Plenary Speakers

HE Majid A. Al-Moneef
Chairman, Saudi Association of Energy Economics
HE Majid Al-Moneef was the Secretary General of the Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia, Governor of Saudi Arabia in the Board of Governors of OPEC, and its representative its Economic Commission Board. He was the Chairman of the International Advisory Group of the King Abdullah Center for Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), president of the Saudi Economic Association, the Arab Energy Forum, and the Energy Group of the Gulf Cooperation Council. He also was vice-dean and professor of economics at King Saud University, member of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco, and the Board of Trustees of the Economic Research Forum (ERF). Read More
HH Noura Turki Al-Saud
Founding Partner, Aeon Strategy
Her Highness Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud is the Founding Partner of AEON strategy, a sustainability advisory firm based in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. She is also a Co-Founder of AEON COLLECTIVE, a cross disciplinary non-profit that advocates sustainable practices for inclusive and equitable development. She focuses on the topics of Energy and climate Policy and directs AEON’s socio-economic development and sustainability projects. She holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs where she took an interdisciplinary approach to development and international cooperation. She focused on Urban & Social Policy, and later the politics and economics of Energy and Climate, as has a sub-specialization in Earth Sciences. She also holds a bachelors of Science in Business Administration. She has previously held the role of assistant director and head of the Unit on Energy Studies at The King Faisal Center for Research, a think tank based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and had previous experience in international and multinational organizations. She serves on the Advisory board of the King Abdullah University for Science and technology’s (KAUST) Circular Carbon Initiative, and as a board member of Albaydah development Society since 2012 and was a member of the IEA’s Energy Efficiency Industry Advisory Board. Read More
Sultan Khaled Al Saud
Deputy CEO of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund
HH Prince Sultan bin Khaled Al Saud is the Deputy CEO of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. In his role Sultan sits on a number of the fund’s committees including the executive, credit, and risk committees. Prince Sultan is also a member of the board of directors of the SME Authority and the Chairman of its board governance, risk, and compliance committee. Prince Sultan holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University. Read More
Fahad Alajlan
President, KAPSARC
Fahad Alajlan was appointed as the president of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in August 2021. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Fahad was the director of the Hydrocarbon Sustainability Program at the Ministry of Energy. He was responsible for looking at the long-term energy trends and their impact on energy markets including global demand for oil and gas. Additionally, he oversees the Circular Carbon Economy National Program, which aims to utilize a comprehensive framework to manage emissions while furthering the socioeconomic development of the Kingdom. Fahad also worked at the Ministry of Economy and Planning in Saudi Arabia, advising on energy markets, policy, and trends, as well as the industry and petrochemical sector.Before that, he served for more than 15 years at Saudi Aramco, where he held senior positions working across operation, corporate strategy and investment planning, as well as mergers and acquisitions. He holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from Stanford University in California. Read More
Noura Alissa
Senior International Policy Analyst, International Energy Policy, Climate Change & Sustainability, Ministry of Energy, Saudi Arabia
Noura currently serves as a Senior International Policy Analyst in climate change and sustainability matters at the Ministry of Energy in Saudi Arabia. She is an international climate negotiator in various multilateral forums including, but not limited to, the United Nations and UNFCCC, covering matters related to mitigation, raising ambition and other cross-cutting topics. At the ministry, she also works on coordinating the national-level efforts pertaining to energy, climate and emissions reduction under the umbrella of the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives. She has previous experience in G20 policy support during the Saudi presidency, strategy and policy consulting in labor market solutions, and political and foreign affairs. Noura holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a BASc in Arts and Sciences: Societies with a focus on Politics & International Relations, and Psychology from University College London (UCL). Read More
Ahmad Al-Khowaiter
Chief Technology Officer, Saudi Aramco
Raja Almarzoqi
Chief Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Economic and Planning
Raja M. Almarzoqi is the Chief Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Economic and Planning, faculty member in Economic Division at Prince Saud Alfaisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies,and Expert at the IMF. He was a president of Gulf Monetary Council (GMCO); prior to GMCO he was an Advisor at the IMF, Washington, DC. In addition, Raja worked as a consultant to many government, private organizations, Regional and International Organizations(World Bank, ARAMCO, General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Supreme Commission for Tourism, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), Alkhabeer Capital and KACST…etc). He has teaching/lecturing experience at (King Saud University; MIT Sloan Management School; International Monetary Fund; Thunderbird Global Business School) in several subjects in economics. Also, he was a board member in several organizations and Funds. Mr.Almarzoqi is specialized in policy modeling for macroeconomic impact assessment, Money and Banking, international finance, and Finance. He presented research papers at major local and international conferences and published papers in major Middle East journals and book and chapter in books. Mr. Almarzoqi holds a B.A. from King Saud University in economics, M.A. from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in Quantitative economics and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater in economics and finance. Read More
Ibrahim A. Almuhanna
Energy and Media Advisor and Author
Ibrahim A. Almuhanna is an energy and media advisor and author. He served as an advisor to four Saudi energy ministers since 1989. His recent book, which has been highly praised, is Oil Leaders: An Inside Account of Four Decades of Saudi Arabia and OPEC’s Global Energy Policy (Columbia University Press 2022). He is the vice chairman of Saudi Association of Energy Economics. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Gulf States’ Institute at Washington (AGSIW) and vice chairman of the World Energy Council for the Gulf States and the Middle East. He received his PhD in International Relations from the American University in Washington and was a professor of Media and Communications at King Saud University. Read More
Sausan Al-Riyami
Director of Oman Hydrogen Centre (OHC) , German University of Technology in Oman
completed her degree in Physics with a minor in Geology at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman. She has a master’s degree in Science and Engineering with honors (IGSES Awards) and, in 2013, completed her Doctor of Science in Applied Science for Electronics and Materials at Kyushu University, Japan by two and half year with honors. She served as a guest researcher at the Institute for Materials Research, Belgium, during which time she expanded her knowledge of CVD applications. Sausan worked at GUTech as an assistant professor before joining The Research Council (TRC) in Oman as a Renewable Energy Researcher in 2015. From 2016-2018, she was a guest researcher as a project manager at both Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB), Berlin and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) Potsdam, Germany. She has occupied a Senior Expert position since 2019 at TRC and was assigned to be EJAAD Director at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation from March 2021 till Feb.2022. From February 2022 she was hired to be Director of Oman Hydrogen Centre. Sausan has received several outstanding awards and a few outstanding research fund grants from Japan and has published more than 25 scientific papers and articles in scientific journals, energy magazines, and newspapers. She also serves as a scientific reviewer in several journals. She was selected to Lindau Alumni Peer Reviewer after she was selected to join one of high prestigious event in science "the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting" dedicated to physics in Germany and been selected among 200 applicants to join Baden-Württemberg Post Conference Programme for Young Researcher of the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, taking place in Baden-Württemberg. She was invited as an expert representing the Sultanate to several scientific events such as Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting in 2019, Tokyo, and moderate the International Energy Agency (IAE) session for (Oman: promising destination for clean energy) that focus on Hydrogen as new economy in Oman. She initiated "Oman Hydrogen Feasibility study". She was assigned by Ministry of Energy and Minerals to lead the study as project manager in February 2020 and she submitted it in February 2021. Since that time, she frequently invited to various international, regional, and local events to represent the Sultanate for Energy transition related topics including Hydrogen. Her recent focus includes Scientific Management, Material Science, and Applied Nanotechnology for PV, Renewable Energy, Solar Thermal Technologies, Hydrogen as new Alternative Economy, and topics related to Energy Transition. She also supervises students’ theses with cooperation from local and international universities. Read More
