COLUMBIA GLOBAL
ENERGY SUMMIT 2023
April 12, 2023
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Lerner Hall
Columbia University
Register
Register for the Livestream Register for in-Person The in-person event is open only to current Columbia affiliates (students, staff, and faculty).
Ten years ago, the Center on Global Energy Policy was launched with the goal of bringing policymakers actionable insights and solutions to solve today’s greatest energy and climate challenges. What started out as a handful of people in a small office in Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is now a major policy institute — housing nearly 100 scholars and staff, training dozens of future energy leaders, and developing answers to the toughest problems of the clean energy transition.
The global energy crisis that began last year reminds us every day how important the work is that CGEP does on energy security, energy markets, energy geopolitics, the energy transition, and climate change. To kick off the celebration of our 10th anniversary, CGEP will host a special 10th Anniversary Global Energy Summit — where we will convene some of the brightest minds and important leaders to discuss turbulence in global energy markets, the growing gap between climate ambition and reality, and the tensions between today’s energy needs and tomorrow’s energy transition imperative.
This event will be hosted in-person in New York City and live streamed via Zoom.
To register to join us in person in New York City, click here. Please note: In-person registration is limited to current Columbia University affiliates only (students, staff, and faculty) and you must register with your UNI.
To join the livestream, click here.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Learn MoreCEO & President of NRDC, NRDC Action Fund
Learn MoreMinister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Government of Morocco
Learn MoreExecutive Director, International Energy Agency
Learn MoreFounding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia SIPA; Co-Founding Dean, Columbia Climate School
Learn MorePresident, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
Learn MorePresident and CEO, Siemens Energy
Learn MoreManaging Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, RBC Capital Markets
Learn MoreChairman, BlackRock Investment Institute
Learn MoreSenior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
Learn MoreCEO and Founding Partner, onepoint5
Learn MoreChairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Learn MoreClimate Reporter, New York Times
Learn MoreFounding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, Board Chair, CGEP Advisory Board
Learn MorePresident and CEO, Occidental Petroleum
Learn MoreFounding Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs
Learn MorePresident, Environmental Defense Fund
Learn MorePartner & Global Co-Head of Climate, KKR
Learn MoreChester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Learn MoreVice President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy
Learn MoreGroup President and CEO, Ørsted
Learn MoreBusiness Administrator from the University of Chile and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Codelco
Learn MoreDeputy Chairman & CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Learn MoreChairman & CEO, ReNew
Learn MorePresident & CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
Learn MoreCEO, European Climate Foundation
Learn MoreCEO of Sustainable Energy for All , Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair, UN-Energy
Learn MoreChairman and CEO, TotalEnergies
Learn MoreGlobal Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Learn MoreVice Chairman, IHS Markit
Learn MoreComing Soon
This event will be hosted in-person in New York City and live streamed via Zoom.
To register to join us in person in New York City, click here. Please note: In-person registration is limited to current Columbia University affiliates only (students, staff, and faculty) and you must register with your UNI.
To join the livestream, click here.
For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Natalie Volk ([email protected]).
For more information about the event, please contact [email protected].
April 12, 2023
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Lerner Hall
Columbia University
Register
Register for the Livestream Register for in-Person The in-person event is open only to current Columbia affiliates (students, staff, and faculty).
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
Jennifer M. Granholm was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of Energy on February 25, 2021.
Secretary Granholm is leading DOE's work to advance the cutting-edge clean energy technologies that will help America achieve President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating millions of good-paying union clean energy jobs and building an equitable economy. Secretary Granholm is also overseeing DOE’s core missions of promoting American leadership in scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent and reducing nuclear danger, and remediating the environmental harms caused by legacy defense programs.
Prior to her nomination as Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm was elected Governor of Michigan, serving two terms from 2003 to 2011.
As Governor, Jennifer Granholm faced economic downturns caused by the Great Recession and meltdown in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. She successfully led efforts to diversify the state’s economy, strengthen its auto industry, preserve the manufacturing sector, and add emerging sectors — such as clean energy — to Michigan’s economic portfolio. Today, one-third of all North American electric vehicle battery production takes place in Michigan, the state is one of the top five states for clean energy patents, and 126,000 Michiganders were employed in the clean energy sector prior to COVID-19.
Secretary Granholm was also elected Attorney General of Michigan and served as the state’s top law enforcement officer from 1998 to 2002.
