Boyana Achovski

Secretary General, GIE

Boyana Achovski is the Secretary-General of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), a role she has held since September 2016. GIE is the European association of gas transmission, gas storage, and LNG regasification terminal operators.

Boyana led the Analysis and International Operations Division in Bulgartransgaz, later joining GIE in 2012 as the first secondment of the Bulgarian gas infrastructure operator to the European association. She chaired the GasNaturally Steering Committee twice in 2017 and 2019.

Boyana started her European affairs career in the European Parliament in Brussels. She has graduated in International Economic Affairs, specialised in International Finance, and holds a Master's degree in Finance and in Management of International Associations from the Solvay Brussels School.

Boyana has also obtained a certificate in Women's Leadership from the University of Oxford and is involved in initiatives related to career development, women empowerment, and gender equality in the energy sector.

boyana-achovski
@AchovskiBoyana

Torben Brabo

President, GIE & Senior Vice President, Energinet Group

Torben Brabo is CEO of the Gas TSO in Energinet, the Danish national transmission system operator for electricity and gas – which is an independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state under the Ministry of Climate, Utilities and Energy. He has 25 years of experience in the energy and gas sector in Denmark and abroad.

Prior to joining Energinet, he took part in European power and gas projects as part of the liberalisation of the Danish gas market in 2002-2004. As the current CEO in Energinet Gas TSO, Torben Brabo is highly involved in European renewable and low-carbon gas projects.

Besides of being GIE’s President, he is engaged in ENTSOG (European Network of gas TSOs) and the European gas capacity trading platform PRISMA, and promoting ERGAR. Moreover, he participates in several decarbonisation projects, such as the Green Gas Initiative and Gas for Climate. He has held a position as chairman of the board of the Danish-Swedish gas exchange ‘Gaspoint Nordic’.

Torben Brabo
@torbenbrabo

Kadri Simson

EU Commissioner for Energy, European Commission

Kadri Simson is the European commissioner for energy, a position she has held since December 2019.

She previously held the position of minister of economics affairs and infrastructure of the Republic of Estonia from 2016 to 2019. During the Estonian presidency of the council of the EU (from July to December 2017), Simson chaired both the meetings of the energy ministers and transport ministers in the transport, telecommunications and energy (TTE) council as well as the meeting of economy ministers in the EU competitiveness council.

From 2007 to 2016, she was a member of the Estonian Parliament (“Riigikogu”) and was re-elected in 2019. Simson has a degree in history at the University of Tartu and holds a master’s degree in political science from the University College London.

@KadriSimson

Cristian Bușoi

Born in 1978 in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania, Cristian Bușoi has a PhD in Public Health and Health Management. He graduated in medicine at the “Carol Davila” University in Bucharest, in law at the Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest, and in diplomacy at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute in Bucharest. His political career started in 1996 when, as a young student, he became a member of the National Liberal Party. Eight years later, he entered the Romanian Parliament as Member of the Committee for Health and Family and in 2013 became President of the National Health Insurance.

His dedication in the Romanian Parliament convinced electors to vote him in 2007 as their representative in the European Parliament. He is a Member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine and the Euronest Delegation. He is also a substitute Member on the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and the Delegation for Relations with India.

MEP from 2007-2013 and since 2014.

Cristian Bușoi

Dóra Zombori

Ambassador-at-Large for Energy and Climate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary

Ambassador-at-Large for Energy and Climate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary

As of 1 January 2021, Dora Zombori serves as Ambassador-at-Large for Energy and Climate at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Prior to her recent appointment, Ms Zombori served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington DC, between April and November 2020 she assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.

Ms Zombori has had a variety of assignments in Washington, serving as the First Counsellor for Energy and Political-Military Affairs at the Embassy of Hungary. She was also a Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellow at the US Department of State from 2015 to 2016.

Prior to her assignment in the United States, she served as head of the Energy Security Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary where she held a variety of postings, including Energy Policy Expert, Desk Officer for Japan and the Asian Development Bank, Energy Policy Coordinator of the Hungarian EU Presidency.

She is also a member of the Women in Energy Association.

Sasha Twining

TV & Radio Presenter

Sasha Twining is a well respected television and radio presenter.  On Sky News she co-presented high profile shows including Sunrise with Eamonn Holmes, and Sky News Today with Dermot Murnaghan. She also occasionally presented the flagship programme Sky News at Ten.

Sasha was the lead anchor for Russia Today, an international news television channel based in Moscow. She has also worked as a correspondent for ITV, and presented the catch-up service for BBC News 24.

