GIE Annual Conference 2026 @ Ljubljana

Céline Gauer

Director-General, DG ENER,
European Commission

Céline Gauer is Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy. She has had a long career within the European Commission, including senior responsibilities in competition policy, energy and environmental matters, and as Deputy Secretary-General responsible for policy coordination and smart regulation. She became Director-General of DG ENER in June 2026.

Tomaž Žagar

State Secretary for Energy, Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, Slovenia

Arno Büx

President, GIE; CEO, FluxSwiss; SVP Corporate Commercial, Fluxys Group

Arno Büx is Senior Vice President Corporate Commercial of the Fluxys Group. Since November 1^st, 2024, he is also CEO of FluxSwiss , the group’s Swiss affiliate.

Arno Büx is GIE President since October 2024. He also served as GLE President between 2019 and 2023.

Before joining Fluxys, he has evolved within the Engie Group for 20 years, working in Belgium, France and Luxemburg but mostly contributing to the development of the Group’s energy activities in Germany. He held various executive and non-executive management positions in businesses targeting the B2B and B2C commodity markets as well as the gas midstream sector.

Arno Büx holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration as well as a certificate in Corporate Governance.

Arno Büx

Matija Bitenc

General Manager, Plinovodi d.o.o.

Matija Bitenc is General Manager of Plinovodi d.o.o., Slovenia’s gas transmission system operator. He holds a master’s degree in economics and has previously held senior positions at Geoplin, Petrol, Zavarovalnica Triglav and EY. He took up his current position at Plinovodi in February 2026, where he focuses on the safe, reliable and uninterrupted operation and development of Slovenia’s gas transmission system.

Clare Richardson

Master of Ceremony

Lucie Boost

Secretary General, GIE

As Head of Public Affairs for Europe at Air Products, Lucie Boost led a team responsible for European and national energy affairs, focusing on key markets such as the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain. Her expertise encompasses hydrogen, the integrated energy market, and CCUS, aligning perfectly with GIE’s strategic priorities.

Prior to joining Air Products in January 2023, Lucie spent 13 years at Equinor, where she held various leadership positions in natural gas sales, regulatory affairs, and public affairs. During her tenure at Equinor, she gained extensive experience in gas regulation, hydrogen, and CCS, representing the company in esteemed organisations such as Eurogas, the European Federation of Energy Traders, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, the Zero Emissions Platform, and Hydrogen Europe.

Lucie holds a Licence degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and is proficient in Dutch, English, and French.

Christoph von dem Bussche

Managing Director, GASCADE; President, ENNOH

Christoph von dem Bussche is Managing Director of the German transmission system operators GASCADE Gastransport GmbH and NEL Gastransport GmbH, which connect Germany with five neighboring European countries via their transport system. GASCADE plans to convert important parts of its transmission system to hydrogen transport and is involved in several hydrogen infrastructure projects on land and at sea.

Von dem Bussche holds a doctorate in chemistry and began his professional career in 1993 at BASF in Ludwigshafen. Before becoming Managing Director of GASCADE in 2009 and Managing Director of NEL in 2012, he held various senior positions in the oil and gas sector of the group, including European gas sales and strategic planning.

Christoph von dem Bussche has been a member of the ENTSOG Board of Directors since 2016. In addition, he has been a member of the board of the AquaVentus Förderverein since 2020. The association pursues the goal of making large quantities of green hydrogen produced offshore available to the German and European hydrogen market via an offshore pipeline.

Cyril Harry

Head of Gas Asset Regulation & Analysis, ENGIE; Vice-Chair WG Power & Gas Interactions, Eurelectric

Cyril Harry, Head of Gas Asset Regulation & Analysis, ENGIE Cyril is Head of Gas Asset Regulation & Analysis within the Global Energy Management & Sales Entity of ENGIE, being responsible for regulatory and market design files related to gas supply & assets management in Europe. He is also co-chairing the WG Power & Gas Interactions within Eurelectric, which represents the interests of the electricity industry at pan-European level. Holding engineering degrees in thermal power & aerospace propulsion, he gained a 25-year experience into the energy sector through various positions in renewables (wind power industry), electricity market liberalization (French Regulatory Authority), trading & portfolio management and energy markets design topics at ENGIE.