After two terms as governor, Jennifer Granholm joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley as a Distinguished Professor of Practice in the Goldman School of Public Policy, focusing on the intersection of law, clean energy, manufacturing, policy, and industry. She also served as an advisor to the Clean Energy Program of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Jennifer Granholm began her career in public service as a judicial clerk for Michigan's 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. She became a federal prosecutor in Detroit in 1990, and in 1994, she was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel.
Secretary Granholm, an immigrant from Canada, is an honors graduate of both the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Law School. She and her husband, Daniel G. Mulhern, have three children.
CEO & President of NRDC, NRDC Action Fund
Manish Bapna is president and chief executive officer of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), one of the nation’s most influential environmental groups, which works to ensure the rights of all people to clear air, clean water, and healthy and equitable communities. During his 25-year career, Bapna’s leadership roles have focused on designing sustainable development strategies that are equitable, durable, and scalable. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute, a leading global research organization focused on the environment and development, for more than 14 years. As NRDC’s new president and CEO, Bapna joins the 51-year-old nonprofit of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates around the globe to tackle the biggest environmental issues we face today.
Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Government of Morocco
Dr Leila Benali is an international energy expert appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on October 7, 2021, as Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. In 2019, Dr Benali was a member of the Special Commission on the Development Model, mandated to diagnose and review Morocco’s development trajectory.
Dr Benali is a graduate of Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingenieurs Rabat and Ecole Centrale Paris. She also holds a master’s degree in political science and a PhD in Economics summa cum laude from Sciences Po Paris.
Dr Benali has worked with major boards and international companies, including Saudi Aramco, where she spent eight years and was in charge of the company’s energy policy and gas strategy; the Arab Petroleum Investment Company, a Multilateral Development Bank, where she held the position of Chief Economist and Head of Strategy and Sustainability; and the International Energy Forum, the largest international organization of energy ministers.
She has also served as Director for the Middle East and Africa at IHS, Professor at Sciences Po, Industrial Engineer at Schlumberger and President of the Arab Energy Club.
Dr Benali co-authored the book Energy Poverty: Global Challenges and Local Solutions, published in 2014, which was hailed by former US President Bill Clinton as a "must read for anyone genuinely interested in finding meaningful solutions to energy poverty."
Her book Electricity – Sector Reforms on the MENA Region, published in 2019, remains a reference for reform policies in emerging countries.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia SIPA; Co-Founding Dean, Columbia Climate School
Jason Bordoff is Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, where he is a Professor of Professional Practice, and is also Co-Founding Dean of the Columbia Climate School. He is also a Senior Advisor at Macro Advisory Partners. 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 Foreign Affairs, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, the Economist, and other leading outlets. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission, a Trustee of The Nature Conservancy in New York, a board member of Winrock International and Foreign Policy 4 America, and serves on the Leadership Council for Sustainable Energy for All at the United Nations. 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. Bordoff graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he served on 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.
For all media inquires please contact Andrew Gumbiner at [email protected].
President, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media
Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policy makers, and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. Ian is an independent voice on critical issues around the globe, offering clearheaded insights through speeches, written commentary, and even satirical puppets (really!).
A prolific writer, Ian is the author of eleven books, including the New York Times bestsellers, “Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism” which examines the rise of populism across the world, and his latest book “The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats—and Our Response—Will Change the World” which covers a trio of looming global crises (health emergencies, climate change, and technological revolution) and outlines how these crises create global prosperity and opportunity.
He serves as the foreign affairs columnist and editor at large for Time magazine, and is the host of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US national public television. Ian is also a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and many others globally.
Ian also teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.
Find him on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and regularly tweeting from @IanBremmer.
President and CEO, Siemens Energy
Dr. Christian Bruch was born in 1970 in Düsseldorf, Germany. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering (Diplom-Ingenieur) from Leibniz University of Hanover, Germany, studied at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow, United Kingdom, and received his doctorate in 2001 from the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, where he also worked as a project engineer in research between 1997 and 2000. Christian Bruch was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy AG and President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy Management GmbH effective May 1, 2020. Before he joined Siemens, he worked for more than 15 years at the Linde Group in various positions, from which he resigned in April 2020 when he joined Siemens. From 2019 he was speaker of the Executive Board of Linde AG. Between 2015 and 2018 he was the Executive Board Member responsible for the Engineering Division and the Corporate & Support Function Technology & Innovation and determined the Group’s digitalization topics. Two years earlier, in 2013, he had been appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Engineering Division. In 2009, he moved from Linde’s Gases Division to the Engineering Division, after being appointed as a General Manager of the Air Separation Plants product line. Between 2004 and 2009, Mr. Bruch held several management positions at Linde’s Gases Division. Christian Bruch began his career in 2000 with the RWE Group in Essen, Germany, where he worked first as a project engineer and then starting in 2002 as head of research and project development at RWE Fuel Cells GmbH. Christian Bruch has been a member of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG in Austria since 2019. He is also a board member of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, Chair of the MSC Security Innovation Board and a member of the ESG Council CNBC.
