Products Membrane Solutions, Gardner Cryogenics and Rotoflow businesses.

In 2018, Dr. Serhan’s role was expanded to include the identification, development and commercial negotiation for all large projects. In 2019, he assumed full responsibility for the company’s business in the Middle East. In early 2020, he assumed reporting responsibility for Americas Operations, and HyCO franchises and stand-alone plants. In May 2020, he was appointed chief operating officer and assumed full profit and loss responsibility for the Americas, Air Products’ largest operating region. In late 2020, he assumed responsibility for Global Product Offerings, the India commercial organization and Kochi plant operations, and Global Operational Excellence.

Prior to joining Air Products, Dr. Serhan was employed by Praxair, Inc. as president, Global HyCO. From 2000-2014, he worked in leadership positions in the U.S. and Germany for The Linde Group, culminating in his role as managing director, Linde Engineering. Dr. Serhan began his career at Parsons Corporation, where he held various senior engineering positions.

Dr. Serhan holds a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from Virginia Tech. He also was an adjunct professor at The Pennsylvania State University and Temple University.

Eiji Ohira is the Strategy Architect of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)’s Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Office In this capacity, he has been responsible the overall strategy, execution and coordination of NEDO’s research, development and demonstration project on fuel cell and hydrogen since 2013.
He has also coordinated fuel cell and hydrogen activities with international stakeholders, through International Energy Agency’s Technology Collaboration Program (IEA Hydrogen TCP (Vice Chair), Advanced Fuel Cell TCP), and International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE).

He joined the NEDO in 1992, just after graduation from the Tokyo University of Science. He served as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997-1998.

Before taking up the current position in April 2013, he served in several positions, including Representative at NEDO Asian Representative Office, Director of the Energy Storage Technology Division.

Ms Gaines is the Global Ambassador and Non-Executive Director of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and Global Ambassador of Fortescue. A highly experienced business leader with extensive international experience in delivering financial and operational excellence, Ms Gaines led Fortescue Metals Group Ltd as CEO from February 2018 to August 2022.

Emmanuel Nyirinkindi is IFC’s Vice President of Cross-Cutting Solutions. He is responsible for overseeing cross-cutting services globally, including public-private partnerships (PPPs) and corporate finance, global Upstream projects and programs to proactively create new investible opportunities and markets, sustainability and gender solutions, and climate. His leadership ensures that climate, gender and E&S best practices are embedded throughout IFC operational work as well as Upstream activities. He fosters strong relationships with World Bank Group counterparts to identify collaboration opportunities to enhance client and business delivery.

Before becoming Vice President, Mr. Nyirinkindi served as IFC’s Global Director for Transaction Advisory Services. He has over 14 years of IFC experience, working mainly across infrastructure development, including, since 2015, in his role leading the global Public-Private Partnerships Transaction Advisory and Corporate Financial Services teams and operations. Mr. Nyirinkindi first joined IFC’s Johannesburg office in 2006 as a Senior Investment Officer, and served as the Regional Manager of IFC’s Public-Private Partnerships Advisory Services for Africa before moving to Washington, D.C. He has a proven track record of leadership and execution in advising governments on designing and bringing to market commercially robust public-private partnerships across various sectors that provide high quality, affordable and efficient infrastructure and social services to communities.

Prior to joining IFC, Mr. Nyirinkindi worked for the Government of Uganda’s Ministry of Finance where he introduced public-private partnerships in the electricity and railway sectors and coordinated legal and regulatory reforms in the basic infrastructure sectors. He worked in the petroleum products industry in Uganda and with the Faculty of Commerce at Makerere University in Kampala, where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree. Mr. Nyirinkindi also holds an MBA from the University of Kansas.

Dr Gokce Mete leads the Hydrogen for Net Zero Initiative (H2NZ). H2NZ is a multi-stakeholder platform supported by Verra and Gold Standard that aims to unlock carbon finance for hydrogen projects by developing the first methodologies for the voluntary carbon market. H2NZ is co-initiated by South Pole and Perspective Climate Group. She also leads the policy and advocacy efforts of South Pole in the low-carbon hydrogen and heavy industry transition space.

