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Francesco La Camera
Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Francesco La Camera took office on 4 April 2019 and brings more than thirty years of experience in the fields of climate, sustainability, and international cooperation.
In his role, he is responsible for leading the delivery of IRENA’s work programme and strategy in cooperation with the Agency’s member states. At a critical time for climate change and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, he is tasked with redefining the structure and operations of the Agency in response to the urgent needs of its members.
Under his leadership, the Agency has forged a series of new strategic partnerships with UN organisations including UNDP, UNFCCC and Green Climate Fund among others. A key priority of his tenure is to implement a more action-oriented approach to the Agency’s work.
Previously, he served as Director-General of Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, EU and International Affairs at the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land & Sea since 2014. In this capacity, he developed cooperation and partnership agreements with a wide range of countries.
As the national coordinator for climate, environment, resource efficiency and circular economy, he led the Italian delegation to UNFCCC’s COP 21 to 24 and the EU Presidency at COP 20. He was also responsible for the preparation and organisation of Italy’s G7 Environment Presidency in 2017.

Dolf Gielen
Director, IRENA Innovation and Technology Center (IITC)

As director of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn since 2011, Dolf Gielen oversees the agency's work on advising member countries in technology status and roadmaps, energy planning, cost and markets and innovation policy frameworks.
Before joining IRENA, Dolf Gielen was Chief of the Energy Efficiency and Policy Unit at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Previously, he was a Senior Energy Technology Policy Analyst at the International Energy Agency. He was on a Fellowship with NIES Tsukuba Japan, from 2000 to 2002.

Kartikeya Singh
Deputy Program Director, Stichting SED Fund

Kartikeya Singh recently joined the Netherlands-based SED Fund to support the growing global community of actors facilitating the energy transition. Prior to joining the SED Fund he served as Deputy Director and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. At CSIS he led the U.S. – India State & Urban Initiative, a unique project designed to facilitate power sector cooperation between U.S. and Indian states. His previous roles include managing and supporting U.S. – India and U.S. – Pakistan bilateral energy cooperation at the U.S. Department of Energy, serving as advisor and negotiator for the Republic of Maldives in the UNFCCC and founding the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), a grassroots NGO established in 2008 to create a national dialogue on India’s renewable energy potential. He received his Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and a Master of Environmental Science from Yale University’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Ben Backwell
Chief Executive Officer, Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)

Ben Backwell is a leading commentator and strategist in the renewable energy sector. Prior to joining GWEC, he was a Managing Director at FTI Consulting, one of the world’s largest advisory firms, advising companies in the clean energy sector on strategy, communications, and government affairs, including work on a number of major M&A transactions.
Previously, Ben worked as a journalist and analyst for 20 years, covering energy policy and markets around the world. He helped design the SolutionWind campaign for the European Wind Energy Association (now WindEurope) ahead of COP21 in 2015, before joining FTI Consulting. He has taken part in the work of a number of industry organizations, including the board of GWEC, the IRENA Business and Investor Group, the IEA’s Renewable Energy Industry Advisory Board, Solar Power Europe, and others. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at international conferences.
Ben is the author of two books on the wind industry as well as a number of reports and white papers on power markets and policy frameworks. His book “Wind Power, the struggle for control of a new global industry,” (Routledge 2015, 2nd Revised Edition 2017) has been described as the “definitive” story of the global wind industry.
He holds an MSc in Political Science from the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of London and speaks Spanish and Portuguese as well as his native English.

Jin Kato
Executive Director, Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA)

Jin Kato joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Ltd. (MHI) in April 1977 and forged a career centered on Power Systems. In 2006 he became General Manager, Power Systems, in the Administration Department of Power Systems Headquarters, moving in 2008 to the position of General Manager in the Sustainability Energy & Environment Strategic Planning Department. After a period in 2011 as Deputy Head of Power Systems, in　2013 he was appointed Deputy Head of Power Systems, Senior General Manager, Wind Turbine Business Division. In 2014 he becameco-CEOat MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S,thenin 2017 Vice Chairman of MHI Insurance Services, Ltd., and later in the same year he was appointed Vice Chairman of Japan Wind Development Co, Ltd.