Khalid Ali Al-Ruwaigh
Chief Executive Officer, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP)
Khalid Ali AlRuwaigh is the Chief Executive Officer of Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP). He was appointed in May 2022. Prior to joining APICORP, he held the post of CEO of Emirates NBD (ENBD) Capital in Riyadh where he led the successful transformation of the business and supporting product development, quadrupling revenue and turning it from a loss-making venture into profitability. Mr AlRuwaigh spent nearly 7 years with Naseel Holding, as Chief Investment Officer, where he was in charge of international and regional portfolios covering multi asset classes including Equity, Fixed Income, Private Equity, & Hedge Funds. He also led couple of RE transactions including fund establishments and was in charge of Direct Investments where he successfully completed few acquisitions. His earlier career saw him successful move up the ranks within Alrajhi Capital – a leading provider capital markets investment and advisory services in KSA. Starting as an Analyst he went on to secure a role as Head of Equity Research where he focused on the retail, food, RE, and petrochemicals sectors. Mr. Khalid holds a Bachelor of Science in information systems from King Saud University and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from California State University in San Bernardino. In addition, he is an active member of several boards and executive committees. Read More
Nouf N. Alsharif
Managing Director, Research at Jadwa Investment
Nouf N. Alsharif is a senior economist and a managing director in the Research Department at Jadwa Investment, where she covers various aspects in the Saudi economy and aids in forecasting key macroeconomic variables. Nouf holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Sussex, with a focus on growth and economic diversification in resource-rich countries, and authored several articles published in international academic journals. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors at the Saudi Economic Association. In 2016, she received the “Outstanding Article Award” from the Saudi Association for Energy Economics “SAEE”. Read More
Fahad Alsherehy
VP ‐ Energy Efficiency / Carbon Management, SABIC
Fahad Al-Sherehy obtained his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in Canada and completed Harvard business school Advanced Management Program (AMP). He joined SABIC in 1990. In 2016, he was promoted to be SABIC VP- Technology & Innovation. Since 2019, he is VP Energy Efficiency and Carbon Management. Al-Sherehy has contributed to the development & commercialization of five technologies. He is the inventor and co-inventor of three patents and has been a Board Member of several Companies and government organizations. Read More
Fahad M. Alturki
Vice President of Knowledge & Analysis, KAPSARC
Fahad Alturki is Vice President of Knowledge & Analysis at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC). In this role he oversees KAPSARC’s research programs and priorities, ensuring that these are strategically focused on impacts within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both regionally and globally. Fahad interacts with key stakeholder groups within the Kingdom and internationally, in the private, academic, and government sectors. Moreover, he is responsible for setting the overall directions and parameters for collaboration with KAPSARC’s partners and affiliates. Externally, Fahad is an independent board member of the General Authority of Statistics Board of Directors and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). He frequently presents papers at a number of high profile local, regional, and international conferences, participates in roundtable discussions and is a well-known media figure in Saudi Arabia and overseas. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Fahad was the chief economist and head of research at Jadwa Investment Company in Riyadh, where he managed the economic research department and published regular reports on issues related to the Saudi and global economies and the world oil market. He was also the chairperson of the Public Funds Board, a board member of the Jadwa REIT Al Haramain Fund and Jadwa REIT Saudi Fund, and a member of Jadwa’s executive management committee. Fahad has a proven track record in economics, with more than 20 years of experience in the field. Before joining Jadwa, Fahad was the chief economist at Barclays, Saudi Arabia. Prior to his time at Barclays, Fahad was an economic specialist at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, where he worked for 11 years in the Economic Research and Statistics Department. Fahad has also worked as an economist at the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund. Fahad holds a B.A. in Business Administration from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Oregon (Eugene, United States). Read More
Omar Al-Ubaydli
Director of Research, Derasat
Omar Al-Ubaydli is the Director of Research at Derasat, Bahrain. He is also an affiliated associate professor of economics at George Mason University; an affiliated senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center; a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington; and a non-resident fellow at Trends, UAE. Al-Ubaydli is also the president of the Bahrain Economists Society. His research interests include political economy, experimental economics, and the economics of the GCC countries. Al-Ubaydli previously served as a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Joint Advisory Board of Economists and as a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He regularly publishes his research in international peer-reviewed academic journals, and his mainstream media articles appear in Arabic and English-language newspapers and blogs such as Al-Hayat, The National, Forbes Opinion, and US News. Al-Ubaydli earned his BA in economics from the University of Cambridge, and his MA and PhD in economics from the University of Chicago. Read More
Anvita Arora
Program Director, Transportation, and Infrastructure, KAPSARC
Anvita is an architect and transport planner whose current areas of research at KAPSARC include smart cities, electric vehicles, and freight mobility. Before joining the Center in February 2018, she was the managing director and CEO of Innovative Transport Solutions (iTrans), an incubator company of IIT Delhi, where she led over 40 applied research and planning projects for 10 years for clients ranging from city level and country level authorities to funding agencies including the UNEP, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and DFID. Supporting cities to become sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient was the primary focus of the work. She was also the India Resident Representative for the Bicycle Partnership Program of the Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-CE), the Netherlands, for four years. Anvita has been teaching transport planning in the Urban Design Department of the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi for the past 12 years and was visiting faculty at the TERI University, Delhi. She was also associated with the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP) at IIT Delhi, a Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) Centre of Excellence, for nearly 12 years. Read More
Javier Blas
Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Covering Energy and Commodities
Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities, based in London. Previously, he was the chief energy correspondent at Bloomberg News, and before he was the Africa editor and the commodities Editor at the Financial Times, also in London. Blas is co-author of the bestseller “The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources.” A Spanish national, he studied at the University of Navarra and Sheffield University. Read More
Bart Boesmans
Chief Technology Officer, ACWA Power
Bart Boesmans is the Chief Technology Officer at ACWA Power and is leading technology development at ACWA Power. He brings over 25 years of international experience in the electrical power industry having held operational and executive leadership roles in a range of areas including engineering, business development, project execution and asset management. Prior to joining ACWA Power, Bart’s experience was primarily with Engie where he led several C-Suite roles for over 10 years across multiple geographies, the most recent one being Deputy Managing Director of Engie’s Global Business Line Renewables. Before joining Engie, Bart was CEO of Laborelec, an internationally operating electricity research and O&M services center. Since his early engagement in wind energy over two decades ago, Bart has been actively involved in a wide range of technologies including conventional power generation, natural gas, LNG transport and storage, green gases, solar PV and CSP, hydropower, battery storage, demand side management and microgrids. Bart holds a master’s degree and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of KU Leuven. He is also a visiting professor at the University where he teaches power generation engineering. Read More
Christophe Bonnery
President, French Association for Energy Economics