Gokce is co-founder of the Women in Green Hydrogen Network, author of over 30 publications, and has over a decade of policy and regulatory analysis, public affairs, project development and stakeholder management experience focused on climate change, just transition and sustainability in the energy, heavy industry and minerals sectors.

Previously she was Head of Secretariat of the UN Leadership Group for the Industry Transition hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute which explores how policy, finance and business practices in hard-to-abate industry sectors such as steel, cement, heavy duty transport and chemicals can be aligned to achieve climate neutrality. At SEI, she also project led initiatives focusing on oil and gas transitions, green trade and green public procurement in road transport and construction sectors.

Jacques Vandermeiren is the current CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges (from January 2017). Before joining the Port Authority he was active at Elia, the network operator and listed company, where he held various management positions since joining it in 2001 and became CEO in 2012.
Vandermeiren has occupied various directorships with among others Febeg (Federation of Belgian Energy Companies) and the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. He is currently an active board member of the dataplatform NxtPort, Kunsthuis Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Royal Antwerp Football Club and the Belgian coffee brand Vascobelo. He is also co-founder, and since May 2018 Chairman, of the Belgian sustainability platform The Shift, as well as co-investor in Qpinch, which generates energy from waste heat.
Vandermeiren graduated as Master of Laws, a qualification which he later supplemented with a master’s in European Studies, a middle management course with Vlerick Business School and an “advanced management Program INSEAD”. He is married to Barbara Baeckelmans, with whom he has three children. He lives in Antwerp.

Javier Cavada was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Mitsubishi Power, from January 2022. Dr Cavada’s mission is to expand Mitsubishi Power’s business in the region, accelerate decarbonization and provide total solutions that empower its customers to affordably and reliably combat climate change.

With more than 20 years of global experience in the energy sector, primarily in senior executive roles, Dr Cavada has led companies through all phases of corporate development and growth. Before joining Mitsubishi Power, he was President and CEO of Highview Power, developing and leading the long duration energy storage industry. Prior to that, he spent 17 years with Wärtsilä Corporation serving as President of the energy division and member of the executive board, leading its transformation into renewables integrator including energy storage.

Dr Cavada received his doctorate Cum Laude (With Highest Honors) in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cantabria, Spain in 2012, where he held a professorship at the School of Industrial Engineering and Telecommunications, and was recognized as Distinguished Alumnus in 2015, joining a group of 20 distinguished alumni along the 50 years of history of the University.
All of this has ultimately led to Dr Cavada becoming a renowned and award-winning leader who successfully moves large companies forward in the energy transition.

Jonas Moberg was in May 2021 appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Global Green Hydrogen Organisation. From 2018 to May 2021, Jonas held several positions at Trafigura, including as the Global Head of Corporate Affairs and the Global Head of Government Affairs.

Jonas was the Executive Director of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative 2007-2018, the global transparency and anti-corruption standard implemented by 55 countries and supported by hundreds of large companies and organisation.

Prior to building the EITI, Jonas was a Senior Advisor in the Executive Office of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Director at the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum and member of the Swedish Foreign Service, posted to London and Maputo.

Jonas holds law degrees from the London School of Economics and from the University of Stockholm.

Jonas co-authored the book “Beyond Governments – Making Collective Governance Work” and has written and commented extensively on transparency, corporate accountability, and the role of business in human rights.

Jonas has served on a number of boards and working groups, including as the co-chair of the Ethical Toy Program.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis has been working at Hydrogen Europe since 2016. He currently holds the position of CEO of the association. He previously covered roles in the planning department of the Foreign Office of Germany, at Infineon Technologies and was Member of the European Parliament
(2004-2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy) where he could contribute to lay the cornerstone for the first and the second Joint Undertaking on hydrogen and fuel cells. He was awarded Hydrogen Person of the Year at the World Hydrogen Awards 2022, “as a major player promoting hydrogen in Europe and world-wide, accelerating collaboration and industry development”.