Managing Director and Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, RBC Capital Markets
Helima is a Managing Director and the Head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research at RBC Capital Markets. She specializes in geopolitics and energy, leading a team of commodity strategists that cover energy, metals and cross-commodity investor activity. Helima is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a select group of individuals who advise, inform and make recommendations to the Secretary of Energy with respect to any matter relating to oil and natural gas. She also is a CNBC contributor, a member of the channel’s exclusive family of experts, is on the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Council, is a member of the Trilateral Commission, and is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Helima joined RBC Capital Markets from Barclays, where she was a Managing Director and Head of North American Commodities Research. Prior to that, she worked in Lehman’s Business Intelligence group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Central Intelligence Agency, where she focused on geopolitics and commodities. Helima has received many industry accolades throughout her career and received her PhD in economic history from Princeton in 2001.
Chairman, BlackRock Investment Institute
Thomas E. Donilon is Chairman of the BlackRock Investment Institute. He served as National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama. In that capacity Mr. Donilon oversaw the U.S. National Security Council staff, chaired the cabinet level National Security Principals Committee, provided the president’s daily national security briefing, and was responsible for the coordination and integration of the administration’s foreign policy, intelligence, and military efforts. Mr. Donilon also oversaw the White House’s cybersecurity and international energy efforts. Mr. Donilon served as the President’s personal emissary to a number of world leaders.
Mr. Donilon previously served as Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor. In that role, he was responsible for managing the U.S. government’s national security policy development and crisis management process. Mr. Donilon chaired the Obama-Biden transition at the U.S. Department of State. During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, Mr. Donilon headed President Obama’s general election debate preparation effort.
Mr. Donilon chaired the Presidential Commission to Enhance National Cybersecurity. Mr. Donilon is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a non resident senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is a member of the Center on Global Energy Policy Advisory Board at Columbia University, the Aspen Strategy Group, the Brookings Institution Board of Trustees, and the Trilateral Commission. He has participated in and led numerous policy groups including Co-Chairing with Governor Mitch Daniels the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases.
Mr. Donilon has worked with and advised three U.S. presidents since his first position at the White House in 1977, working with President Carter. He served as assistant secretary of state and chief of staff at the U.S. Department of State during the Clinton administration. In this capacity, Mr. Donilon was responsible for the development and implementation of the department’s major policy initiatives, including NATO expansion, the Dayton Peace Accords, and the Middle East peace process. Mr. Donilon has received the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the CIA’s Director’s Award.
Mr. Donilon received his undergraduate degree from Catholic University and his law degree from the University of Virginia. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Ambassador Cathy Russell. Ambassador Russell was U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues at the State Department from 2013-2017 and currently serves as UNICEF’s Executive Director.
Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
Jonathan Elkind is a fellow and senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Elkind came to the Center after a long and distinguished career devoted to energy and environment policy in the private and public sectors. From 2009 to 2017, he worked on international energy and climate issues at the United States Department of Energy, helping to coordinate energy policy in the Obama Administration and leading climate and energy programs with key global partners. He departed DOE as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs.
Before his service in the Obama Administration, he founded Eastlink Consulting, LLC where he guided corporate and non-profit clients on commercial energy projects in Europe and Eurasia, and he served as a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, researching international energy security issues.
Earlier in his career, Elkind focused on energy, environment and economic issues in the post-Soviet nations in a variety of posts with the Joint Global Change Research Institute, the U.S. National Security Council, Office of the Vice President of the United States, the Department of Energy, and the Council on Environmental Quality.
Elkind holds a Master of Business Administration in Strategy and International Business from the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, a Master of Arts in Russian History and Certificate in Soviet Studies from the W. Averell Harriman Institute, and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is a Director on the Board of Infineon Technologies, LLC. He is also a Distinguished Associate with Energy Futures Initiative.