Christophe Bonnery is President of the French Association for Energy since 2009. He has also been elected in 2019 President of the International Association for Energy Economics. He is Programme Director of Paris School of Economics. Previously he was Vice President, Economics & Prospective, Enedis, the French power distribution company. He created the French Circle of Energy Economists, to promote energy economics to energy policy makers; the Marcel Boiteux Award, which recognizes the best book on energy economics; and was also Vice President, Energy Policy for the AREVA Group. His role consisted in understanding current energy policies and promoting acceptable evolutions for all stakeholders. He also led for a program aiming to define potential synergies between nuclear and oil industries for heavy oil production. Bonnery received his M.Sc in General Engineering from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, Paris, France, and MBA in Petroleum Economics and Management from the Center for Economics and Management, IFP School, Paris, France. His former affiliations include: Head of the Economics Department, NUSYS consulting company, Paris, France; Project-consultant, Shell, Paris, France; Research Assistant, Economic and Industrial Research Division, University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Christophe Bonnery has been awarded the Knighthood of the National Order of Merit. Read More
Jason Bordoff
Co-Founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School, Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University SIPA
Jason Bordoff is Co-Founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School, Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, and Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Relations at Columbia University SIPA. He previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council, and, prior to that, held senior policy positions on the White House's National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality. One of the world’s leading energy and climate policy experts, Bordoff's research and policy interests lie at the intersection of economics, energy, environment, and national security. He is a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine, a frequent commentator on TV and radio, including NPR, Bloomberg, CNBC and BBC, has appeared on the Colbert Report, and has published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and other leading news outlets. Earlier in his career, he was a scholar at the Brookings Institution, served in the Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration, and was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, serves on the boards of The Nature Conservancy in New York, Winrock International, and Foreign Policy 4 America.He is also a Senior Advisor at Macro Advisory Partners and serves on the Leadership Council for Sustainable Energy for All, an international organization that works in partnership with the United Nations and leaders in government, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society and philanthropies to drive faster action towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7). Bordoff graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was treasurer and an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He also holds an MLitt degree from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar, and a BA magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University. Read More
Jeffrey Currie
Global Head of Commodities Research in Global Investment Research, Goldman Sachs
Jeff is global head of Commodities Research in Global Investment Research (GIR). He is responsible for conducting research on commodity market dynamics in the context of corporate risk management programs, short and longterm commodity investment strategies and asset allocation. Jeff is also a member of the GIR Client and Business Standards Committee, Growth Markets Executive Group and Macro Executive Committee. Jeff was European co-head of Economics, Commodities and Strategy Research from 2010 to 2012. He was based in London from 2003 until 2012, when he moved to New York. He has since returned to London. Over the years, the commodities research team has consistently been ranked number one under Jeff’s direction, and in 2011, he was named CNBC Analyst of the Year by City A.M. Jeff joined Goldman Sachs in 1996 and was named managing director in 2002 and partner in 2008. Prior to joining the firm, Jeff taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in microeconomics and econometrics at The University of Chicago and served as the associate editor of Resource and Energy Economics. Jeff also worked as a consulting economist, specializing in energy and other microeconomic issues, at Ernst and Young, LLP and Economic Insight, Inc. In addition, he has advised government agencies in the US, European Union and Russia. Jeff earned a PhD in Economics from The University of Chicago in 1996. Read More
Radoslaw Czapski
Senior Infrastructure and Transport Specialist at the World Bank and Program Manager for GRSF Multi-Donor Trust-Funds
Radoslaw Czapski is a Senior Infrastructure and Transport Specialist at the World Bank and Program Manager for GRSF Multi-Donor Trust-Funds. He has over twenty five years of experience in large infrastructure investments, technical assistance and consultancy projects in developing countries. In the last several years he has been involved in a variety of donor funded projects in transport sector focusing on road safety, roads and railways, urban infrastructure and transport services, but involving also public private partnerships and project finance mechanisms. During his professional career he was managing and contributing to numerous global, regional and country specific studies, advisory and technical assistance projects, particularly in Europe and Central Asia, but also in Africa and Asia. Read More
Rola Dashti
Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Ms. Dashti is a leading Kuwaiti economist and long-time champion of women’s rights, gender equality and democratic reform. She served as member of the Supreme Planning Council in Kuwait. From 2012 to 2014, she was Minister for Planning and Development and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. Ms. Dashti played a pivotal role in advocating for a decree to allow Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections. In May 2009, she and three others became the first women to be elected to the Kuwait parliament. She has held key positions in research and development institutions, such as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and has worked for major national and international financial and development institutions, such as the National Bank of Kuwait and the World Bank. She also managed contracts for the Kuwaiti Emergency and Reconstruction Program during the invasionto- post liberation period. She is a regular contributor to regional and international policy forums on global governance, economic development and integration, democratization, and women’s empowerment in the MENA region. She has served as chairperson for the Arab Planning Institute, and for the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council for the MENA region. She was a member of the advisory panel for the World Bank on Middle East political and economic transition, of the advisory council for the Arab Human Development Report 2009, of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait, and of the Executive Committee of Young Arab Leaders- Kuwait Chapter. She served on the executive board of the Pan-Arab Women Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Violence against Women, and on the board of the Arab Women Parliamentarians Network for Equality (Ra’edat). She won the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe for 2010 together with Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev. She also received the Clinton Global Citizens Award for 2009, the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award for 2006, and the King Hussein Humanitarian award for 2005. She is listed among the top 150 women leaders by Business Week, among the top 20 businesswomen in the Arab region by the Financial Times, and among the world’s 100 most powerful Arabs by Arabian Business. She was featured in The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East as a leader and a champion for women’s rights from Kuwait. Ms. Dashti holds a doctorate degree in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, a master’s degree in economics and finance from California State University in Sacramento, and a bachelor of science in agriculture economics from California State University in Chico. She speaks Arabic and English fluently. Read More
Kaushik Deb
Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, School of International and Public Affairs
Kaushik Deb is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where his research focuses on policies to achieve a just and efficient energy transition in developing countries, especially the role of oil and gas markets. Prior to joining the Center, Kaushik led the Markets and Industrial Development Program at the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center in Riyadh, managing the Center’s engagement with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy in supporting the development of short and long term strategies for oil and gas markets to achieve the Kingdom’s energy sector objectives. Before this, Kaushik was the Head, Global Gas Markets in Group Economics in BP overseeing analysis that formed the basis for the investment and trading strategy of the company in natural gas. He also led the gas sections of BP’s flagship publications, the Statistical Review of World Energy and the Energy Outlook. Prior to BP, at IDFC (now IDFC Bank), his portfolio included policy research and advocacy on infrastructure and environmental economics issues such as low carbon infrastructure, decentralized electricity services in rural areas, and organized intermediate public transport systems for small towns. He has also guided and implemented research in applied economics in TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) and was the Programme Director of the MBA Programmes at TERI University. Kaushik has a Doctor of Science degree from ETH Zürich and a Master of Arts in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics. Read More