Jorgo was born in Duisburg, Germany. He holds German and Greek nationality, and a degree in political science from the University of Bonn

Julie Cerqueira most recently served as the Executive Director of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors working together to advance the most ambitious state climate agenda in our nation’s history. As its inaugural director, Ms. Cerqueira played an integral role in building the coalition from the ground up and provided the tools, resources and technical expertise to help two dozen governors deliver on their climate and clean energy priorities. Prior to that, she served as a Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State where she led U.S. engagement in strategic partnerships, such as the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the U.S.-Brazil Climate Change Working Group. Among other things, she also helped negotiate climate deliverables for high profile events such as the North American Leaders Summit, created the climate pillar of the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, and launched the Brazil Climate Innovation Lab to mobilize climate investments overseas. Prior to her work in the federal government, Ms. Cerqueira worked with developing countries to design and implement climate policies and financial instruments at the climate think tank Center for Clean Air Policy, advised U.S. companies at the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia to expand U.S. investments overseas, and served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines working with teachers and farmers to promote economic development and environmental stewardship. Ms. Cerqueira also worked in the private sector and for non-profits. She has a M.A. in International Political Economy and Development from Fordham University, and a B.S. in Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Kurt-Christoph von Knobelsdorff is a graduate economist and, following professional positions at the Association of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the German Association of Family Businesses, he held senior positions in the Berlin Senate and the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Schleswig-Holstein. Before joining NOW GmbH as Managing Director, he was Head of Department at the Brandenburg Ministry of Energy.

With its coordination of federal government programmes, political consulting and networking at the interface of politics, industry, municipalities and science, NOW GmbH makes a major contribution to achieving the climate objectives to which Germany has committed itself.

Lord Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of major power and industrial companies, investors, environmental NGOs and experts working out achievable pathways to limit global warming to well below 2˚C by 2040 while stimulating economic development and social progress.

He was chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking until January 2019, where he remains a Senior Fellow. He is Chairman of Chubb Europe and on the Advisory Board of Envision Energy, a Shanghai-based group focussed on renewable energy, batteries and digital systems.

From 2008-2013, Lord Turner chaired the UK’s Financial Services Authority, and played a leading role in the post crisis redesign of global banking and shadow banking regulation.

Lord Turner has held high profile roles in public policy: he was Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (1995-2000); chairman of the UK Low Pay Commission (2002-2006); chairman of the Pensions Commision (2003-2006); he was the first chairman of the Climate Change Committee (2008-2012) an independent body to advise the UK Government on tackling climate change. The recommendations set out in their first report “Building a low-carbon economy” were adopted in 2009.

He became a cross bench member of the House of Lords in 2006.

Amongst his business roles, Lord Turner was at McKinsey&Co (1982-1995); was Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe (2000-2006) and a Non-Executive Director of a number of companies, including Standard Chartered plc (2006-2008).

He is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Financial Studies (Frankfurt) and a Visiting Fellow at the People’s Bank of China School of Finance, Tsinghua University (Beijing). He writes regularly for Project Syndicate, and has published “Between Debt and the Devil” (Princeton 2015), and Economics after the Crisis (MIT 2012).

He is a Trustee Emeritus of the British Museum, honorary fellow of The Royal Society, and received an Honorary Degree from Cambridge University in 2017.

Dr. Maged Mahmoud is a sustainable energy lead expert and the Technical Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE). He has multidisciplinary expertise and solid accomplishments in the fields of sustainable energy transition in the Egyptian, Arab and African arenas. Over the past 28 years, Dr Mahmoud played a key role in helping Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East to identify technology options, formulate renewable energy (RE) strategies, and introduce implementation mechanisms for increased reliance on private sector through viable business models and instruments supporting both utility- and small-scale developers and recognizing positive socio-economic impacts. Dr. Mahmoud has managed and contributed to over 60 projects, initiatives, and studies in collaboration with international organizations and IFIs.