Milan Sedláček

President, GTE; Head of EU Affairs and Strategy, Eustream

Dr. Milan Sedláček is the Head of EU Affairs and Strategy at Eustream, a.s. , the gas transmission system operator of Slovakia, which operates gas import corridor for the EU. Milan has 30 years of experience in gas transmission.

Throughout his career in gas transmission, he has held various managerial positions focused on business, regulation and strategy. He has overseen transmission capacity sales, business development and strategic initiatives, always with a strong emphasis on regulatory affairs.

Milan has been responsible for and has collaborated on numerous projects, particularly those related to the introduction of third-party access to the transmission network, transparency, unbundling, network codes, and EU affairs.

Additionally, an integral part of his activities involves participation in EU gas associations. Since 2023 he has served as the president of Gas Transmission Europe (GTE) and vice-president of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE).

Milan Sedláček

Anne-Sophie Corbeau

Global Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University SIPA

Anne-Sophie Corbeau is a Global Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Her research focuses on hydrogen and natural gas. Anne-Sophie has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry and is a recognized expert on natural gas. She is the author of many publications focusing on gas, LNG markets, Asia, China, India and Africa, including the book “LNG markets in transition: the great reconfiguration” (Oxford, 2016). She is also a member of the Gastech governing body.

Prior to joining the Center, Mrs. Corbeau was a senior Leader and head of gas analysis at BP, where she was responsible for advising the Leadership Team on gas market developments and long term pricing assumptions. As part of the Economic and Energy Insights team, she was leading the Energy Outlook’s analysis on gas, industry, nuclear and hydrogen. She also served as a member of BP France’s Comex (board). Before joining BP, she was a Research Fellow at KAPSARC (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) in Riyadh where she set up and expanded the natural gas program. She also worked for the International Energy Agency (IEA) where she was responsible for managing the research on global gas markets, and for IHS CERA.

She began her career as an engineer working on fuel cells and hydrogen at Peugeot and Debis Systemhaus. Anne-Sophie holds an MSc from the Ecole Centrale Paris and an MSc from the University of Stuttgart.

Anne-Sophie Corbeau

Dennis Hesseling

Head of Gas and Coal Markets Division
International Energy Agency (IEA)

Dr. Dennis Hesseling took up duties as Head of the Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division in July 2023.

From December 2012 to June 2023, Dr. Hesseling was Head of the Infrastructure, Gas & Retail Department at the EU Agency for the Co-operation of Energy Regulators (ACER) where he was responsible for the Agency’s activities in the areas of energy infrastructure, gas markets, and energy retail, and was also the Agency’s representative to the Energy Community Regulatory Board.

Before joining ACER, Dr. Hesseling worked as Head of Unit in the Competition Department of the Netherland Competition Authority NMa (ACM) where he had responsibility for merger control and antitrust enforcement in the Dutch energy, telecommunications and media sectors. Prior to that, he worked in the NMa’s Energy Regulation department from 2002 onwards working mainly on gas issues. From 2000 he worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in Brussels providing strategic and operational advice to postal companies and banks.

Dr. Hesseling holds a PhD in Mathematics from Utrecht University, The Netherlands. He received additional training at McKinsey, business school IMD in Lausanne and the Dutch Programme for Prospective Top Civil Servants. Dr. Hesseling trained energy regulators and competition authorities in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey and Vietnam as well as political parties in various African countries

Dennis Jesseling
@Dehessel

Luis Ignacio Parada

President, GLE; Energy Policy & Regulation Director, Enagás

Luis Ignacio Parada is EU Energy Policy & Regulation Director at Enagás, the main gas transmission, LNG and gas storage operator in Spain. He has 25 years of experience in the energy sector, where he has specialised in energy economics, gas and hydrogen sector regulation and energy policy. Before joining Enagás, Luis started his career in 1998 at Gas Natural, and worked in NERA Economic Consulting from 2001 to 2004. Since May 2023 he has served as Board member in ENTSOG and in GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe), and since January 2024 he has been serving as President in GLE (Gas LNG Europe). He is also engaged as Board member in EASEE-gas since March 2019, and was a member of the Executive Committee of GTE (Gas Transmission Europe) from December 2020 to May 2023. Luis Ignacio holds an Executive MBA from IESE Business School and a MSc. in Applied Economics. He graduated in Economics at Universidad de Salamanca (Spain).