Shihab Elborai
Partner with Strategy& and a member of the Energy, Chemicals, and Utilities practice
Shihab Elborai is a Partner with Strategy& and a member of the Energy, Chemicals, and Utilities practice. He serves major energy industry players across the Middle East and North Africa by redesigning strategy, policies, governance structures, and regulatory frameworks to navigate the shift from fossil fuels to renewables and to help build sustainable energy delivery systems. Shihab co-leads the firm’s cross-industry platform on Sustainability in the Middle East. Shihab received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was the recipient of the Raymie Stata fellowship and the Carlton E. Tucker award for excellence in teaching undergraduates. He holds a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. Read More
Amro Elshurafa
Fellow, KAPSARC
Elshurafa is a Fellow in King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and possesses 20 years of experience in energy and technology garnered on three continents. His research interests lie in renewable energy policy, power systems modeling, and hybrid microgrid design and optimization. He has led and executed several national modeling initiatives both at the distributed- and utility-scales. Some aspects of his research have been adopted by BP in creating their seminal annual statistical review. Credited with 50+ papers and patents, Elshurafa holds a PhD in electrical engineering complemented thereafter with an MBA in finance. Read More
Bassam Fattouh
Director, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Bassam Fattouh is the Director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES) and Professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He has published a variety of articles on energy policy, the international oil pricing system, OPEC behaviour, the energy transition, and the economies of oil producing countries. Fattouh served as a member of an independent expert group established to provide recommendations to the 12th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial Meeting in Cancun (29-31 March 2010) for strengthening the architecture of the producer-consumer dialogue through the IEF and reducing energy market volatility. He is the recipient of the 2018 OPEC Award for Research. He acts as an advisor to a number of governments and companies. He is a regular speaker at international conferences. Read More
Michelle Foss
Fellow in Energy, Minerals and Materials at Rice University's Baker Institute
Michelle Michot Foss, Ph.D., is the fellow in energy, minerals and materials at Rice University's Baker Institute, developing policies and conducting research to help build capacity on non-fuel minerals supply chains. She has nearly 40 years of experience in senior positions in energy (oil, gas/LNG, electric power) and environmental research, consulting and investment banking, with early career exposure to mining and mined land reclamation. Over the past three decades, Michot Foss developed and directed research on energy value chain economics and commercial frameworks to support worldwide investment while serving in several positions at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston. She previously served as the chief energy economist and head of the Bureau of Economic Geology’s Center for Energy Economics at the University of Texas at Austin. She was also a UH Shell Interdisciplinary Scholar with grants on North American gas and power integration and national oil companies. Her career research highlights include reviewing oil, gas and minerals markets for local, national and international government bodies, including the Texas Comptroller, U.S. Energy Information Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, World Bank, Japan’s External Trade Organization and other institutions. Michot Foss also led a university-based LNG industry consortium for North America. In addition, she implemented energy development assistance and engagement programs sponsored by USAID and the Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources in more than 20 countries and regions, including Central Asia, Ukraine, West Africa, Uganda, India, Bangladesh and Mexico. She built and led the New Era in Oil, Gas & Power Value Creation program for energy sector professionals from more than 40 countries. She also was previously a director of research at Simmons & Company International and at Rice Center. Michot Foss remains an executive instructor for the Texas Executive Education program at UT’s McCombs School of Business, and she was named an Exxon Mobil Instructor of Excellence. She has served on the advisory committees for the UTA Jackson School of Geosciences Energy & Earth Resources graduate program and Jackson School Endowment. She is a member of the advisory boards for Haddington Ventures LLC and Energy Intelligence Group. She is past president of the International Association for Energy Economics; past president of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics; and was named USAEE Senior Fellow for service. Michot Foss is a partner in Harvest Gas Management LLC, and she created and leads a nonprofit organization, Friends of Briargrove Park Green Space LLC, to coordinate activities with Harris County Flood Control District for post-Harvey rehabilitation. Michot Foss received her B.S. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, an M.S. from Colorado School of Mines and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Read More
Roberta Gatti
Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank Group
Roberta Gatti is currently the Chief Economist of the Middle East and North Africa region of the World Bank. In her previous capacity of Chief Economist for Human Development, Roberta co-led the conceptualization and release of the Human Capital Index and oversaw the Service Delivery Indicators data initiative. Roberta is the author of numerous flagship reports and her research, spanning topics in health, labor markets, and growth, is published in top field journals. Roberta holds a B.A. from Università Bocconi and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. She has taught at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities. Read More
Ashraf A. Al Ghazzawi
Vice President, Strategy & Market Analysis, Saudi Aramco
Ashraf A. Al Ghazzawi was appointed as the vice president of Strategy & Market Analysis on April 1, 2022, following his assignment as executive director of Strategy & Market Analysis since July 2021. Prior to joining Strategy & Market Analysis, Al Ghazzawi was Group Treasurer since January 2020. Al Ghazzawi began his career with Aramco in 1995 at the Riyadh Refinery, where he worked at various engineering and operations organizations in the refinery organization. In 2001, Al Ghazzawi moved to the Process & Control Systems Department where he assumed various supervisory and division head positions. In 2012, Al Ghazzawi became the manager of Aramco’s Research & Development Center. Between the years 2014 and 2018, Al Ghazzawi returned to Technical Services as manager of the Consulting Services Department, manager of the Process & Control Systems Department, and manager of the Facilities Planning Department. In March 2018, he moved to Finance, Strategy & Development as the general manager of the Planning Budgeting & Performance Management organization where he played a leading role in the development of Saudi Aramco’s IPO, as well as Saudi Aramco’s inaugural corporate bond program that represented the company’s first ever entrance to debt capital markets. Al Ghazzawi is the chairman of the Board for both the Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Company Limited (Wa’ed), and the Finance and Accounting Excellence Academy (Al-Tamayyuz). He is also a Board director in Aramco Ventures, the Sadara Chemicals Company, and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH). Al Ghazzawi holds a Ph.D. degree in Engineering from the University of Manchester in the U.K., and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development. Read More
Arunabha Ghosh
Founder and CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
Arunabha Ghosh is an international public policy expert, author, columnist, and institution builder. He is the founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and has led CEEW to the top ranks as one of Asia's leading policy research institutions and among the world’s 20 best climate think-tanks. He played a formative role in creating the International Solar Alliance and was a founding board member of the Clean Energy Access Network. Co-author/editor of four books and with experience in 46 countries, he previously worked at Princeton, Oxford, UNDP (New York), and WTO (Geneva). Arunabha advises governments, industry, civil society and international organisations around the world. He currently serves on Government of India’s G20 Finance Track Advisory Group for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023. Most recently, the UN Secretary-General appointed him to the High-level Expert Group on the Credibility and Accountability of Net-Zero Announcements by Non-State Actors. In 2018, the UN Secretary-General nominated him to the UN Committee for Development Policy, re-nominating him this year for a second term until December 2024. In 2020, the Government of India appointed him Co-Chair of the energy, environment and climate change track for India’s Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP2020). He has also been appointed the Co-Chair of the T20 Task Force on climate and energy for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022. He is co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Clean Air, a member of the international high-level panel of the Environment of Peace initiative, and serves on the Board of ClimateWorks Foundation. A frequent speaker and adviser to governments, industry and international organisations, he writes two monthly columns among other articles, has hosted or featured in several documentaries, and his 2019 TED Talk on air quality (Mission 80-80-80) has crossed 250,000 views. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford. Read More