Dr. Mahmoud was an official in the Egyptian New and Renewable Energy Authority for around 15 years where he contributed significantly to setting the Egyptian renewable energy strategies, and in the design of the “best-fit” policies for implementation. He deeply contributed to planning and contracting several hundreds megawatts of wind energy projects amounting to more than 700 million USD. Further, he participated in developing the quality infrastructure for testing solar thermal and energy efficiency systems in Egypt and the region. Dr. Maged Mahmoud is Egyptian with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mechanical Power Engineering and holds the “Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research Award for Development and Innovations in Renewable Energy” since 2001.  He is also a lecturer at the British University in Egypt (BUE). He is a certified trainer and author/co-author of over 50 specialized publications and articles. Dr. Mahmoud is an advisor and Board Member of several entities, networks, projects, and initiatives at national, regional, and international levels.

Mike Hemsley is Deputy Director for the Energy Transitions Commission, a diverse coalition of public, private, non-governmental and academic stakeholders aiming at accelerating energy transitions globally. He previously worked at the UK’s Committee on Climate Change – an independent advisor to the Government – where he led the CCC’s Carbon Budgets team, bringing together the CCC’s analysis on sectoral emissions and leading work on cross-cutting decarbonisation policy to recommend the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget (2033-37).

Lior Schillat began serving as Director General of the Ministry of Energy in October 2021.

Mr. Schillat, 44, has spent the past 20 years working in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He began his career as an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, before heading the Department of Coordination, Inspection and Evaluation in the Prime Minister’s Office. Following his work at the PMO, Schillat served in numerous business and public service roles in Israel, the United States, and Italy.

Mr. Schillat headed the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, a Jerusalem based think tank, between 2016 and 2021. A father of two, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Judaism from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and another M.A in the Joint Program for Energy and Geopolitics from Sciences Po and IFP in Paris.

Peter Terium is CEO of ENOWA, NEOM’s energy, water and hydrogen company. Peter has set an ambitious agenda to make NEOM, one of Saudi Arabia’s giga projects to realize Vision 2030, the world’s most advanced renewable energy center and the world’s first renewable energy system.

A top Dutch executive with 20 years of experience in the industry, Peter’s career embodies the transition within the energy sector. From 2009 to 2011, he served as CEO of Essent, the leading Dutch energy company before assuming command of its parent company, RWEAG, from 2012 to 2016. As CEO of RWE, he moved away from its energy-intensive business model in capital. He created a new company, Innogy SE, which operates in the unexplored world of the energy transition. He then served as CEO of innogy SE until 2017.

Peter lives and works in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. NEOM is being built at the Red Sea in north-western Saudi Arabia as a living laboratory, a place where entrepreneurship and innovation will set the course for this New Future. NEOM will be a destination, a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model of sustainable life, work and prosperity.

Born in Montréal.
Pierre Fitzgibbon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal (HEC). Before his involvement in politics, Mr. Fitzgibbon was a
managing partner at Walter Capital Partners, a private Equity Firm, between 2015 and 2018.
From 2007 to 2014, Mr. Fitzgibbon was president and chief executive ocer at Atrium Innovations, a company that develops, manufactures and markets value-added products for the health and nutrition industry.

From 2002 to 2007, he used his skills at the National Bank Group, where he took up the position of vice-chairman of National Bank Financial, where he mainly acted as head of investment banking and corporate finance services. He was also senior vice president of finance, technology and corporate affairs at National Bank of Canada. Previously, Mr. Fitzgibbon also held executive positions in finance, as well as in company and business development at Télésystème Mobiles International, Chase Capital Partners Hong Kong, Domtar, and Peerless Carpet Corporation. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in auditing and consulting services.

Over the last few years, Mr. Fitzgibbon has served on several boards of directors, including that of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, WSP, Héroux-Devtek, TC Transcontinental, Cycle Capital Management, Neptune Technologies, Lumenpulse and Arianne Phosphate.