Maciej Ciszewski

Head of Unit of Diversification of Strategy and Joint Purchasing,
DG ENER, European Commission

Maciej Ciszewski has been working at the European Commission since 2008, focusing on energy markets. Since 2022, he has been leading the development of the EU Energy Platform, AggregateEU, and is currently working on new mechanisms for demand aggregation and joint purchasing of hydrogen and its derivatives, gases, and critical raw materials.

Between 2021 and 2022, he served as Advisor to the Director-General of DG Energy, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, on matters related to the internal energy market, security of supply, and international energy relations. From 2008 to 2014, he worked at DG Competition on antitrust cases in the energy sector.

He holds an MSc in Engineering, a degree in International Economics, and an MA from the College of Europe in Bruges.

Pierre Duvieusart

Deputy CEO, Natran; President, ENTSOG; Board Member & Biomethane Area Sponsor, GIE

Pierre Duvieusart serves as Deputy CEO of NaTran, a leading European natural gas transmission system operator. He also chairs the Supervisory Board of NaTran Deutschland.

With 30 years of experience in the energy sector, Pierre began his career as an engineer and subsequently held key positions in various companies, focusing on business development, financial control, investor relations, and financing. In 2012, he joined NaTran as Chief Financial Officer.

Since his appointment as Deputy CEO in September 2018, Pierre has been instrumental in steering NaTran’s operational management and strategic direction, particularly in advancing the company’s energy transition initiatives.

Pierre holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration.

François-Régis Mouton de Lostalot

Regional/Managing Director – Europe, IOGP

François-Régis Mouton de Lostalot joined IOGP in January 2018. He has around 30 years of international experience in the oil and gas industry. He is seconded to IOGP from TotalEnergies, where he was Vice President for Oil and Gas Advocacy. His career has taken him from reservoir engineering to business development and Public Affairs, working in Europe, U.S. and Africa. He has also served in senior advisory roles at the World Bank’s Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership in Washington D.C. and TotalEnergies’ European Affairs office in Brussels.

Anna Slavkovská

Manager of EU Affairs & Regulatory Strategy Gas Storage CZ (GSCZ); Board Member & Methane Area Sponsor, GIE

Anna Slavkovská is Manager of EU Affairs & Regulatory Strategy at Gas Storage CZ in the Czech Republic. She has more than 15 years of experience in energy law, regulation and public affairs, with a particular focus on natural gas storage and European energy policy.

Prior to joining Gas Storage CZ, she held several legal, regulatory and executive positions within the NAFTA Group, including Managing Director of NAFTA Speicher Inzenham GmbH in Germany. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in the implementation of European energy legislation, regulatory reforms, market design and the development of legal and commercial frameworks for gas storage operations across Central Europe.

Anna represents the gas storage sector in several international industry organizations. She has been active within Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and Gas Storage Europe (GSE) since 2009, became a member of the GSE Executive Committee in 2023 and currently serves on the GIE Board. She is also a member of the International Gas Union (IGU) Storage Committee.

Isabelle Chaput

Secretary General, International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (IFIEC)

Isabelle Chaput is Secretary General of IFIEC Europe and represents the interests of energy-intensive industries in European energy and climate policy debates.

Founder of the consultancy withPEPS, Projects Energy, Passion and Solidarity, she led sustainability, resource-efficiency, climate and energy projects for private companies, public authorities, NGOs, and sector federations.

Isabelle started her career in Air Products, worldwide leader in Safety, Health and Environment and can be considered as a real “pioneer”, for instance launching, back in 2009, the first Sustainability report of the Belgian Chemical industry. She counts more than 35 years’ experience in sustainability, energy and climate policies in several industrial Federations (Eula, CEFIC, essenscia, FEB) and consultancy (PwC).  Board Member of BRUGEL, the Brussels energy and water regulator, she also contributed to regulatory oversight and energy market policy guidance.