CEO and Founding Partner, onepoint5
Ambassador Patricia Espinosa is the Founding Partner of onepoint5, an ESG consulting firm specialized in climate change. Patricia is a career diplomat, respected leader, and influential voice on the global stage with more than 35 years of experience at the highest levels in in diplomacy, multilateral negotiations, and international relations, Ambassador Espinosa specializes in issues related to sustainability, green growth, multilateralism, environmental stewardship, gender equality, and the protection of human rights.
Prior to founding onepoint5, Espinosa served as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2016-2022), Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (2006-2012) and Mexico’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany (2013-2016), Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia (2002-2006).
Following the completion of her tenure as Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Espinosa was appointed Ambassador Emeritus of Mexico, the highest recognition the Government of Mexico awards its diplomats. During her 30-year diplomatic career, Ambassador Espinosa has also been decorated by the governments of Germany, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, Guatemala, Netherlands, Paraguay, and Peru.
She also continues to serve on advisory boards of several international organizations and initiatives dedicated to climate change, sustainable development and strengthening multilateralism.
Chairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.
Laurence D. Fink is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock. He and seven partners founded BlackRock in 1988, and under his leadership, the firm has grown into a global leader in investment and technology solutions. BlackRock's mission is to help our clients build better financial futures and the firm is trusted to manage more money than any other investment company in the world.
Prior to founding BlackRock in 1988, Mr. Fink was a member of the Management Committee and a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of New York University (NYU) and the World Economic Forum, and is Co-Chairman of the NYU Langone Medical Center Board of Trustees. In addition, he serves on the boards of the Museum of Modern Art, the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Rescue Committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the
Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing and on the Executive Committee of the Partnership for New York City.
Mr. Fink earned an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1976 and a BA from UCLA in 1974.
Climate Reporter, New York Times
Lisa Friedman is a reporter on the climate desk, focusing on climate and environmental policy in Washington. She has covered eight international climate talks and chased climate-related stories from the bottom of a Chinese coal mine to the top of snow-capped Himalaya Mountains.
She previously worked for Climatewire where she led a team of 12 reporters focused on the business and politics of the changing climate. Before Climatewire, she was the Washington bureau chief for The Oakland Tribune and later The Los Angeles Daily News.
Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, Board Chair, CGEP Advisory Board
Matt Harris is a founding partner of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), recognized as one of the world’s leading infrastructure investment firms, investing globally in the energy, transportation, water, and waste and digital infrastructure sectors and combining deep industry expertise and relationships with best practice operational management.
During his fifteen years as part of GIP’s leadership team, Mr. Harris has transformed the company into a market leader, managing more than $80 billion for its investors in high-quality infrastructure assets in OECD and select emerging market countries. GIP’s portfolio companies boast combined annual revenues of greater than $43 billion and employ 52,000 people worldwide. He has championed GIP’s forward-leaning approach to growth and innovation, and led the firm’s entry into new markets, including infrastructure in developing countries and renewable energy, as well as focus on the energy transition. Mr. Harris is a member of the executive committee of GIP as well as its Investment and Portfolio Valuation Committees.
He is the founder of Bedari, an impact company innovating at the intersection of investment, philanthropy, and sustainability. Bedari’s portfolio is comprised of operating companies, issue-focused investments, and philanthropic projects catalyzing change in consciousness and energy and the environment. Mr. Harris is also a partner in the Bridge Builders Collaborative, a venture capital fund that invests in start-up companies committed to mental, social, and spiritual well-being.
He serves as chairman of the advisory board of Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy, is a member of Hess Midstream Partners, LLC and of the UCLA College of Social Sciences Dean’s advisory board, and is a member of the board of directors of the Whole Health Institute and the World Wildlife Fund.
He holds a BA in political science cum laude from UCLA.
President and CEO, Occidental Petroleum
Vicki Hollub is President and Chief Executive Officer of Oxy. She has been a member of Oxy’s Board of Directors since 2015.
During her 35-year career with Oxy, Vicki has held a variety of
management and technical positions with responsibilities on three continents, including roles in the United States, Russia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Most recently, she served as Oxy’s President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the company’s oil and gas, chemical and midstream operations.
Vicki previously was Senior Executive Vice President, Oxy, and President, Oxy Oil and Gas, where she was responsible for operations in the U.S., the Middle East region and Latin America. Prior to that, she held a variety of leadership positions, including Executive Vice President, Oxy, and
President, Oxy Oil and Gas, Americas; Vice President, Oxy, and Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations, Oxy Oil and Gas; Executive Vice President, California Operations; and President and General Manager of the company’s Permian Basin operations. Vicki started her career at Cities Service, which was acquired by Oxy.