Jean-Michel Glachant
2023 President of the IAEE; Director of Florence School of Regulation and Professor, European University Institute
Jean-Michel Glachant is the Director of the Florence School of Regulation and the Holder of the Loyola de Palacio Chair. Glachant took his Ph.D. in economics at La Sorbonne in France. He worked in the industry and private sector before becoming a professor at La Sorbonne. He has been advisor of DG TREN, DG COMP, and DG RESEARCH at the European Commission and of the French Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). He has been the coordinator and scientific advisor of several European research projects. Jean-Michel Glachant has been editor-in-chief of EEEP: “Economics of Energy and Environmental Policy” (an IAEE journal) and he is vice-president of the International Association for Energy Economics. Over the past years, Professor Glachant has been leading the transformation of The Florence School of Regulation into a Europe-based, forward-looking knowledge hub for the Energy Transition with a global reach. Following his vision, today the FSR delivers high-quality research, training, and policy dialogue to a community of energy experts worldwide. Read More
Steven Griffiths
Senior Vice President for Research and Development, Khalifa University of Science and Technology
Steven Griffiths is Senior Vice President for Research and Development and Professor of Practice at the Khalifa University of Science and Technology. At Khalifa University, he oversees the development and implementation of the university’s research strategy and operations. In addition to his executive management role at Khalifa University, Griffiths is a member of the Emirates Research and Development Council, a member of the Dubai Future Council on Energy, a member of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Expert Group Subcommittee of the UAE Council for AI & Blockchain, an elected member of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, a Zayed Sustainability Prize Selection Committee member, a Governing Board member of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Center at the University of Manchester, advisor to the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, and a board member of the Microsoft Energy Core. He is also a non-resident Fellow of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines and a research affiliate at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Griffiths holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Read More
Peter Hartley
George A. Peterkin Professor of Economics, Baker Institute Rice Faculty Scholar, Rice University
Peter Hartley is the George A. Peterkin Professor in the Economics Department, a Rice Scholar in Energy Studies in the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, and Co-Director of the Masters of Energy Economics program at Rice University. He also is 2022 President of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), having previously served in that role in 2015. He also was President of the US Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) in 2012. Professor Hartley was previously an Assistant Professor at Princeton University and has also held visiting positions at several Australian universities. He has undergraduate and Masters degrees from the Australian National University and a PhD from the University of Chicago. Read More
Fuad Hasanov
Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund
Fuad Hasanov is a Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an Adjunct Professor of Economics at Georgetown University. Since joining the IMF in 2007, he has worked as an economist for several emerging countries and natural resource producers and conducted training of IMF staff and government officials. Before joining the IMF, Fuad was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 2004-2007. He has written articles on consumption and saving, real estate returns, growth and inequality, fiscal policy and debt, and natural resources. His recent research focuses on growth, innovation, and state policies. He is the co-editor, with Reda Cherif and Min Zhu, of Breaking the Oil Spell that examines economic diversification in oil-exporting countries. Fuad received a PhD in economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Read More
Mohamad Hejazi
Acting Program Director for the Climate and Sustainability Program at KAPSARC
Mohamad Hejazi is the Acting Program Director for the Climate and Sustainability Program at KAPSARC. He also leads the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Partnership (CAMP) project, and his work focuses on integrated assessment modeling, energy-water-land nexus, and climate change research. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Mohamad worked as a senior research scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he served as the principal investigator for the Global Change Intersectoral Modeling System project, a multi-million-dollar project that includes over 40 interdisciplinary researchers across many institutions. He has also led and contributed to projects with the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, US-AID, US-EPA, USGS, NASA, and NSF-INFEWS. Mohamad has authored over 100 journal publications, and he has also served as a contributing author to the Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessment, and the AR6 IPCC WG III report on the mitigation of climate change. Mohamad holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Read More
Eunnyeong Heo
Professor of Energy and Resource Economics, College of Engineering Vice Dean, Graduate School of Engineering Practice Seoul National University
Eunnyeong Heo is Professor of Energy and Resource Economics at the College of Engineering, and Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering Practice at Seoul National University in the Republic of Korea. Professor Eunnyeong Heo received his Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from the Pennsylvania State University, USA, and has been working as a faculty member of Seoul National University, Korea, since 1996. Currently, He is serving as the Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Engineering Practice. Professor Heo is currently a member of editorial board of The Energy Journal and the president of the Korea Energy Law Institution (KELI). He had served as a vice president of the International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE), president of Korean Resource Economics Association (KREA) and president of the Korea Society of Innovation (KSOI). He is an outside director of Samsung Electronics Co., and had served as an outside director of LG International Co. Professor Heo has served as a member of many government committees such as National Economic Advisory Council to the President, National Committee on Green Growth, National Committee on Energy Policy and PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Read More
Khalid M. Kisswani
Associate Professor of Economics at the Gulf University of Science & Technology (GUST)
Khalid M. Kisswani is Associate Professor of Economics at the Gulf University of Science & Technology (GUST), Kuwait. He received higher education training at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), receiving his Master degree with distinction in Economics, and at the University of Connecticut (UCONN), receiving his Ph.D. degree in Applied & Resource Economics. He previously was a faculty member at the University of Quinnipiac from September 2008 to August 2009. He has held visiting positions with the Eastern Connecticut State University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), University of Connecticut (UCONN), and University of Hartford from August 15, 2005 through July 30, 2019. His research interests span Energy Economics, Economic Development, and Tourism Economics. The author of over 30 journal articles and several book chapters, his research has appeared in a variety of journals, including Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Resources Policy, Energies, The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Current Issues in Tourism, Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Tourism Analysis, Applied Economics, Applied Economics Letters, The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, OPEC Energy Review, Economic Change and Restructuring, Bulletin of Economic Research, Journal of Economic Research, and Journal of Economics and Finance. He recently developed and established the Center for Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) at the Gulf University of Science & Technology (GUST). Moreover, he refereed nearly 100 papers for over 50 different journals, with double-digit reviews for Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Resources Policy, the Energy Journal, and Applied Economics. Read More
Ken Koyama
Senior Managing Director, Chief Economist, The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ)