Internationally Sasha presents for the Nine Network (Australia) and is London correspondent for both ˜Today‘ and ˜Mornings‘. On BBC ONE she was the voice of primetime entertainment for five years  and has worked for ITV1 as a continuity announcer.

Her radio work includes ˜Saturday Breakfast with Sasha Twining' for BBC Radio Solent and regular news reading stints for Sky News Radio and Heart, Magic, Real etc.

Sasha works for a number of corporate clients, hosting and facilitating large events, both in the UK and Europe. She chairs plenary discussions, manages question and answer sessions, interviews key personnel, hosts team-building events, facilitates break-out sessions, interprets live data from contemporary audience surveys (via interactive software) and hosts award ceremonies.

Sasha Twining
@SashaTwining

Ákos Kriston

Ákos Kriston previously worked for MVM Hungarian Electicity Plc. among others as Head of Business Development. Before joining MVM Group Mr. Kriston worked in financial advisory and audit for almost 10 years at Deloitte and KPMG both in Hungary and in Germany.

Mr. Kriston holds an MSc. degree in Business Administration and graduated from Corvinus University, Budapest.

Ákos Kriston

Attila Steiner

State Secretary for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy,  Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Hungary

A graduate of economy of the Corvinus University in Budapest, Attila Steiner was appointed State Secretary for the Development of Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology on 16 January 2021.

Prior to his appointment, he was State Secretary for EU Affairs of the Ministry of Justice. Previously, he worked as Deputy State Secretary for EU Relations within the Prime Minister’s Office. Earlier stations of his career include the position of a political advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office where his work focused on energy policy.

Previously, he served as a political advisor in the European Parliament, also in the field of energy policy.

Apart from his native Hungarian, he speaks English and German, and has an intermediate language skill in French.

Attila Steiner
@attila_steiner

René Neděla

Deputy Minister for Energy, Czech Republic

René Neděla graduated at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Control and Instrumentation of the Czech Technical University. He also graduated at the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies in the field of Business and Industrial Engineering in Industry. He also graduated from the Florence School of Regulation - Annual Training Course on the Regulation of Energy Utilities (Certificate of Attendance).

Since 2011, he worked in the Energy Regulatory Office in several positions, starting from the Energy Regulatory Specialist, Head of Strategy and Advisory Department and Heat Department Director up to the Director of the Regulatory Section. At the same time, he lectured technical subjects at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the CTU and, later on, at the Technical University of Prague. He has been active in various governmental and non-governmental working groups on energy and water.

@NedelaRene

Karol Galek

Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy, Slovak Republic

Dr Karol Galek has been the State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic since March 2020. His main responsibilities are Energy sector topics, Supporting programs and Chemical substances area. Prior to his appointment as State Secretary, Karol Galek had been a representative of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (since 2016), member of the Economic Committee and chairman of the Technological Development and Innovation Subcommittee.

He is a team-leader of Energetics in the political party in Slovakia - Freedom and Solidarity (Sloboda a Solidarita). His main agenda is ending of subsidies to the production of coal-fired electricity,
transparency of regulation, elimination of political intervention in electricity prices, electricity trade, renewable energy and climate change.

In 2004 he obtained a Master's degree in Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology and in 2008 was titled as Master of Science at Vienna University of Technology with specialization in Renewable
Energy in Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2004 he has been working professionally in the energy sector, starting as a project manager for geothermal systems in Slovakia. In 2008 he completed an internship program as a development analyst for solar, wind and geothermal power plants in the USA. After resumption to Slovakia, he started an own business with small and medium scale PV projects. Among other activities, he had been involved as a coordinator into several cross-border cooperation projects between Slovakia and Austria and in issues related to energy production and savings.

Karol Galek
@Karol_Galek

Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński

Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Climate & Environment, Poland

Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński is a graduate of HEC Paris and the history faculties of the Paris IV-Sorbonne University and the University of Warsaw.

In 2013, he began working at the Ministry of Environment as part of the Climate Negotiators Team at the United Nations COP19 Climate Summit in Warsaw. Previously, he had gained experience in the field of finance in the private sector.

In 2015–2018, he headed the Environmental Department at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union in Brussels, where he negotiated draft legislation on the environment and climate in Council working groups. In 2018, he served as the chief negotiator of the Polish Presidency of COP24 in Katowice, preparing a package of decisions implementing the Paris Agreement, the so-called Katowice Rulebook. In 2019, he once again became the head of the Environmental Department at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU.

Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertyński

Anne-Sophie Corbeau

Global Research Scholar at Centre on Global Energy Policy (CGEP)

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

Gergely Molnár

Gas Analyst at International Energy Agency (IEA)

Greg Molnár has extensive experience within the Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division under the Directorate of Energy Markets and Security at the International Energy Agency.

Greg Molnár

Michal Meidan

Director, Gas Research Programme & Director, China Energy Programme, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

Dr Michal Meidan is Director of the Gas Research Programme, taking over from James Henderson in September 2021 and Director of the China Energy Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Before joining OIES in July 2019, she headed cross-commodity China research at Energy Aspects. Prior to that, she headed China Matters, an independent research consultancy providing analysis on the politics of energy in China. Michal also held senior analytical roles at Eurasia Group in New York and London, and at Asia Centre-Sciences Po, Paris. She taught undergraduate courses on China’s political economy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has authored numerous academic articles.

Dr Michal Meidan also regularly provides comments for a wide variety of media outlets and is featured as a speaker at industry conferences.

Dr Michal Meidan holds a PhD in Political Science and East Asian studies from Sciences Po, Paris. She is fluent in Mandarin and French.

Michal Meidan
@michalmei

Sue-Ern Tan

Head Gas & Renewable and Energy Solutions Corporate Relations, Policy and Advocacy, Shell

Sue-Ern is the Head, Policy and Advocacy for Shell’s Integrated Gas and Renewable Energy Solutions business.  She is responsible for the global gas and renewable energy policy, advocacy and communication agenda.  She is Shell’s representative on the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative Executive Committee.

Sue-Ern joined Shell in November 2016 following the integration of BG Group and Shell as Manager Access where she managed the land access, tenures and permits for the QGC Asset.  Prior to BG Group, Sue-Ern practiced as a lawyer, worked as Ministerial adviser on energy in Government and was the Deputy CEO of the NSW Minerals Council, a trade association.

Sue-Ern is an Eisenhower Fellow representing Australia in the 2017 International Program.

Sue-Ern Tan

Florian Ermacora

Neighbourhood policies & international relations, DG ENER, European Commission

Dr Florian Ermacora studied law at the Universities of Innsbruck, Vienna and Paris. He completed his bar exams in Vienna in 2003.

Since 1996 he has been working as an official of the European Commission starting at the Directorate General (DG) for Environment.

Between 2001 and 2004 Dr Ermacora worked for an Austrian Law Firm in Vienna. Thereafter, Dr. Ermacora has been working on public procurement policy in DG Internal Market of the European Commission and from October 2008 onwards in the DG for Transport and Energy, amongst others on the Third Energy Package.

From February 2010 to November 2012 Dr. Ermacora was Assistant of Philip Lowe, the Director-General of DG Energy. Between November 2012 and December 2014, Dr. Ermacora has been heading the Unit for Communication & Interinstitutional relations in DG Energy. Since January 2015 Dr. Ermacora has been Head of the Internal Energy Market Unit in DG Energy.

He has published various articles and books on European environmental and economic law.

Florian Ermacora

Vincent Demoury

Secretary General, GIIGNL

Vincent Demoury is the Secretary General of GIIGNL, the International Group of LNG Importers, based in Paris.

He started his career in 2003 with GDF Energy, a New York-based subsidiary of Gaz de France, where he performed market analysis and business development in LNG.

He then worked in GDF SUEZ Wholesale & Trading Division, in corporate strategy and gas supply planning. In 2010, Vincent joined GIIGNL as Deputy General Delegate, in charge of LNG market analysis and communications.

In 2016, Vincent Demoury was appointed General Delegate of GIIGNL. He is the author of several articles and papers, among which the GIIGNL Annual Report on the state of the LNG industry, and “LNG Carbon Offsetting: Fleeting Trend or Sustainable Practice” (2020).

Vincent Demoury is a graduate of HEC Business School in France.

Vincent Demoury

Axel Wietfeld

Dr Axel Wietfeld serves as CEO of Uniper Hydrogen. From January 2016 to November 2020, in his position of Managing Director of Uniper Energy Storage, Axel has been leading one of Europe’s largest gas storage operators with facilities in Germany, Austria and the UK, and has successfully developed power-to-gas/hydrogen projects to support renewable energies.

In his previous roles at Uniper/E.ON, Dr Axel Wietfeld held several key executive positions: CEO of E.ON Southern Africa Ltd (South Africa), CEO of E.ON Földgaz Storage (Hungary) and Vice-President Group Energy Projects in Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

Since August 2020, Dr Axel Wietfeld has been President of Gas Storage Europe (GSE). In June 2017, he was elected to be a representative of the Gas Storage Europe Executive Committee towards the GIE Board.