Sebastian Hald Buhl
Head of Government and Regulatory Affairs, New Markets Asia Pacific, Ørsted

Sebastian Hald Buhl is responsible for Ørsted’s government and regulatory affairs work in their new markets in Asia Pacific (e.g. Japan, Korea, China). He has worked for Ørsted since 2013, predominantly within its Government Affairs team. During this time, he has covered RES tender design, energy market design and offshore wind energy regulation across Northern Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific. Prior to relocating to Taipei he led Ørsted’s bid efforts in auctions on the East Coast of the US.
He holds a MSc in Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Takahiro Kato
Executive Officer, Head of Global Fund Investment, DBJ Asset Management

Takahiro Kato joined DBJ Asset Management in July 2017. He is head of global fund investments to private equity and infrastructure universe and instructs over 30 fund investments in a year on behalf of the third party clients. Especially, he has strong knowledge for infrastructure and energy field, which includes not only global projects but also Japanese domestic investments. Takahiro joined DBJ group in 1995, and he experienced over 15 years to energy and infrastructure projects in various DBJ group companies located in both Tokyo and London. Previously he was seconded to German KfW (in 2004/2005) and Ministry of Finance in Japan (in 1999/2000), in which he contributed for the adoption of OECD environmental guideline to Japanese ECAs. He was also worked as an investment manager for Japan Greenhouse-gas Reduction Fund, which is the first carbon fund in Japan. He experienced broad infrastructure projects such as energy, environment, aviation & shipping, airport, road, and telecom. He graduated Kyoto University in 1995.

Thierry Lepercq
Founder, Soladvent

Thierry Lepercq is a serial entrepreneur in technology and energy. He recently founded Soladvent, a global pioneer of green hydrogen, the large-scale production of hydrogen from solar and wind aiming at fossil fuel parity for industry, energy and mobility. He is the author of Hydrogen is the New Oil, a successful new book which describes how 7 energy wars are converging into a global convulsion and ushering a fossil fuel-free world.
Thierry Lepercq was Executive Vice-President in charge of Research, Technology and Innovation at energy giant Engie from 2016 to 2018. His efforts focused on disruptive business models in such areas as dispatchable renewables, electric mobility, digital energy platforms and hydrogen. From 2006 to 2016, he was the president and co-founder of Solairedirect, a global pioneer of competitive solar power, which has developed and built 3GW of capacity on four continents at prices as low as 20 $/MWh. Solairedirect was acquired by Engie in 2015.
A graduate from HEC Paris, Thierry Lepercq initially started his career in technology financing, first at Bankers Trust in New York, then at Banque Arjil (Lagardère group), and finally at Oddo & Cie in Paris. In 1999 he created NetsCapital, an investment bank dedicated to information technologies, then in 2004 REI, a think tank dedicated to innovation in the energy industry.

Shigeru Muraki
Executive Advisor, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

Shigeru Muraki joined Tokyo Gas in 1972. From 1989 he was appointed as the Chief Representative of the company’s New York Office. After returning from US, he was appointed to lead the Gas Resources Dept. in 2000. In 2002 he was promoted to Executive Officer, and was appointed Senior Executive Officer and Director of R&D in 2004. He became Senior Executive Officer and Director of the Energy Solution Division in 2007. He was appointed Executive Vice President in 2010 and Vice Chairman in 2014.
He is currently an Executive Advisor to Tokyo Gas. Concurrently he has been active as World Energy Council (WEC) Vice Chair for Asia Pacific/South Asia since 2016. Since 2019 he has also been Executive Vice President of The Green Ammonia Consortium with the aim of implementing the outcomes of SIP Energy Carriers. He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of The University of Tokyo.

Geert Tjarks
Head of Division International Cooperation, NOW GmbH (National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology)

Geert Tjarks is Head of Division International Cooperation at the NOW GmbH (National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) since 2018. He is responsible for the international activities of the NOW GmbH related to electric mobility and hydrogen as energy carrier. He joined the company in April 2017 as Programme Manager Power-based Fuels for the coordination of power-to-x projects within the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies (NIP) and the Mobility and Fuels Strategy of the German Government (MKS). He finalized his PhD at the RWTH Aachen in January 2017 with a focus on water electrolysis for hydrogen production.

Jens Bischoff
Business Development Manager, Enapter

Jens Bischoff serves as business development manager at Enapter, in the heart of decentralized green hydrogen production leveraging anion exchange membrane (AEM) technology. Before joining Enapter, Bischoff worked in International Sales and Business Development for a large Japanese general trading company for over four years. After completing his Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Economics, he graduated with a M.Sc. degree in Integrated Natural Resource Management from Humboldt University (Berlin), which included also a one-year exchange stay at the University of Tokyo. During this time he conducted research for his Master thesis about wind power projects in Japan funded by cooperatives and citizens.