Vicki serves on the boards of Lockheed Martin and the American Petroleum Institute. She is chair of the World Economic Forum’s Oil and Gas Community and a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Vicki holds a Bachelor of Science in Mineral Engineering. She was inducted into the University of Alabama
College of Engineering 2016 class of Distinguished Engineering Fellows.
Founding Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs
Ma Jun published his book "China's Water Crisis" in 1999. In 2004, he was selected for the Yale World Fellows Program. In 2006, he founded the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), and led the development and launch of China’s first environmental public database, as well as the Blue Map, a mobile app that visualizes air, water, ocean and soil quality data and tracks the performance of hundreds of thousands of major emitters.
In 2020, he led the launch of the Blue Map for Zero Carbon and collaborated with professional organizations to develop regional Carbon Peak and Neutrality Index, as well as Corporate Climate Action Index (CATI). Major multinationals and financial institutions have incorporated the use of Blue Map data and the digital solutions into their sourcing and investment codes, motivating more than 20,000 companies to openly address their violations or measure and disclose air, water and carbon emissions data.
In 2006, he was awarded as China’s “Green Person of the Year” and was named as one of TIME Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People. Ma was also honored with the Magsaysay Award in 2009 and the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2012. In 2015, he received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2019, Ma was invited as a Special Observer by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. In 2022, Ma received the Asia Game Changer Awards from Asia Society.
President, Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp has guided EDF for three decades, overseeing its growth from a small nonprofit with a budget of $3 million to one of the world’s most influential environmental organization, with an annual budget of more than $250 million and 1000 employees. EDF works across the globe, including in the United States, China, India, Mexico and Europe.
As a leading voice on climate change, energy and corporate sustainability, Krupp appeared on the TED stage in 2018 to announce plans to launch MethaneSAT, a satellite that will measure and map planet-warming methane emissions from the oil and gas industry worldwide. He was also a key advocate for the overhaul of America’s chemical safety laws in 2016 and the passage of historic climate investments in 2022.
Krupp has pioneered innovative approaches to harnessing the power of the marketplace to protect the environment and has led EDF’s groundbreaking corporate partnerships with FedEx, KKR, McDonald’s, Walmart and others. Most recently, he helped GM develop its plan to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
He was educated at Yale, where he was recently elected to the board of trustees, and at the University of Michigan Law School. Krupp appears frequently in the media and was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report. He is a recipient of the 2015 William K. Reilly Environmental Leadership Award from the Center for Environmental Policy at American University. Krupp is co-author with Miriam Horn of the New York Times bestseller Earth: The Sequel – The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming.
Partner & Global Co-Head of Climate, KKR
Emmanuel Lagarrigue (New York) joined KKR in 2022.
He leads the firm's global investments in climate.
Mr. Lagarrigue has a wealth of experience in sustainability, the energy transition and the transformation of large businesses. Prior to joining KKR, he was one of the founding partners of BeyondNetZero, a General Atlantic fund focusing on growth equity opportunities in decarbonization technologies. Previously, Mr. Lagarrigue was an Executive Committee member at Schneider Electric, holding the positions of Chief Strategy, Chief Sustainability and Chief Innovation Officer. Also at Schneider Electric, he held several P&L and general management positions in Europe, South America, Asia and the United States over 20 years. Mr. Lagarrigue serves on the board of JBT Corporation and is the Chairman of the board of trustees of Menorca Preservation, an NGO dedicated to environmental causes in the Balearic Islands.
Chester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Dr. Arun Majumdar is the Chester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Jay Precourt Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Energy Science and Engineering, and Senior Fellow and former Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy. He is also a faculty member in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (by courtesy) and Photon Science at SLAC. He served in the Obama administration as the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) and as the Acting Under Secretary of Energy. He served as a Science Envoy for the US Department of State and currently serves as the Chair of the US Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. Dr. Majumdar was also the Vice President for Energy at Google and advises numerous business in the energy innovation ecosystem. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, US National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1985 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.
Vice President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy
At Breakthrough Energy – an organization founded by Bill Gates in 2015 – Ann is working with European partners to accelerate clean tech innovation in the pursuit of climate neutrality and net-zero emissions. Previously, she served as Director-General at the European Commission where she ran the internal strategy department, reporting directly to the President. An entrepreneur at heart, Ann set up her own think tank which she ran for more than a decade. Her career started at the World Economic Forum where she led the Europe department.