Dr Axel Wietfeld received a Doctor’s degree from the Institute of Energy Economics at Technical University, Cottbus (Germany).

Axel Wietfeld

Jerzy Buzek

MEP, Poland (EPP)

Jerzy Buzek is a Member of the European Parliament, working in the parliamentary committees on Foreign Affairs as well as on Industry, Research and Energy. On 14 July 2009, he was elected the President of the European Parliament with the biggest majority of any EP President since the first direct elections in 1979. He was the first EP President from one of the EU’s 2004 enlargement Member States.

During his mandate, he presided over the transition from the Nice to the Lisbon Treaty, playing a key role in the finalization of the ratification process. He was also very active on the energy front, launching together with Jacques Delors the initiative of a European Energy Community aimed at strengthening legal certainty and energy cooperation within and outside the EU.

From 1997 to 2001, Jerzy Buzek has been Prime Minister of Poland, introducing sweeping reforms in pensions, healthcare, local and regional administration, education and the mining sectors. During his government, Poland acceded to NATO and made key-steps towards EU membership.

A chemical engineer by formation, Buzek joined the Solidarność movement from its early days, becoming the Chair of the Works Committee, and later Chairman of the fourth, fifth and sixth national Congresses.

Jerzy Buzek
@JerzyBuzek

Christopher Jones

Principal, Energy regulatory & Antitrust, Baker McKenzie

Christopher Jones is a Principal in the European Competition Law Practice Group in the Brussels office. He joined Baker McKenzie in 2018.

Christopher's career has spanned more than 30 years at the European Commission, focusing on energy policy and competition policy.

During the last two decades, Christopher held a wide range of key energy posts including Director for Renewable Energy, Energy research and Energy Efficiency, Deputy Head of Cabinet for the Energy Commissioner and Deputy Director General for Energy.

He has been at the forefront of many major key energy and competition law decisions and innovations. He played a key role in the evolution of EU competition law towards the more economic and market based instrument it is today, and was instrumental in the successful implementation of EU merger control. He was the central EU official in opening up energy markets to competition as well as developing and implementing the core of the EU's energy policy as it is today; driving the '20-20-20' renewables and energy efficiency decarbonisation agendas, and setting the gas strategy and research policies.

Christopher is also an expert on competition policy, having spent 11 years in the field including responsibility for antitrust and mergers in the Cabinet of the Energy Commissioner, and as personal Policy Assistant to two Directors' General.

He is a leading academic in the competition and energy areas, as a part-time Professor at the European University Institute, editing and co-authoring a number of standard text books on Competition Law and Energy Markets, the Internal Energy Market, and EU Renewable Law and Policy, as well as books on merger control and the standard competition law reference work, the EU Competition Law Handbook.

Dennis Hesseling

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

Mr. Dennis Hesseling took up duties as Head of the Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division in July 2023.
From December 2012 to June 2023, Mr. 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, Mr. 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. Mr. 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. Mr. 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

László Fritsch

Mr. László Fritsch started his professional career in the oil and gas industry at Shell Gas Hungary where he worked in various positions. He joined E.ON Gas Storage as Financial Director in 2006. After the takeover of the company by the Hungarian state in 2013 he has been appointed the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hungarian Gas Storage. From 1 July 2020, he is the CEO and Member of the Board of MVM CEEnergy.

During more than 20 years spent in the oil and gas industry László Fritsch has gained extensive professional knowledge and is also keen on sharing his expertise as a member of the Board of GIE, member of the Advisory Board of the Fund for Hungarian Oil and Gas Museum as well as a member of the Hungarian Mining Association.

László Fritsch

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

Ralph Bahke

Hydrogen Area Sponsor, GIE & Managing Director, ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH

Ralph Bahke, born 1964, studied Information Technology at the Technical University of Dresden. He joined VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG in 1994 and became responsible for the planning of automation technology. In 2001 he changed to the Gas Transportation Department where he held various senior management positions.

Between January 2006 and November 2008, Bahke worked in senior management posts of the Network Marketing Department in the newly established transmission system operator ONTRAS. Since November 2008 he has been one of the two ONTRAS managing directors, responsible for the division controlling and development.

From December 2009 to December 2015 Bahke was board member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).