Ms Chaput holds an interdisciplinary degree in Environment, Energy, Law, and Socio-economic Studies from ULB-IGEAT, as well as a Master of Business Administration focused on finance, marketing, and international business (KUL), and Licence in Applied Economics (UCL).

linkedin.com

Georg Dorfleutner

Managing Director, RAG Energy Storage; Board Member, GIE

Georg Dorfleutner, born in 1977 in Austria, displayed a blend of analytical prowess and linguistic skill from an early age. His academic journey began at the Bundesrealgymnasium Geblergasse in Vienna, where he completed his University Entrance Diploma (Matura) in 1995, excelling in Descriptive Geometry, Mathematics, and French. Georg's intellectual curiosity and dedication to the law led him to the Universität Wien, where he earned a Degree in Law (Mag. iur.) in 2001, specializing in Administrative Law and Private International Law.

Georg's professional journey is marked by a series of strategic positions that leveraged his legal expertise within the energy sector. He began as a trainee lawyer at WDR RECHTSANWÄLTE followed by DULLINGER SCHNEIDER RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH in August 2003, honing his legal skills until December 2007. Prior to this, he had completed internships at notable institutions such as SIEMENS AG ÖSTERREICH and MAG. DAGMAR NEYER’s law firm, and also served as a trainee at the OBERLANDESGERICHT WIEN. In addition, he dedicated a year to civil service at DER WÜRFEL from June 2002 to May 2003.

In January 2008, Georg joined RAG – ROHÖL-AUFSUCHUNGS AG as a Senior Legal Counsel, where he began to integrate his legal expertise with the energy sector's operational demands. His role evolved over time, leading him to become the Vice Executive Secretary at GIE – Gas Infrastructure Europe from October 2010 to September 2011, and subsequently the European Affairs Coordinator at RAG from October 2011 to December 2012.

Georg's career reached a pinnacle in January 2013, when he was appointed as the Managing Director of RAG Energy Storage GmbH in Vienna. In this role, he has been responsible for marketing, business development, strategy, legal matters, market monitoring and evaluation, as well as regulatory affairs in the gas industry. His influence extends beyond the company, as he actively engages in lobbying within European and national associations. Georg has been serving as the Vice President of GSE since 2013, as a Board Member of GIE since 2022 and as a Board Member of the NGVA from 2016 till 2023, highlighting his significant impact on the energy sector at a European level.

Szabolcs I. Ferencz

CEO and Chairman of the Board, FGSZ Hungarian gas Transmission Ltd.

Mr. Szabolcs Ferencz has more than 20 years of experience across various segments of the energy industry. Since 2019, he has served as Chairman and CEO of FGSZ Ltd., a subsidiary of the MOL Group. Between 2003 and 2019, he held several senior management positions within the MOL Group.

Since July 2026, he has been serving his second term as a Member of the Management Board of ENTSOG. From 2024 to 2026, he was a Member of the Board of Directors of the ENNOH organisation, representing the Central and South-Eastern European region.

Since 2011, he has been an Associate of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT). In addition, he is a founding partner of the SEED Executive School of Management and serves on the Advisory Board of the Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research Foundation (REKK), both based in Budapest. He was the Chair of the National Committee of the World Petroleum Council between 2015 – 2025.

Mr Ferencz received his BA in Economics from the University of Regensburg.

@Sz_I_Ferencz

Pieter van Aartsen

Director Storage & Terminals, Gasunie; CCUS Area Sponsor & Board Member, GIE

Pieter van Aartsen is Director Storage & Terminals at Gasunie, where he leads the company's storage and terminal activities. His division is responsible for both operated and non-operated natural gas storage and terminal assets in the Netherlands and Germany. As part of the energy transition, he is also driving the development of hydrogen infrastructure projects.

Over his career at Gasunie, Pieter has held several senior leadership positions, including responsibility for Corporate Strategy, Regulatory & Public Affairs, Venture Management, and serving as Company Secretary.

In addition to his responsibilities at Gasunie, Pieter serves as a board member of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the association representing gas infrastructure operators across Europe. In 2024, he led the establishment of the European Network of Network Operators forHydrogen (ENNOH), helping to create the governance and cooperation framework needed to support the development of a European hydrogen market and infrastructure network.

Pieter van Aartsen

Thierry Grauwels

EU Director
Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA)

Thierry Grauwels is the EU Director at the CCSA.