Group President and CEO, Ørsted
Mads Nipper is heading Ørsted, the global renewable energy major and world-leading offshore wind developer. He believes businesses should be a catalyst for change in fighting climate change and addressing the Sustainable Development Goals. Mads Nipper is part of World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders where he leads the Power Working Group. He is also Co-chair of the roundtable of hydrogen production under the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance. Furthermore, he is chair of the Danish government’s climate partnership for the energy and utilities sector.
Before joining Ørsted, Mads Nipper was Group President and CEO of the Grundfos Group (2014-2020). Formerly, Nipper had a long career (1991-2014) in the LEGO Group where his last positions were Chief Marketing Officer (from 2006) and member of the Management Board (2011-2014). He has an educational background as MSc in Business Administration from Aarhus University, Denmark.
Business Administrator from the University of Chile and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Codelco
Máximo Pacheco Matte has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Codelco since March 30, 2022.
Pacheco is a Business Administrator who graduated from Universidad de Chile and has held executive and managerial positions in important companies in Chile and abroad.
He was the first Operations Executive Vice President at Codelco after the return to democracy, a position he held between 1990 and 1994; Minister of Energy between 2014 and 2016, during the second government of Michelle Bachelet, and member of the Board of Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) between 2018 and 2019.
His career in private companies includes positions such as Executive Vice President for Latin America for Carter Holt Harvey and Senior Vice President for International Paper, where he served as President for Latin America and later as President for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia. He has also been director of different private companies in Chile, Europe, Russia and New Zealand.
He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the European Confederation of the Paper Industry (CEPI), part of the Council of the North American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) of Belgium and Vice President of the Council of Bracelpa (Brazilian Pulp and Paper Association).
In recent years, he has been an academic at the School of Government of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, a member of the Boards of the Santiago Municipal Theater and Súmate Foundation, as well as a member of the Council of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Chile (WWF).
Deputy Chairman & CEO, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah was appointed president and chief executive officer of Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), the international downstream subsidiary of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), in February 2019. KPI owns and operates over 4700 service stations in Europe under the “Q8” brand, as well as three refining joint ventures in Italy, Vietnam, and Oman.
He has also served as chief executive officer of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), the international upstream subsidiary of KPC, since 19 May 2013. During his tenure as chief executive officer of KUFPEC, the company doubled its production and expanded into new geographies and technologies.
Before joining KUFPEC in 2013, Shaikh Nawaf spent fourteen years at KPC, the last eight of which he served as deputy managing director and general counsel of KPC, where he was the principal inhouse counsel to KPC and an active member of KPC’s negotiating teams on the corporation’s strategic projects. He was also a board member of KPI’s holding company and of MEGlobal, an olefins joint venture involving KPC’s petrochemicals subsidiary.
From 2002 to 2004, Shaikh Nawaf was head of KPC’s Washington office, responsible for the development of downstream business opportunities and policy analysis in the United States. He also previously worked as a corporate transactions attorney for a major international law firm based in Los Angeles.
Shaikh Nawaf holds an A.B. degree magna cum laude from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Chairman & CEO, ReNew
A leading first-generation entrepreneur, Sumant Sinha is the Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power – one of India’s largest clean energy companies. Sumant founded ReNew Power in January 2011, with a vision to transform the way energy is produced and consumed in India. Since then, under his leadership, the company has grown exponentially and is today one of India’s premier renewable energy companies with an aggregate portfolio of more than 13 GW spread over more than 140+ sites. ReNew has been funded by marquee investors including Goldman Sachs, CPPIB (largest Canadian pension fund), ADIA (sovereign wealth fund in the Middle East) and JERA (leading Japanese utility), and has raised more than USD 7.3 billion of capital, both in equity and debt. In August 2021, ReNew became the first Indian renewable energy company to list on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: RNW). ReNew’s current enterprise value is US$10 billion and the company has
emerged as one of the leading asset creators in the country over the last 5 years. It now generates nearly 1.8% of India’s total electricity annually and in doing so helps mitigate half a percent of India’s carbon emissions in a year.
Sumant is a passionate advocate for solutions related to climate change and sustainable development and has spoken at various thought leadership platforms, such as World Economic Forum at Davos, COP Summits, Climate Week NYC, CERA Week, and other forums organized by Financial Times, ORF as well as leading global universities. He has written more than 150 opinion articles in leading global and Indian publications on the pressing issues of climate change, renewable energy and sustainable economic growth. Sumant has recently written a book – Fossil Free: Reimagining Clean Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World, which is about the past, present and future of the world’s energy systems in the context of the world’s changing climate and spells out a playbook to create a carbon light future for India. Recently, Fossil Free was featured in the Tata Literature Live Business Book Award 2021 shortlist. Former US Vice President Al Gore describes the book as “a compelling roadmap to a better, cleaner future for India—and other developing regions of the world”.