Ken KOYAMA is Chief Economist and Senior Managing Director at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ). He also takes a position of Visiting Professor at Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo and Adjunct Professor at Institute of Innovative Research at Tokyo Institute of Technology. He was awarded the degree of: (1) B.A. in Economics in 1982 from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan; (2) M.A. in Economics in 1986 from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan; and (3) PhD in 2001 from University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland. His specialized field of research is: energy security and geopolitics of energy; and analysis for global energy market and policy issues with emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. He has served as a member of energy policy related advisory councils and committees of Japanese government in many occasions. He also plays a role as: International Advisor (Chair in Energy Economics) at Energy Commission of Tenaga Nasional University (Malaysia) and Visiting Senior Fellow at Institute for International Economic Studies. He was awarded the BrandLaureate’s “Brand Personality Award 2016”. Read More
Gürkan Kumbaroğlu
Vice Rector, Professor of Industrial Engineering, Boğaziçi University
Professor Gürkan Kumbaroğlu holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Türkiye. He is Vice Rector for Research and Professor of Industrial Engineering at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. His research focus is on energy economics, energy and environmental policy modeling, sustainable energy technology, real options theory. He was awarded the Energy Oscar Award for Scientific Contribution to Energy Markets at the 17th ICCI Conference. He has further received the Senior International Scientist Award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is an Editorial Board member of the journals Sustainability, Innovative Energy Policies, and Journal of Self-Governance and Management Economics. Dr. Kumbaroğlu is Executive Director of the Turkish national network for the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network hosted at Boğaziçi University. Dr. Kumbaroğlu is President of the Turkish Association for Energy Economics, and Past President of the IAEE. Read More
Ian Lange
Director of the Mineral and Energy Economics Program and Faculty Fellow, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines
Ian Lange is the Director of the Mineral and Energy Economics program and Faculty Fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. He served as Senior Economist for Energy at the Council of Economic Advisers for both the Biden and Trump administrations. Other previously held positions include the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Energy, and University of Stirling in the UK. Read More
Hoesung Lee
Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Chair and Professor, Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Korea University
Hoesung Lee is Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), elected since October 2015, and Endowed Chair Professor at Korea University Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Seoul, Korea. He is a council member of the Global Green Growth Institute, and Chairman of the Asian Development Bank President’s Advisory Board on Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Lee was the founding president of the Korea Energy Economics Institute -- a government agency for national energy policy development. He was Distinguished Research Fellow at the Korea Environment Institute, senior adviser to the Minister of Energy and Resources and the Minister of Environment, senior fellow at the Korea Development Institute and economist at Exxon Company USA. He served as the president of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), a member of the International Advisory Board of the Battelle-Pacific Northwest National Lab, USA, the Board of Directors of Hyundai Corporation and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan. He served as Vice-Chair of IPCC 2008-2015, and Co-chair of Working Group III of the Second Assessment, lead author and review editor for the various IPCC assessments. He was named to the 2019 TIME 100 Most Influential People in the world. He received the 2020 IAEE Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. He was named to the 2021 Bloomberg 50, its annual list of leaders. Read More
Coby van der Linde
Director, Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP)
Coby van der Linde is currently director of the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP) in The Hague, The Netherlands, a non-executive director in three energy companies, a member of the KAPSARC International Advisory Council and, since 2004, an IGU wise person. Coby van der Linde started working as an assistant professor on International Economic Relations at the University of Leiden in 1984. After finishing her PhD-thesis – Dynamic International Oil markets, Oil market development and structure 1860-1990 (Kluwer, 1991) – she became associate professor. From 2000-2005 she was professor International Political Economy and International Oil Markets at the University of Leiden and from 2004 to 2015 and from 2018 onward, she was part-time professor of Geopolitics and Energy Management at the University of Groningen. Since September 2001 she is director of the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP). She is managing various studies on European and international energy markets, security of oil and gas supply and energy system transition. From 2004-2014 she was a member of the Dutch Energy Council (AER). She is a columnist on energy. Read More
Mehmet Ogutcu
Chairman, Global Resource Partnership, The London Energy Club/Bosphorus Energy Club
Chairman, Global Resources Partnership, UK and The London Energy Club/The Bosphorus Energy Club A prominent businessman, strategist, writer, Mehmet is seen as an internationally recognized authority in the fields of energy, geopolitics, investment and economic diplomacy. He has significant knowledge, experience and network of relations on Europe, Turkey, Central Asia, Russia, Africa, the Middle East and China. Working from London, Brussels, Nice and Istanbul, Mehmet stands out with his senior government, business and public diplomacy engagements in his professional career of 35 years. Graduated from Ankara University, London School of Economics, COI and College d'Europe, he commands a broad portfolio of senior executives and non-executives in the energy, glass, food and beverage, investment and mining industries. He is currently chairman of Global Resources Partnership, a UK strategic investment advisory group. He is also the chairman of the advisory board of the Middle East Institute (Washington DC). Non-executive director of Trinus Capital (Dublin). Founding President of The Bosphorus Energy Club and The London Energy Club. EUFocus (Brussels) partner and advisory board member of China's Belt and Road Initiative (Beijing). Previously, he worked as an adviser to the Turkish prime minister, a career diplomat in Ankara, Beijing, Brussels, and a senior executive at the International Energy Agency and OECD in Paris. He then joined BG Group (now part of Shell) as a director. Until recently, he served as an independent director on the boards of Genel Energy plc, Yaşar Holding and Şişecam Group. He also worked on the advisory boards of multinational energy, high technology, high-speed rail, cyber security, strategic communications and financial services companies such as Invensys, Dimetronics, Windsor Energy Group and KCS Security. Mehmet is a regular contributor to Gulf Intelligence, Dünya, Bloomberg, CNBC, Hürriyet Daily News, Euroactiv, Moscow Times, Capital, CEOLIFE and OECD Observer. He regularly comments on EkoTurk, France-24, Israel's i24NEWS, BBC, NTV, CNNTurk, Moscow Times, Tehran Times, Romania's Diplomatic Passport, BloombergHT. He has published more than a dozen books, including: “Is Our Future in Asia?”, “New Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Strategy”, “2023 Turkey Roadmap”, “New Great Game”, “New Geopolitical and Economic Journey: Turkey's Next 10 Years”, “Life is a Journey: Traveler Diplomat", "Contrarian Minds, Strange Liasons", "Secret Codes of the New World: A Realistic 2030 Vision for Turkey", "The World of Diplomats is completely Different”. Read More
Robert McNally
Founder and President, Rapidan Energy Group
Robert (Bob) McNally is the founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, an energy market, policy, and geopolitical consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Bob has over 30 years of government and market experience as an energy analyst and is the author of the award-winning book Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices (Columbia University Press, 2017). From 2001 to 2003, Bob served in the George W. Bush White House as Special Assistant to the President on the White House National Economic Council and, in 2003, as Senior Director for International Energy on the National Security Council. Read More
Kenneth B. Medlock III
James A. Baker III and Susan G. Baker Fellow, Energy and Resource Economics at the Baker Institute Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies Rice University