Since joining Shell in 1998, Thierry has held several business and market development positions in the European energy market. He focused on the newly liberalised energy markets, negotiated long term gas and LNG supply agreements and developed several positions in LNG regasification and power projects with hydrogen – Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). He led Shell’s advocacy efforts to promote the role of gas in Europe. He unbundled the gas distribution company of Athens according to the EU requirements and framed the ownership restructuring.

Thierry joined Fluxys, Belgian gas TSO and became the CFO of DESFA after the successful partial privatisation of the company by SNAM, Enagas and Fluxys in 2018.

Before being appointed as EU director of the CCS association in Brussels, he headed the BeNeLux business unit of Hinicio, a boutique consultancy firm specialised in Hydrogen and its derivatives.

Rodolphe Nicolle

Secretary General
European Lime Association (EuLA)

Mr Rodolphe Nicolle serves as the Secretary-General of the European Lime Association (EuLA).

Mr Nicolle has an extensive public affairs experience in the construction and chemicals sectors.

Nicolai Romanowski

Senior Energy Manager, Cefic

Nicolai Romanowski is Senior Energy Manager of the EU chemical industry association, focusing on energy policy and its interface with competitiveness issues in the transition towards climate neutrality.

Pierre Chambon

Managing Director Renewable Gases
ENGIE

Pierre Chambon has been Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE Renewable Gas since January 1, 2025.

A graduate of Audencia after a semester of study at the University of Ottawa, Pierre Chambon began his career in 1996 at Schneider Electric, where he held several positions within the finance division, in France and internationally.

In 2000, he joined the Tiru group (a subsidiary of EDF, Veolia and SUEZ), specialized in energy recovery from waste, before taking on responsibilities in financing, financial engineering and projects.

He joined Gaz de France in 2006 as head of structured financing, responsible for financing major projects and energy assets (gas infrastructure, power plants, renewable energy). He then held various financial and strategic management positions within GDF SUEZ / ENGIE, particularly in electricity production activities.

In 2014, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of HydroElectrique du Midi (SHEM).

In 2018, he became Chief Executive Officer of Storengy France, Europe's second largest gas storage operator, where he led the transformation of infrastructure in a context of energy transition and renewable gas development. In 2023, he joined the Networks GBU within ENGIE to serve as Director of Operational Performance, Information Systems & Digital and Health & Safety.

Manuel Coxe

Secretary General,
Marcogaz

Manuel Coxe has been the Secretary General of MARCOGAZ, the Technical Association of the European Gas Industry, since 2020. He oversees the association’s activities alongside its Executive Board and technical committees. He also serves as Vice-Chairman of the European Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Stakeholders Group.

With over 20 years of experience in the energy sector—including hydrogen, natural gas, and electricity—Manuel has held various leadership and technical roles at organizations such as IRENA, Europex, ENTSOE, and grid operators in multiple countries. His expertise spans system operations, energy markets, and policy.

He holds degrees in energy systems engineering (MEng), business administration (MBA), and pursued PhD studies in economics. Additionally, he has completed executive education in management law, communications, and psychology from top global institutions including Harvard, Oxford, and Ivey Business School.

Abel Enríquez

Director,
ENNOH

With more than 20 years of experience in EU affairs, energy policy, and gas and hydrogen regulation, Abel Enríquez was appointed Director of ENNOH in December 2024. Prior to this role, he served as Head of EU Affairs and Organisations at Enagás, an international leader in the development, operation, and maintenance of energy infrastructure, with a strong commitment to the energy transition and the deployment of renewable gases, including hydrogen.

Abel specialises in public affairs, EU advocacy and European association management. He has held several senior governance roles at the European level, including serving as Co-Chair of the Transmission and Distribution Roundtable within the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, as well as board responsibilities in two EU associations.

His previous professional experience includes serving as Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), and working on EU and international regulatory affairs at Enagás headquarters in Madrid. Abel had other work experiences in multinationals active in other sectors (water, mining). He holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering and postgraduate qualifications in business management.

Csilla Bartók

Head of Department Gas, Hydrogen and Retail at ACER

Csilla BARTÓK joined ACER as senior officer for Framework Guidelines and Network Codes for Gas in 2011. Since 2021, she is Gas Markets & Energy Retail Team Leader. In 2023, she became Acting Head of Infrastructure, Gas and Retail Department.