Sumant is Co-Chair of the Electricity Governor’s Group, and member of the Stewardship Board on Shaping the Future of Energy and Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, at the World Economic Forum. He was recently elected as Co- Chair of the Alliance of CEO Climate Action Leaders India. Sumant also serves as the President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). He serves on the Board of Directors of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and the Rocky Mountain Institute. Sumant has been instrumental in ReNew joining as a founding member of the First Movers Coalition (The First Movers Coalition is a public-private partnership between the US State Department, through Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and the World Economic Forum). Sumant also serves on the Singapore Government’s International Advisory Panel on Energy, and member - Advisory Committee of India Climate Collaborative- a platform promoting policy advocacy and thought leadership on climate change. He is on the Board of Governors of IIM Calcutta, IIT Delhi and Columbia
University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE). Sumant is an Energy Transitions Commissioner (UK), and chair of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) India. Sumant is also one of the founding members of the CFA Society India that today has more than 3200 members across India consisting of portfolio managers, investment advisors, and other finance professionals.
For his achievements in entrepreneurship and clean energy, Sumant has won several awards and recognitions including 2022 USISPF Global Leadership Award; S&P Global Platts ‘Trailblazer of the Year 2021’; ‘Chairman Of The Year’ at the Stevie International Business Awards 2020; Columbia SIPA ‘Distinguished Alumni Award 2022’; ‘ET Energy’s Chief Executive of the Year 2022’; The Entrepreneur India’s Entrepreneur of the Year award, 2019; Distinguished Alumnus Award – IIM Calcutta 2019; the coveted ‘Economic Times Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ 2018, Distinguished Alumnus Award – IIT Delhi, 2018; ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year’, 2017’ and ‘Outstanding Start-up of the Year’- Forbes India Leadership Awards 2017. Sumant has also been recognized as an SDG Pioneer by the United Nations Global Compact, a first for any Indian business leader, for his work in the areas of energy transition and gender equality.
After starting his career in the Tata Administrative Service, Sumant worked as an investment banker with Citicorp and ING Barings in the US and UK, before heading finance in one of India’s largest conglomerates, the Aditya Birla Group. He was also COO of Suzlon, India’s largest wind turbine company. Sumant has a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, a diploma in business management from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and a B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
President & CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
Dr. Andrew Steer is the President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion fund to address the pressing issues of climate change and nature in this decisive decade.
Dr. Steer joined the Bezos Earth Fund from the World Resources Institute, where he served as President & CEO for over eight years. Prior to this, Andrew served as the World Bank’s Special Envoy for Climate Change from 2010 - 2012. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Director General at the UK Department of International Development. This followed 10 years in East Asia, where he was Head of the World Bank in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Dr. Steer is a Global Agenda Trustee for the World Economic Forum, a Commissioner of the Energy Transitions Commission, a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), co-chair of the Greening the Belt and Road Coalition, and member of the Advisory Committees of the Asian Development Bank and Bank of America.
Andrew was educated at St Andrews University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cambridge University. He has a PhD in international economics and finance.
He is married to Dr. Liesbet Steer and is the father of Charlotte and Benjamin.
CEO, European Climate Foundation
Laurence Tubiana is CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and a Professor at Sciences Po, Paris. She previously chaired the Board of Governors at the French Development Agency (AFD), as well as the Board at Expertise France (The French public agency for international technical assistance). Before joining the ECF, Laurence was France’s Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21, and as such a key architect of the landmark Paris Agreement. Following COP21 and through COP22, she was appointed UN High-Level Champion for climate action.
Laurence brings decades of expertise. From 1997—2002, she served as Senior Adviser on the Environment to the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. From 2009—2010, she created and led the newly established Directorate for Global Public Goods at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She founded in 2002 and directed until 2014 the Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). She has held academic positions including Sciences Po and as Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University. She has been a member of numerous boards and scientific committees, including the Chinese Committee on the Environment and International Development (CCICED).
CEO of Sustainable Energy for All , Special Representative, UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair, UN-Energy
Damilola Ogunbiyi is CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and co-chair of UN-Energy.