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ph.D., is the James A. Baker, III, and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics at the Baker Institute and the senior director of the Center for Energy Studies. He is also the director of the Masters of Energy Economics program, and holds adjunct professor appointments in the Department of Economics and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University. Medlock is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Payne Institute at Colorado School of Mines. In 2012-2013, Medlock held the prestigious Haydn Williams Fellowship at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. He teaches advanced courses in energy economics and supervises Ph.D. students in the energy economics field. Medlock has published numerous scholarly articles in his primary areas of interest, which include: natural gas markets, electricity markets, energy commodity price relationships, transportation, national oil company behavior, economic development and energy demand, energy use and the environment, and various energy transitions topics ranging from engineered and nature-based carbon capture to hydrogen to the economic drivers of technology adoption. He has testified multiple times on Capitol Hill on U.S. energy exports and electricity market evolution, has spoken at OPEC, and is frequently asked to speak about global and domestic energy issues. Medlock is the past vice president for conferences for the United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE), and previously served as vice president for academic affairs. In 2001, he won (joint with Ron Soligo) the International Association for Energy Economics Award for Best Paper of the Year in the Energy Journal. In 2011, he was given the USAEE’s Senior Fellow Award, and in 2013 he accepted on behalf of the Center for Energy Studies the USAEE’s Adelman-Frankel Award. In 2019, Medlock was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of the Education of Future Energy Leaders by the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Foundation. He is also an active member of the American Economic Association and is an academic member of the National Petroleum Council. Medlock has served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission in their respective energy modeling efforts. Medlock received his Ph.D. in economics from Rice University in May 2000. Read More
Robin Mills
Qamar Energy
Robin Mills established Qamar Energy in Dubai in 2015 to meet the need for regionally-based Middle East energy insight and project delivery. He is an expert on energy strategy and economics. He has led major consulting assignments for a variety of international energy companies and governments on energy policy, renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, oil and gas upstream and LNG. Robin worked for a decade for Shell, concentrating on new business development in the Middle East. He subsequently worked for six years with Dubai Holding and the Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), where he advanced business development efforts in the Middle East energy sector. He is non-resident fellow at the Columbia University SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy, the author of two books, The Myth of the Oil Crisis, and Capturing Carbon and co-editor of Low Carbon Energy in the Middle East and North Africa. He holds a first-class degree in Geology from the University of Cambridge, and speaks five languages including Arabic. Read More
Dominique van der Mensbrugghe
Research Professor and Director of the Center for Global Trade Analysis (GTAP) at Purdue University
Dominique van der Mensbrugghe is Research Professor and Director of the Center for Global Trade Analysis (GTAP) at Purdue University. As Director of GTAP he has responsibility for overall management of the development of the GTAP Data Base and Model, working with the GTAP Advisory Board, supervising the Center’s short courses, and organizing the annual GTAP Conference. His research focuses in analyzing economic policies of a global nature such as multilateral trade agreements and climate change and is an expert on global computable general equilibrium modeling. Prior to joining Purdue University in 2014, he worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (1988-1998), the World Bank (1998-2011), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011-2014). He has an undergraduate degree in mathematics from l’Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and a PhD in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. Read More
Sarah Najm
Assistant Professor of Economics, King Saud University
Sarah Najm is an Assistant Professor of Economics at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Reading, United Kingdom. She is an economist working on energy, the environment, and social policy. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Reading and an M.Sc. Economics from the University of York. Her research interests include the role of institutions in generating unequal and paradoxical outcomes, whether environmental, social or fiscal. Her work appears in peer-reviewed journals, including Energy Economics and Energy Policy. Sarah’s current work extends to attitudes and well-being outcomes. Read More
Axel Pierru
Program Director, Energy Macro and Microeconomics, KAPSARC
Axel joined KAPSARC in 2011 after spending 15 years at IFP Energies Nouvelles. He has served in various positions at KAPSARC, including as program director and interim Vice President for Research. Axel has a proven track record of methodological innovations with around 50 journal papers to his name. His work has been published in the Energy Journal, Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Journal of Forecasting, Applied Economics, Economic Modelling, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, European Journal of Operations Research, Journal of Alternative Investments, Resources Policy, OPEC Energy Review, and Applied Financial Economics. Read More
Gerardo Rabinovich
Director, Empresa Mendocina de Energía S.A. (EMESA)
Industrial Engineer, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, (1982). MofSc Energy Economics Institut d'Energie et de Politique de l'Energie (I.E.P.E.) of the University of Social Sciences of Grenoble, France (1987). Vice President of the Argentine Institute of Energy "General Mosconi". President of the Latin American Association of Energy Economists (ALADEE). Associate Member of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) and former member of the Editorial Board of the IAEE Energy Journal. Energy specialist researcher at the Center for Global Climate Change Studies of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute (ITDT). Director of the Mendoza Energy Company (EMESA) Read More
Ricardo Raineri
Special Economic Advisor, AUI; Professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Economic Advisor at Associated Universities, Inc., Professor Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and President Global Mining and Energy Partners LLC. Past-President IAEE, former Chilean Energy Minister and Chairman of the Board of the Chilean State Oil Company, former Alternative Executive Director World Bank Group, and 2021 Member of the High-level Dialogues Technical Working Group on Energy Transition, UN DESA. Holds top-notch professional and research experience in energy and extractive industries on markets, policy, governance and geopolitical issues. Business Engineer, M.A. in economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota U.S.A. Read More
Andreas W. Schäfer
Chair in Energy and Transport and Director of the Air Transportation Systems Laboratory, University College London Energy Institute
Andreas W. Schäfer is a Professor of Energy and Transport at the UCL Energy Institute, University College London, where he is also Director of the Air Transportation Systems Laboratory (ATSLab.org). Previously with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of Cambridge. Advisory roles include the UK Airports Commission, the Aerospace Technology Institute, and the Industrial Strategy Challenge on Future Flight, among others. Schäfer holds a MSc in Aerospace Engineering and a PhD in Energy Systems Analysis / Energy Economics, both from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Read More
Radia Sedaoui
Chief of Section, Economic Affairs, in the Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability Cluster of the UN Economic Social Commission of West Asia (ESCWA)
Ms. Radia Sedaoui is the Chief of Section, Economic Affairs, in the Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability Cluster of the UN Economic Social Commission of West Asia (ESCWA) since 2016. Ms. Radia is the President of the “Arab Energy Club”. Ms. Radia is an internationally recognized expert who bring more than 22 years of experience in oil and gas value chains and markets, carbon management, water-energy-food nexus, circular carbon economy, energy and economic policies, renewable energy and energy efficiency, energy modeling, economic diversification and climate change policies and technologies. Radia has a track record of technical and policy papers on energy market dynamics, climate change and sustainability. She also led numerous projects on sustainable energy and climate change. Ms. Radia previously served as Head Statistics and Gas Modeling Department at the Intergovernmental Organization of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Qatar and previously held several senior positions in Algeria with “Sonatrach” as Director of Strategy and Corporate, Head Portfolio management and member of the Board of Directors of Sonatrach affiliates in Upstream, Midstream and Trading. Read More
Clay Seigle
Director, Global Oil Service, Rapidan Energy Group
Clay Seigle is the Director of Global Oil Service, Rapidan Energy Group. Clay has over 23 years' experience in the energy industry. He most recently held senior management roles at energy intelligence firms Vortexa and Genscape. Previously, he was Energy Segment Lead at Maxar and served in several roles at IHS, including Director of its Global Oil Service. Prior to IHS, Clay was Senior Oil Market Analyst at Enron and an Analyst at the US Department of Energy. Read More
Amrita Sen
Co-Founder and Director of Research, Energy Aspects