Csilla is responsible for the energy infrastructure regulation (TEN-E), gas markets (market monitoring and network codes regulation) and energy retail market monitoring activities. Before joining ACER, Csilla worked at the European Commission’s DG Energy as policy officer, at the OECD as competition and trade analyst and at DG Competition as merger case handler.

Csilla holds master’s degrees in economics, international economics and political sciences, as well as an executive MBA.

Piotr Kuś

General Director,
ENTSOG

Before joining ENTSOG in January 2022 as ENTSOG General Director, Piotr Kuś held the position of Deputy Director in the Development Division at GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., since January 2017. His main areas of responsibilities included international cooperation, institutional relations, cooperation with EU institutions and international trade organisations.

He was involved in a number of business development projects aimed at regional gas market development - both infrastructure projects in CEE region as well as LNG, booking platforms and cooperation with Energy Community. Within GAZ-SYSTEM H2 task force, he was engaged in evaluating new gases preparedness: working on readiness of the Polish gas networks, European Hydrogen Backbone, IPCEI initiatives and Hydrogen Storage Project in Poland. He represented the transmission sector in number of Partnerships for Hydrogen Economy Development and Biogas Development on National and European level.

Between 2019-2021, Piotr was GIE Board Member acting as a sponsor of the CH4 Area. Since 2016, he was a member of the GTE Executive Committee to supervise activities of future sustainable solutions in the natural gas infrastructure. Prior to that, between 2008 and 2016, Piotr was Director of the Brussels Office of GAZ-SYSTEM, in charge of managing the company’s EU affairs.

Before joining GAZ-SYSTEM in 2008, he was employed by the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG S.A.) and was seconded to its Representative Office in Brussels.

Piotr Kuś graduated from Warsaw School of Economics.

Piotr Kuś

Rodrigo Barbosa

Deputy Head of System Development
ENTSO-E

Rodrigo Freitas Barbosa serves as Deputy Head of System Development at ENTSO-E

Doug Waters

Managing Director, Uniper Energy Storage; Board member, GIE

Doug Waters has worked in the international energy industry for over 20 years across many areas of the business, both technically and commercially – including almost 18 years at E.ON and Uniper.

Starting as a gas turbine specialist, he then had a number of roles in Power Generation, UK Energy Trading, Asset Management and Global CCGT Fleet Management in UK and Spain. In 2015 Doug and his family relocated from Madrid to Dusseldorf, Germany, where for the following five years he has been the Director of Uniper’s international Global Energy Services business with teams in India, Dubai and Singapore as well as UK and Germany. Since November 2020 Doug Waters is heading the gas storage operator Uniper Energy Storage and leading Uniper’s successful storage business into the future market environment.

Doug holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Birmingham University, UK and an Executive MBA from ESMT, Berlin, Germany. He is a Chartered Engineer in the UK registered with the Engineering Council and holds a UK NEBOSH Construction Certificate as well as having qualifications related to commodity future and derivatives.

Jurgita Šilinskaitė-Venslovienė

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, KN Energies

Lin Strobio Chen

Global Business Line Manager
TÜV SÜD

Dr. Lin Strobio Chen serves as the Vice President of Hydrogen, Power-to-X, and Storage at TÜV SÜD, leading global efforts in hydrogen technologies and energy storage solutions.

Her expertise on hydrogen encompasses strategic development, production, transportation, industrial applications, and mobility.
Dr. Strobio Chen is dedicated to advancing the global shift toward sustainable energy systems by ensuring safety, compliance, and seamless market access for hydrogen technologies.

Victor Bernabeu

Policy Director, Eurogas

Victor Bernabeu is Policy Director at Eurogas, the association representing gaseous energy in Europe. Victor oversees all the policy activities of the association on wholesale and retail gas markets, the distribution of gaseous energies and the use of gas in transport for natural, renewable and low carbon gases and their derivatives.

Prior to joining Eurogas, Victor was Senior Manager for Technical & Regulatory Affairs in the European association representing ethanol producers where he was fully dedicated to transport, energy and climate issues, involved in all the major EU policies. Before coming to Brussels, Victor held different engineering positions at major energy companies.

Victor is a French engineer, holds a MSc. in Chemistry for Chimie ParisTech, a MSc. in Chemical Engineering from PSL Research University and a MSc. in Energy & Products from the IFP School.