In 2011 Bahke was appointed member of the Energy Advisory Board of the German Free State of Saxony. Since December 2012 Bahke was Chairman of the board of "Vereinigung der Fernleitungsnetzbetreiber Gas e.V.", the association of German Transmission System Operators for Gas. He gave up this position in 2020 and joined GIE (Gas Infrastructure Europe) board in January 2021.

Claudia Patricolo

Editor in Chief, CEENERGYNEWS

Claudia Patricolo is the Editor-in-chief of CEENERGYNEWS, the only English-speaking news portal entirely dedicated to the energy industry in Central and Eastern Europe.

Trained as a journalist in Italy, she worked for different media outlets covering foreign policy, business, investments and macro-economy. After starting her career in Rome she moved to Paris, where she worked at Le Monde. Now she lives in Budapest from where she covered the CEE region as Deputy Editor of Emerging Europe, UK-based news, intelligence and community platform.

Her areas of expertise include energy, climate change and business in CEE.

Claudia Patricolo
@clapatricolo

Erik Kolstø

Commercial Director, Net4Gas

Erik Kolstø is the Commercial Director at NET4GAS, the gas transmission system operator in the Czech Republic and a Board Member of Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the association representing the interests of European gas infrastructure operators.

He has extensive commercial and operational experience in the Energy Sector in the Central and Eastern European region. Prior to joining NET4GAS he worked for the RWE group in Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. He received his MBA from Chicago Booth, University of Chicago and a Cand. Mag from University of Bergen.

Erik Kolstø
@EKolst

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis is Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe since 2016. Before he was Representative of Infineon Technologies in Brussels and Member of the European Parliament (2004 – 2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy) where he could contribute to lay the cornerstone for the first and the second Joint Undertaking on hydrogen and fuel cells. In 2007 he was elected “MEP of the year” by his colleagues of the European Parliament in the category “Research and Innovation”. In 2015 he was appointed ambassador at large for Greece.

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

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis
@chatzimarkakis

Maria Olczak

Queen Mary University of London

Maria Olczak is a PhD candidate at the Queen Mary University of London researching policies and technologies to decarbonise energy systems, in particular, to monitor and mitigate methane emissions across major man-made sources.

In 2022, she joined the Environmental Defense Fund as a consultant to pursue research on coal mine methane and environmental disclosure policies. Before that, Maria spent 5 years as a Research Associate at the European University Institute’s Florence School of Regulation Gas Area. She has focused mainly on the policy and regulatory instruments to address methane emissions, the decarbonisation of the EU gas market and the role of low-carbon hydrogen and biogas/biomethane.

Maria started her professional carrier in the Polish Ministry of the Environment, where she was actively involved in preparations for and proceedings of the COP19/CMP9, as a member of the Polish Presidency Team.

Maria Olczak
@mar_olczak

James Watson

Secretary General, Eurogas

Dr James Watson is the Secretary General of Eurogas, a role he has held since January 2019. Eurogas is the association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors.

Prior to taking the helm at Eurogas, Dr Watson was the Chief Executive Officer of SolarPower Europe, the European solar industry association. Before joining SolarPower Europe, Dr Watson worked as the Director of Public Affairs for Weber Shandwick, specialising in energy and trade policy. Before coming to Brussels, Dr Watson worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat on a European Commission project on trade and sustainable development based in Ethiopia. Earlier in his career James worked for various UK government bodies in London and worked as a lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Manchester.

He holds a Ph.D in International Trade and Environmental Law from the University of Leeds, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

James Watson
@eurogas_eu

Małgosia Rybak

Climate Change & Energy Director, Cepi: Decarbonising Energy intensive industry

Małgosia Rybak is Cepi’s Climate Change & Energy Director. She joined the team in January 2021. With 10 years of experience in public affairs, she leads Cepi’s advocacy efforts on the climate and energy policy framework.

Prior to Cepi, Małgosia’s previous roles have included consulting and working for a variety of European industrial sectors from bio-based materials production to cement manufacturing. She holds the MSc European Public Policy from University College London.

Małgosia Rybak
@MalgosiaRybak

Arno Büx

Arno Büx has been Chief Commercial Officer of Fluxys Group and Fluxys Belgium since autumn 2015. He oversees all commercial activities of Fluxys, both regulated and non-regulated as well as its business development in Europe.

Arno Büx holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration. 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

Ismail Ertug

MEP, European Parliament & Rapporteur, Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation

Ismail Ertug is a German Member of the European Parliament for the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands in the S&D group. Ismail Ertug is currently serving his third term as an MEP, having been elected in 2009. He has served as vice president of the S&D group and is a full member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) since 2019.