Amrita Sen is the Founder and Director of Research at Energy Aspects, a global research house that advises over 500 companies globally on energy markets and geopolitics. Amrita leads Energy Aspects’ forecasts and analysis of crude and oil products markets, and she also delivers expertise in natural gas and energy transition analytics. Amrita’s deep understanding of the complex relationships within the global energy sector, her wealth of industry contacts, and nearly 15 years of market experience enable her to have a unique perspective on international energy markets. She advises central bankers, OPEC+ oil ministers with close relations to the GCC, and CEOs of oil companies around the world. She holds a PhD from the University of London, an MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University, and a BSc in Economics from the University of Warwick. She was formerly Chief Oil Analyst for Barclays Capital and is frequently featured in leading media outlets. She has served as a research fellow at both the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies and the Atlantic Council and is currently a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Amrita is regarded as a leading authority on oil markets and is a sought-after speaker for top industry conferences. Read More
Adnan Shihab-Eldin
Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies
Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Senior Visiting Research Fellow -OIES, is a member of the Board of Directors of Kearney Energy Transition Institute (Nederland) and Gulf Bank. Adnan Shihab-Eldin is former Director General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (2011-2021) and former Acting Secretary General and Director of Research at OPEC. He held earlier senior Director positions at both UNESCO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In Kuwait, he served as Director General of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and Vice President, academic Affairs, and faculty member at Kuwait University. He continues to teach, and publish research papers and articles in the physical and engineering sciences, as well as energy policy, technology and economics. He is a member of many International Boards of Directors and intern Advisory Councils (IAC), including, recently, the IAC of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KASPARC), the American University of Beirut (AUB) and Georgetown University, Qatar (GU-Q) as well as a member of the Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Applications (SAGNA), IAEA. He is a recipient of many prestigious international awards and honors. Read More
James Smith
Professor Emeritus, Department of Finance, Southern Methodist University
James Smith, Executive Vice President, IAEE, has specialized in energy studies since receiving his PhD in economics from Harvard University in 1977 and has published many scholarly articles on the oil and gas industry. Smith currently serves as co-editor of The Energy Journal - the flagship journal of the International Association for Energy Economics, and as President of the International Association for Energy Economics. In addition to the academic services he provided to the students at Southern Methodist University, Smith frequently provides consulting services to energy companies, regulatory agencies, and government officials, in the US and abroad. Read More
Tatsuya Terazawa
Chairman and CEO, The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ)
Mr. Terazawa was appointed as Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan in July 2021. Before joining IEEJ, he supported the then Minister Yasutoshi NISHIMURA as the Senior Advisor of the Cabinet Office between January and June 2021 to assist the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the formulation of the Growth Strategy including the Japanese "Green New Deal". Earlier, he served at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan where he held leading positions including the Vice-Minister for International Affairs. In this role, he assisted the then Prime Minister Shinzo ABE, participating in many of the meetings with the leaders of the world. He also played a crucial role in the coordination for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit. Through June 2011 to December 2012, he served as the Executive Secretary to the then Prime Minister Yoshihiko NODA. During this period, he assisted the Prime Minister on the Government’s multiple challenges to deal with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. He is the Senior Specially Appointed Professor at the Tokyo University of Science, teaching international negotiations. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law. He also studied at Harvard University in the United States, where he earned MBA in 1990. Read More
Geetam Tiwari
MoUD Chair Professor for Transport Planning, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi
Geetam Tiwari is the MoUD Chair Professor for Transport Planning at the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi. She obtained a Master’s in Urban Planning and Policy, and a Ph.D. in Transport Planning and Policy, from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has received the degree of Doctor of Technology honoris causa from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden in 2012. She has been Adlerbretska Guest Professor for sustainable urban transport at the Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden 2007-2010. She has been working in the area of traffic and transport planning and traffic safety focusing on pedestrians, bicycles and bus systems. Tiwari has worked with city, state and national government in India on public transport and road safety projects. Her work has been supported by Volvo research and Education Foundations, International Association of Traffic Safety Sciences, Japan, and European Union and National Institute of Health, USA. She continues to collaborate with Cambridge University, University of Chicago, Capetown University, IFSTTAR, France. She has over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals, has co-edited four books on transport planning and safety. She is editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion since 2009. She is on the editorial board of Journal of Transport and Health, Journal of Safety Research. She is on the board of SLoCAT, an international NGO promoting low carbon transport systems, IATSS forum and LEAD India promoting leadership in sustainable development. She chairs subcommittee in Indian Roads congress, independent director on the board of Urban Mass Transit Company, India and Innovative Transport Solutions (ITRANS), India. Read More
Daniel Yergin
Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Daniel Yergin is a highly respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics, and a Pulitzer Prize winner. He is Vice Chairman of S&P Global, with 35,000 employees around the world, and is chairman of S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference, which CNBC has called “the Super Bowl of energy”. Time Magazine said, “If there is one man whose opinion matters more than any other on global energy markets, it’s Daniel Yergin.” The New York Times described Daniel Yergin as “America’s most influential energy pundit.” Yergin’s new book The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations is described by NPR as “a master class on how the world works”, by the London Sunday Times as a “wonderful book” and, in The Washington Post, as “a tour de force of geopolitical understanding.”. It is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Yergin is the author of the bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, described as “a fantastic book” by Bill Gates in his review. Yergin’s book The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, was a number one New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into 20 languages. He co-authored Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, of which the Wall Street Journal said “No one could ask for a better account of the world’s political and economic destiny since World War II.” Both The Prize and The Commanding Heights were made into multi-hour television series for PBS and BBC. Yergin is a member of the board of the Council on Foreign Relations, a senior trustee of the Brookings Institution, and a member of the Dallas Federal Reserve’s Energy Advisory Council and of the Energy Think Tank of the government of India. of India. He served on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under four presidents and, for a decade, was a member of the Singapore International Energy Panel. He holds a BA from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. Read More
Sama Bilbao y Leon
Director General, World Nuclear Association
Sama Bilbao y Le n became the Director General of World Nuclear Association in October 2020. Sama has more than 20 years of experience in nuclear engineering and energy policy. Sama has a very diverse professional experience having worked in the nuclear industry (Nuclear Safety Analysis Engineer, Dominion Energy, USA), in academia (Director of Nuclear Engineering Programs and Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), USA) and in international organisations (Head of the Division of Nuclear Technology Development and Economics at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), Head of the Technical Secretariat for the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), Head of Water Cooled Reactors Technology Development Unit, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)). Sama, who is originally from Spain, holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Energy Technologies from the Polytechnic University of Madrid; a master's degree and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison; and an MBA from Averett University. Sama is one of the seven founders of the North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN). Read More