Victor Bernabeu

Charlotte Roule

President, GSE;
CEO, Storengy

Charlotte Roule is Chief Executive Officer of Storengy, Europe's leading underground gas storage operator, and Vice President Hydrogen for ENGIE Group.

As CEO of Storengy, she oversees the company’s activities in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. She leads its strategy to strengthen energy security, support industrial competitiveness, and accelerate the adoption of renewable and low-carbon gases, including biomethane and hydrogen.

In her role as Vice President Hydrogen at ENGIE, she contributes to ENGIE's hydrogen strategy and supports the development of hydrogen value chains and infrastructure solutions in Europe and internationally.

Before taking up her current positions, Charlotte Roule served as Chief Strategy Officer of the ENGIE Group. She previously held several international leadership roles within ENGIE, including Managing Director of Storengy UK and Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE China, where she developed renewable energy and low-carbon infrastructure projects.

Charlotte Roule is actively involved in European energy governance. Since 2023, she has served as President of Gas Storage Europe (GSE), representing European gas storage operators within Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Reappointed for a second term in 2025, she promotes the strategic role of energy storage in strengthening Europe's energy resilience and supporting its decarbonization objectives.

She also serves on the Board of Directors of Hydrogen Europe and on the Governing Board of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. Through these mandates, she contributes to the development of Europe's hydrogen economy and supports the deployment of innovative hydrogen technologies and infrastructure.

Charlotte Roule

Harmen Dekker

CEO, European Biogas Association

Harmen Dekker is a passionate strategic leader devoted to climate change mitigation with 20 years’ experience in the sustainability sector in the field of water and renewable gas. He joined EBA in 2019 to steer the growth of the biogas sector in Europe as a sustainable and circular pathway for gas decarbonisation.

In addition to his role at EBA, Harmen holds different positions in instrumental organisations working towards climate change mitigation and the energy transition. As Vice-Chair of the United Nations ECE Gas Expert Group, he collaborates with global gas experts on sustainable development on the topic of gas. Additionally, he is a governing Board Member of the Biomethane Industrial Partnership (BIP), involving the European Commission, EU Member States and the biomethane value chain. Beside this he is also Director of the Transatlantic Climate Alliance.

Harmen is a Chemistry Engineer and holds a BSC on Business Administration. He speaks Dutch, English and German.

Harmen Dekker

Tom Howes

Advisor to the Director, Green Transition and Market regulation, DG ENER, European Commission

Tom Howes is Advisor to the Director on the green energy transition and energy market regulation, in the energy department of the European Commission.  Previously, he headed the Energy and Environment Division at the International Energy Agency, and has worked on renewable energy legislation, market and grid integration issues, energy modelling, and energy finance for the European Commission and worked for the UK and Australian governments.

Raphael Hanoteaux

Deputy Secretary General, CEER

Raphael Hanoteaux joined the Council of European Energy Regulators in April 2025 as Deputy Secretary General. He brings extensive experience in European energy and climate policy, having previously worked as a Senior Policy Advisor at E3G, an EU Policy Officer at CEE Bankwatch Network and an EU Policy Adviser at ENGIE. He holds degrees from the College of Europe and Sciences Po Lille.

Klaus-Dieter Borchardt

European Coordinator for CESEC, European Commission

Klaus-Dieter Borchardt worked from 1987 until 2020 at the European Commission, including four years at the European Court of Justice. During his 33 years at the European Commission, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt was instrumental in many major developments in EU Law and EU Agriculture and Energy Law and Policy. When he retired in September 2020, he was Deputy Director-General for Energy responsible for the coordination of the Policy Development, Internal Energy Markets, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency as well as for the Energy Dialogues with third countries. Since October 2025 Klaus-Dieter Borchardt is working for the European Commission as the Coordinator of the Central-East and South-East Connectivity (CESEC) High Level Group.

From October 2020 until July 2025 Klaus-Dieter Borchardt worked as a Senior Energy Advisor at the European & Competition Law Practice in the Baker McKenzie office in Brussels.

Since October 2020 Klaus-Dieter Borchardt is also the Managing Director of KDB.results SRL, a Consultancy company dealing with project development and legal advice on European Union Law matters, notably institutional law, energy law, state aid law, EU support instruments.