This committed businessman is an active member of his community and in several organizations, including until recently, the Fondation du Dr Julien.

Ms. Sharon Hatzor joined the Ministry of Energy at 2017 and started her role as Deputy Director General for Planning, Policy and Strategy in 2020. As Part of her duties Ms. Hatzor is in charge for the

Ministry’s budgets, foreign affairs, policy and long-term strategic projects.
Prior to her nomination as Deputy Director in the Ministry Ms. Hatzor was the Head of Policy and Strategic Projects Division at the Ministry. Before joining the Ministry of Energy, Ms. Hatzor was the Director of economic team at the Israeli Antitrust Authority. She was in charge for the industry market, performing economy market examination of mergers and restrictive arrangements. Ms. Sharon Hatzor holds a B.A in economics and a Master in Business Administration

Sherif believes in the power of private equity to impact a country’s development goals. And at Actis, he considers himself one of the good guys. Our ethos of responsible investment, long-term commitment to growth markets and a track record of institutionalising family businesses all set us apart. It’s our culture as much as our financial support that Sherif feels makes Actis an attractive business partner.

Cairo-born Sherif has spent most of his life in Egypt apart from a period of time spent in London where he gained a Ph.D in economics and an MSc in finance and economic development at the University of London. He learnt his trade at EFG-Hermes Private Equity, investing in Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey and then switched to structured finance at HSBC. But his heart remained in private equity.

In 2004, Sherif joined Actis as an associate focusing on North Africa. Now a Partner, he has played various deal leadership, execution, investment management and exit roles across North Africa in Edita Food Industries, Emerging Markets Knowledge Holdings, El-Rashidi El-Mizan, Mo’men Group, Orascom Telecom Algeria, as well as his newly found interest in the power space where he has been leading Lekela Power’s push into Egypt.

Mr. Siegfried Huegemann is the initiator, co-founder and Secretary General of the African Hydrogen Partnership (AHP; www.afr-h2-p.com) as well as Director of Hypowa. Hypowa is a UK based company specializing in the development of hydrogen lightweight transportation vehicles and one of the two Founding Members of the AHP.

He has more than 25 years of experience in banking technology and worked primarily on Fixed Income and Derivatives related projects for some of the largest Asset Management firms worldwide.

Mr. Huegemann holds a Master of Commerce (Finance and Quantitative Analysis) degree from University of Otago in New Zealand.

Tim Karlsson is Executive Director of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) Secretariat, since 2015. The IPHE is an inter-governmental partnership of 21 countries and the European Commission, working to help facilitate the transition to clean and efficient energy, industry, and mobility systems using hydrogen and fuel cells technologies.

Previously, Mr. Karlsson held various positions including Director of Emerging Technologies, and, Director of Environmental and Clean Energy Industries in the Department of Industry of Canada.

He has worked on numerous policy issues related to energy and the environment including domestic and international climate change in part as a member of Canada’s delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Torsten Lichtenau is a senior partner with Bain & Company, based in London. He leads Bain’s Carbon Transition Practice globally and is a core member of the leadership team in Bain’s Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Practice.

Torsten supports clients across industries and geographies in decarbonizing their business and embracing the value creation opportunity from the carbon and energy transition. His areas of focus are heavy emitting sectors both in energy and natural resources as well as industrials. This also includes the potential from hydrogen as a clean fuel to enable the transition.

Torsten has nearly 20 years of consulting experience across a wide range of industries. Over the course of his career, he has accumulated extensive experience in leading large-scale transformations with a track record of delivering decisive and sustainable results for his clients.

Since joining Bain in 2004, Torsten has applied his management consulting skills globally and has been based in the firm’s London, Dusseldorf and Johannesburg offices. He has advised leading companies in the United Kingdom, Western Europe, the United States, Africa and Russia.

Torsten is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader from the class of 2016. He holds an MBA (Diplom-Kaufmann degree) from the University of the Saarland and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from WHU Koblenz. Throughout the years, he has also deepened his leadership and sustainability skills through executive courses at Oxford and Stanford.