Ismail Ertug is involved in questions spanning from CO2 emissions reduction, alternative and cleaner transport, the future of mobility to rail passengers’ rights, cross-border travel simplification as well as trans-European transport network development.

Before joining the European Parliament, he held a variety of positions at the German general health insurance (Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse – AOK) including coordinator and social insurance expert.

@IsmailErtug

Victor Bernabeu

Senior Policy Advisor, Eurogas

Victor Bernabeu is Senior Policy Advisor at Eurogas since February 2021. He is responsible for the association's advocacy and working groups on transport, renewable & decarbonised gases, carbon capture and wholesale market. Victor is fully dedicated to transport, energy and climate issues, being involved in all the major EU policies (e.g. RED, AFIR, FuelEU, CO2 standards).

Prior to joining Eurogas, Victor was Senior Manager for Technical and Regulatory Affairs at the European association representing the ethanol producers, working on EU transport, energy and climate issues. Before coming to Brussels, Victor held different positions at e.g. Shell, ENI and Total.

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 is a visiting lecturer at the PSL Research University, the Mines Paris and Chimie ParisTech.

Victor Bernabeu

Fanny Lossy

Senior Policy Advisor – Maritime Safety, Environment and Offshore European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA)

biography expected

Steve Esau

Steve Esau is the Chief Operating Officer of the LNG bunkering industry association SEA\LNG. He previously served as Head of Energy at Xyntéo.

He began his career as a geophysicist at BP and worked in a variety of business development, strategy, and analysis roles in the company’s gas, power, & renewables and energy trading businesses.

Steve Esau

Faig Abbasov

Shipping Programme Director, Transport & Environment

Biography expected

Faïg Abbasov
@FaigAbbasov

Ferencz I. Szabolcs

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

Szabolcs I. Ferencz received his BA in Economics from the University of Regensburg and pursued postgraduate studies in political science. Before joining MOL Group in 2003, he worked in government and political communications. Between 2003 – 2009 he held the position of Vice President MOL Group Corporate Communications, afterward he was CEO and Country Chairman of MOL Romania.

Since 2011 he hold the position of Senior Vice President of Group Corporate Affairs supervising international and domestic governmental relations for Regulatory and Public Affairs. Formerly he was also responsible for supervising Strategy Development and Corporate Communications. Mr. Ferencz was Member of the Supervisory Board of Slovnaft a. s. between 2012-2020, and between 2015 and 2018 he was Member of the Board of Directors of MET Group.

He is the Chair of the National Committee of the World Petroleum Council, Member of the Advisory Board of the Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research Foundation. He is founding partner of the SEED School for Executive Education and Development based in Budapest.

Mr. Ferencz has been appointed as CEO of FGSZ Ltd as of February 1, 2019 and elected as Chairman of the Board as of February 8, 2019. As of 1 July 2020, he is member of the Board of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG).

@Sz_I_Ferencz

Federica Sabbati

Federica Sabbati is Secretary General of the association of the European Heating Industry (EHI).

She represents the interests of European manufacturers which are market leaders in the production of heating systems. EHI members manufacture all space and water heating technologies (boilers, heat pumps, micro combined heat and power, biomass, solar thermal, heat storage systems) as well as system integrators (smart controls, thermostats etc.) and heat emitters (radiators and surface heating and cooling). The systems produced are for residential as well as commercial and industrial purposes.

Born in Trieste, Italy, Federica Sabbati has been working in an international political and business environment for almost 20 years, in Brussels and London. Her previous responsibilities include being secretary general of the Liberal International and the European liberal democrats political party (now ALDE). She also worked for the Coca-Cola Company Europe in public affairs, dealing, amongst others, with corporate social responsibility issues.

Federica holds a university degree in International Relations from the University of Trieste (Gorizia base), Italy, and a Master’s Degree in Russian and Post-Soviet Studies from the London School of Economics.

Federica Sabbati

Niko Bosnjak

Since 2012, Dr. Niko Bosnjak has been Legislative and Political Advisor for two Members of German Federal Parliament (Bundestag). Since 2017 he works at ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH, since 2018 Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs.

He holds B.A. Governmental Studies (University of Erfurt, Universidad de Alcalá, Hong Kong Baptist University), M.Sc. History of International Relations (London School of Economics), Dr. iur. European Climate Change Law (University of Erfurt).

Harald Stindl

Since 2006 Dr. Harald Stindl is the Managing Director of Gas Connect Austria GmbH in Vienna. Before he was responsible for the regulated domestic transportation business as proxy. Earlier, in 2001, he had taken part in the successful legal unbundling of Gas Connect from OMV AG in the role as head of finance and controlling. From 2004 to 2006 he was in addition managing director of Central European Gas Hub GmbH.