Klaus-Dieter Borchardt is Doctor in law (Dr. jur.) Free University of Berlin (1985), Teaching Professor at the Bavarian Julius-Maximilians-University - Würzburg, Germany (since 2001) and Adjunct Professor at the Copenhagen Business School (since 2022.

Nicola Battilana

Executive Director – Infrastructure Planning, SNAM

Nicola Battilana is Executive Director for Infrastructure Planning at Snam. He joined the Italian transmission system operator in 1995 and has held senior roles in operations, construction, commercial activities and technical management. He previously served as CEO of DESFA in Greece and as CEO of TAG in Austria. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Genoa.

Uroš Salobir

Director of Strategic Innovation Division, ELES;
RDIC Chair, ENTSO-E

Uroš Salobir is Director of the Strategic Innovation Division at ELES, Slovenia’s electricity transmission system operator. He is also Chair of ENTSO-E’s Research, Development and Innovation Committee, which coordinates research and innovation activities among Europe’s transmission system operators. His work focuses on digitalisation, system innovation, sector integration and the development of a resilient, interconnected European energy system.

Alfredo Parres

Vice-Chair Managament Committee, WindEurope 

Sławomir Hinc

CEO, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.

Sławomir Hinc has long-standing experience in natural gas industry, having been directly involved in the development of the concept of national gas transmission system operator in Poland since 2003. From 2004 to 2008, he held the position of Financial Director at PGNiG Przesył (currently GAZ-SYSTEM), where he was responsible for cooperation with the Energy Regulatory Office, negotiations of the lease agreement for transmission assets that were transferred to GAZ-SYSTEM by PGNiG as a dividend in kind. He also supervised the process of obtaining a gas transmission license by GAZ-SYSTEM. From 2006 to 2008, he served as a commercial proxy in GAZ-SYSTEM.
He is the author of its first transmission tariff. He was responsible on GAZ-SYSTEM’s part for the transfer of Regional Transmission Branches from PGNiG S.A. structures to GAZ-SYSTEM in 2005.

From 2008 to 2013, he served as Vice-President for Financial Affairs at PGNiG, where he was responsible for the spin-off of the storage system operator (SSO) currently independently operating under the business name Gas Storage Poland and the launch of storage services on the market. From 2008 to 2014, he served as a member of the Supervisory Board of EuRoPol GAZ. In 2010, he was appointed to the Governing Board of the European Association of Gas and Oil Companies EUROGAS in Brussels where he served until 2015.

From 2013 to 2016, he served as President and CEO of PGNiG Upstream Norway, where he was responsible for the acquisition of PGNiG’s interests in 4 gas fields, and for this business deal he received the Gullkronen Award for the best oil transaction in Norway.
He also supervised the company’s expansion of exploration activities in the north of Norway, including the obtaining of exploration licences in the Barents Sea by PGNiG.
From 2019 to 2024, he was involved in the renewable energy industry, first as an advisor to the Management Board and then as a member of the Supervisory Board of Helioexpert. In 2019, he was appointed as President and Managing Director at Green Genius – a Polish branch of a Lithuanian solar power plant operator.

He holds a degree in economics from the Institute of Foreign Trade at the University of Gdańsk and a Ph.D. in engineering and technology specialising in gas transmission tariff systems from the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology. He also studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. He completed postgraduate Business Management Programme organised by the Central Connecticut State University.
Lecturer at postgraduate studies at the Warsaw University of Technology and the AGH University of Science and Technology in the field of transport, tariffs and regulatory affairs in the natural gas market. Author of numerous publications on natural gas tariffs and transportation.

Madeleine Hammerman

Policy Officer – Market Data Policy, ACER

Marko Senčar

Deputy Director, Energy Agency of Slovenia

Marta Svoljšak Jerman

Head of Sustainable Projects Department, Plinovodi d.o.o.  

Gideon Saunders

Senior Advisor Public Affairs, ONTRAS

Helene Bille Albrechtsen

Director – Energy & Resources, Rasmussen Global

Matjaž Sušnik

Manager of the Economic Section, Plinovodi d.o.o.

Ruben Fuchs

Government Affairs Manager EU, Gasunie