Previously, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female managing director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency and was responsible for successfully negotiating the Nigerian Electrification Project, a $550 million facility to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She was also responsible for the Energizing Education Programme, which will provide uninterrupted electricity to 37 federal universities and seven teaching hospitals through off-grid captive power.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi conceptualized the Energizing Economies Initiative, which provides sustainable and affordable off-grid power solutions to economic clusters in Nigeria and drove gender inclusion activities in the REA and energy sectors. Previously, she was senior special assistant to the president on power and head of the advisory power team in the Office of the Vice President, where she was also responsible for the Power Sector Recovery Programme.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi was the first female to be appointed as the general manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. She entered public service as the senior special assistant to the Lagos State Governor on public-private partnerships. Prior to her appointment, Mrs. Ogunbiyi was a consultant for the United Kingdom Department for International Development on public-private partnerships.
She created the Lagos State Energy Academy to build the capacity of young people in renewable energy technology.
Mrs. Ogunbiyi is a commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty.
Chairman and CEO, TotalEnergies
A Graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and Chief Engineer of the French Corps des Mines, Patrick Pouyanné held various positions in the French Industry Ministry and in ministerial offices from 1989 to 1996, including Environment and Industry Technical Advisor to the Prime minister from 1993 to 1995 and Chief of Staff to the information technology and space minister from 1995 to 1996.
Patrick Pouyanné joined the company TotalEnergies (ex Total) in January 1997, with positions in Angola and Qatar in 1999.
In August 2002, he was named Senior Vice President, Finance, Economics and Information Systems in Exploration & Production, then Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and R&D in Exploration & Production in 2006.
In January 2012, he was appointed President, Refining & Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee.
On October 22nd, 2014, the Board of Directors appointed Patrick Pouyanné as Chief Executive Officer, and he became simultaneously President of the Executive Committee.
On May 29th, 2015, Patrick Pouyanné was appointed at the Board of Directors and on December 16th, 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
Patrick Pouyanné is also member of the Board of Cap Gemini, Association Française des Entreprises Privées (AFEP), Institut du Monde Arabe, Ecole Polytechnique and Institut Polytechnique of Paris. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Alliance for Education, French association against dropping out of school. Patrick Pouyanné is President of the Association Française des Entreprises pour l’Environnement
He has been a Knight of the Legion of Honor since April 2015.
Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran is the new Global energy & climate innovation editor, covering the energy and utility industries, the clean energy transition, climate innovations and low carbon technologies. He leads our coverage of America’s climate and green infrastructure efforts, and keeps a watchful eye on ESG trends and corporate pledges of net-zero emissions for signs of promise as well as greenwashing.
An award-winning senior journalist, he previously served as both US Business Editor and China Business Editor. He also serves as chairman of The Economist Innovation Summit, a provocative series of global conferences on innovation.
He joined the editorial staff in 1992 as its London-based Latin America correspondent, and opened the magazine’s first regional bureau in Mexico City. From 1998 to 2006, he covered the politics, economics, business and technology of energy and the environment. From 2007 to 2011 his portfolio encompassed innovation, global health, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
His latest book, published by Harper Collins, is “Need, Speed and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation Can Transform Businesses, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World’s Most Wicked Problems”. Amazon named it a Book of the Month and Kirkus Reviews called it “the perfect primer for the postindustrial age.” In reviewing the book, the Financial Times declared that “Vaitheeswaran is a writer to whom it is worth paying attention.” It has been translated into Chinese and several other languages. His second book, “ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future,” co-authored with Iain Carson, was named a Book of the Year by the Financial Times.
Vijay is a life member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an advisor on sustainability and innovation to the World Economic Forum at Davos, and his commentaries have appeared on NPR and the BBC, in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He has addressed groups ranging from the US National Governors’ Association and the UN General Assembly to the Technology, Entertainment & Design (TED), Aspen Ideas and AAAS conferences.
Vice Chairman, IHS Markit
Daniel Yergin is vice chairman of IHS Markit, a leading information and advisory firm with 16,000 employees worldwide, and is chairman of IHS Markit’s CERAWeek conference.
Dr. Yergin is the author of The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of NationsThe Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which 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. Both The Prize and The Commanding Heights were made into television series for PBS and BBC.
Dr. Yergin served on the secretary of energy advisory board under four presidents. He 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, the government of India energy think tank, and the World Economic Forum’s energy governors.
Dr. Yergin received a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Prime Minister of India, and the U.S. Energy Award. He received the Charles Percy Award for Public Service from the Alliance to Save Energy and an award for outstanding contributions to energy economics and its literature by the International Association for Energy Economics.
Dr. Yergin holds a BA from Yale University and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Marshall scholar.