Before joining OMV’s Natural Gas Division in 1999, Dr. Stindl was assigned to Munich from 1995 – 1997 (refining division) in the head office of OMV Deutschland as head of the financial department (proxy) and to London (OMV U.K. Ltd.) from 1992-1995 (E&P division) as Finance Director.

On the international side, Dr. Stindl is member of the ‘Fachverband Gas und Warme’ Committee, the highest body of the industry association ‘gas and heat.’. He also sits on TAG GmbH and AGGM supervisory boards.

Dr. Stindl was a member of the ENTSOG board since its foundation in 2009 for 4 ½ years, and at the same time also of the GTE EXCOM and the GIE board.

Francisco de la Flor

Co-Chairmanship at Enagás, GIE SODA Sponsor

Francisco de la Flor has over 35 years of experience in the gas industry.

He has held the following notable international positions: Chair of the Group of Experts on Gas in the United Nations ECE, member of the ExCom of the International Gas Union and member of the Board or Executive Board of ENTSOG, GIE, Marcogaz, and NGVA.

He has an educational background in Chemical Engineering and Economic Science and Business Administration.

Francisco de la Flor

Frédéric Simon

Journalist, Euractiv

Frédéric Simon joined EURACTIV in 2003 as a reporter covering mainly energy and environmental policy. Four years later, he entered the management team as editor and publisher, overseeing editorial production in Brussels, Paris and Berlin as well as the IT department.

Frédéric Simon is also Brussels correspondent for France24, the 24/7 international TV channel.

Frédéric Simon
@FredSimonEU

Paolo Nicoletti

Founder and Senior Partner, NOVE

Paolo Nicoletti has been based in Brussels since 1993. Prior to founding Nove, he worked as the Managing Director of APCO Worldwide’s Brussels office and as interim Managing Director of APCO Worldwide’s Rome Office.

Previously, Paolo Nicoletti served as the Managing Director of Confindustria’s Brussels office, the main organization representing Italian manufacturing and services  companies liaising directly with the EU institutions and other European business federations. He also worked with BUSINESSEUROPE and spent 5 years at the European Commission as an Assistant to the Directorate-General for External Relations.

Paolo Nicoletti is also a former Member of the European Economic and Social Committee. At the beginning of his career he held the position of Accountant at Arthur Andersen.

Paolo Nicoletti

Philipp Alexander Ostrowicz

Senior Research Advisor, Copenhagen School of Energy Infrastructure (CSEI)

Philipp Alexander Ostrowicz, born 1975 in Germany, is a Senior Research Advisor and the Coordinator of Copenhagen School of Energy Infrastructure (CSEI). CSEI is a European Research Center at Copenhagen Business School (CBS), which he has developed since 2016.

He is member of the EU Commission’s Energy Infrastructure Forum and in charge of CSEI’s strategy, policy development and stakeholder relations. Ostrowicz is member of TransnetBW’s Advisory Board for the Energy Study 2050. He holds a PhD from University of Tübingen.

Philipp Alexander Ostrowicz
@paoresearch

Paula Pinho

DG ENER, European Commission

Paula Pinho has been appointed as a Director for Just Transition, Consumers, Energy Efficiency and Innovation in the Directorate-General for Energy (ENER) in April 2021. Ms Pinho, a Portuguese national and lawyer by training, draws on her extensive knowledge of various EU policies and in particular EU energy policy, as well as on her leadership, management and negotiation skills towards her commitment to Europe’s clean and just energy transition.

Since 2015, she has been Head of Unit in DG ENER, and acting Director between 2019 and 2020, in charge of energy strategy and coordination of energy policy in the context of the Green Deal and Recovery. She has been monitoring the implementation of the Energy Union and the ‘Clean Energy for all Europeans’ legislative package. From 2008 until 2015, she was a member of various Cabinets and notably of the one in charge of energy from 2010 until 2014. Prior to that, she worked in the Directorates-General for Trade and for Internal Market. She joined the Commission in 2000.

@Pinhopau

Giles Dickson

CEO, WindEurope

Giles Dickson is the Chief Executive Officer of WindEurope (formerly EWEA) WindEurope is the voice of the European wind industry.

It represents the entire value chain of wind power: turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, power utilities, project developers, financial institutions and research institutes. As the industry association WindEurope actively promotes wind power in Europe.

It engages Governments on policy and regulation that affect wind power and its integration in the energy system. It coordinates research and development for the wind industry in Europe and manages the European Technology Innovation Platform for wind on behalf of the EU Commission.

It also organizes trade fairs, conferences and technical workshops and serves as a platform for networking across the industry and between the industry and other stakeholders. The technical workshops cover among other issues resource assessment – and metrological experts are among the participants.

WindEurope has over 450 members from more than 50 countries and a staff of over 50 based in Brussels. In February 2017 WindEurope was awarded the prize for the Best European Association.

Prior to joining WindEurope, Mr. Dickson was Vice President of Global Public Affairs at Alstom. He was also a civil servant in the UK Government for over 15 years.

Giles Dickson
@gilesdickson

Harmen Dekker

CEO, European Biogas Association

Harmen Dekker has worked for almost 15 years within the sustainability sector and is devoted to the mitigation of climate change. With both a technical as well as a business administration background he has built his career in the water and gas sector, where he has held various management positions. 

He joins the EBA after being involved in the biogas sector for over 5 years. 

During those years, he not only focused expansion of biogas and in particular biomethane but also on the implementation of techniques such as bio-LNG, bio-Methanol, bio-Hydrogen and bioplastics. 

Harmen Dekker

Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney

GSE President

Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney, an engineer and political science graduate, was previously Executive Director of CPCU (Compagnie Parisienne de Chauffage Urbain), a subsidiary of ENGIE Group. After spending three years at the head of France's leading district heating network, which provides heat and hot water to 500,000 equivalent housing units, she began a new phase in her career with the ENGIE Group by taking over the management of Storengy, one of the world's leading underground natural gas storage companies, a developer of geothermal energy solutions and a producer and storer of low-carbon energy.

Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney began her training at Ecole Polytechnique (2000) and then followed a double degree at École Nationale des Ponts Chaussés and Institut d'études politiques - Sciences-Po. She began her career in European affairs, as a diplomat at the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union (2006-2012) on industrial and environmental issues and as an advisor to the cabinet of the Minister Delegate in charge of European Affairs (2012-2013). In 2013, she joined RATP as head of the Greater Paris mission and then Chief of staff to the Chairman and CEO (2014-2015).

In 2015, she joined the ENGIE Group, initially as Director of NewCorp within the General Secretary. In 2018, she took over the management of the Paris district heating company; as a director of Storengy since 2018, she got to know the company she is joining today.

Camille Bonenfant-Jeanneney
@camille-bonenfant

Diana-Paula Gherasim

Advisor Renewables – 2030 Framework Lead, Eurelectric

Biography expected

Remco Groenenberg

Senior Scientist Sustainable Geo Energy, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

Biography expected

Remco Groenenberg

György Berze

CEO, HEXUM Földgáz Zrt.

Dr. György Berze started his professional career in Austria in 1993, as a technical expert at the Austrian National Forestry. Shortly afterwards, he joined the oil sector, where he first held middle, subsequently, executive level positions at multinational companies (ARAL, BP and OMV) until 2007.

From 2008 to 2015, as CEO and member of the board of directors of Opal Storage Park Plc, which is owned by the Hungarian Hydrocarbon Stockpiling Association (HUSA) and conducts the strategic stockpiling of crude oil and petroleum products, he played a significant role in securing the undisrupted supply of the country in the event of a crisis situation as well as in maintaining domestic energy security.

Between 2016 and 2018, he served as the managing director of the National Public Utility Company (NKM) Natural Gas Network Ltd (formerly called FŐGÁZ Natural Gas Distribution Ltd). In this role, he was in charge of streamlining the natural gas distribution operations as well as consolidating the integrated processes of the national public utility company. The company under his leadership provided the daily natural gas supply of approximately 2 million people.

From 2018 to 2019, as the director of the technical services division of the Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) corporate group he led the preparation of a new organisational and governance structure.
Since 2019, he has been CEO of HEXUM Natural Gas Plc (formerly known as MMBF Plc). The company’s gas storage facility with a mobile capacity of 1,900 mcm ensures the availability of the strategic natural gas stock, providing Europe-wide unique preparation in terms of natural gas to tackle potential supply disruptions.

As member of the presidential board of the Hungarian Mining Association (MBSZ), his main objective is to enhance the assertion of the sector’s interests and improve the operating conditions of mining businesses.
In his professional career to date, Dr. György Berze has been engaged in the strategic fields of the Hungarian oil and gas industry, acting successfully in the priority areas of the national economy, which served the natural gas and petroleum product supply security of the entire Hungarian population.

György Berze