JuntaroShimizu
Director, New and Renewable Energy Division, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Juntaro Shimizu started his career at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 2000. After serving for the establishment of automobile recycling system (2004-2006) and the formulation of climate change policy (2008-2011), he was deputed to JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) Mumbai office in India, as the Deputy Director General for 2011 to 2013. After returning to METI, he was in charge of budgeting for the energy policy of the Ministry, undertaking the management of human resource as the Director for HR management, Personnel Division, before taking up the current position in July 2019.

Shigeki Miwa
Managing Director, CEO Project Office SoftBank Group / Representative Director & CEO, SB Energy Corp.

Shigeki (Sean) Miwa holds several positions concurrently including Board Member at Exeger Operations AB (from 2019), Director of Nemaska Lithium Inc. (from 2018), Representative Director & CEO of SB Energy Corp. (from 2017), Managing Director – CEO Project Office (from 2016) at SoftBank Group Corp., Board Member of the Renewable Energy Institute (from 2014), Representative Director & CEO of Bloom Energy Japan Ltd.(from 2013) and Director of Clean Energy Asia LLC (from 2012). Before joining SoftBank in 2011, he worked for Mitsui & Co. Ltd., from 1991 mainly in the natural resources and energy sector, based in Tokyo, Sydney and Brisbane.
He graduated from Waseda University in Tokyo with a BA in history, received a Master of Financial Management and an MBA from the Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University in Sydney, and completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School in Boston.

Ken Isono
Representative Director, Shizen Energy Inc.

After graduating an undergraduate university, Ken joined Recruit Co., Ltd. where he worked as advertisement sales representative. Later he joined a wind power company and covered from development to construction and maintenance of wind farms across Japan. In June 2011, he established Shizen Energy Inc., appointing himself to its representative director. He co-leads juwi Shizen Energy Inc, founded in January 2013, as one of its directors. Ken holds MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School.

Tomas Kåberger
Chair of Executive Board, Renewable Energy Institute

Tomas Kåberger has been the Chair of Executive Board of Renewable Energy Institute since its foundation in 2011. Academically, he got an MSc in Engineering Physics, a PhD in Physical Resource Theory, and Docent in Environmental Science at Chalmers. He has been professor in International Sustainable Energy Systems at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University, and he is currently affiliate Professor of Industrial Energy Policy at Chalmers University of Technology.
Industrially, he has had leading roles in companies providing fuels and technology in the bio-energy industry, another company developing sustainable energy solutions for the automotive industry, and a company operating wind power plants. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Vattenfall, and as Industrial Growth Executive of the European company InnEnergy.
Politically, he has served on board of Swedish and European Environmental Citizen’s organizations, several Swedish Government Committees developing energy and environmental legislation, and China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development as a member of a task force on Low-Carbon Industrialization Strategies. From 2008 until 2011 he was Director General of the National Swedish Energy Agency. He is also a member of the Swedish Climate Policy Council established in 2018.

Takejiro Sueyoshi
Vice-Chair of Executive Board, Renewable Energy Institute

After graduating from University of Tokyo, Takejiro Sueyoshi joined the Mitsubishi Bank (the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ) in 1967 and worked for the bank until 1998. During his years with Nikko Asset Management as Deputy President, he was appointed as a member of the UNEP FI Steering Committee.　In addition to the involvement in the UNEP FI activities in the Asia Pacific Region, he is giving many educational speeches about environmental problems and CSR/SRI in various government councils, seminars, universities and TV programs. Former member of the Council for Japan’s Prime Minister on Climate Change Policy, a Trustee member of Carbon Disclosure Project and Chairperson of WWF Japan since September 2018.
His publications include “Ondanka Kogi (A lecture on Global Warming)” (Toyo Keizai), “Yugai Rensa (Chain of Harmfulness)” (Gentousha), “Green New Deal” (Editor, Kankyou Shinbun), “Saishin CSR Jijyo (The Newest Book on CSR)” (Hokuseido).

Teruyuki Ohno
Executive Director, Renewable Energy Institute

Joined Renewable Energy Institute in 2013. Teruyuki Ohno has actively participated in the policy formation of Japan’s climate change measures as a member of the subcommittee of the Long-term Low Carbon Vision led by the Ministry of the Environment Japan. Before joining the Institute, he served as the Director General of the Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government for three years, covering a broad range of environmental issues including energy, climate change, waste management, pollution control, natural environment, and sustainable development. His notable achievements include reducing air pollution and PM emissions through “No Dirty Diesel Vehicle Strategy in Tokyo”, and implementing Japan’s first Cap-and-Trade Program in Tokyo in 2008, involving the industries and building a grand consensus. His active leadership in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency has formed the foundation of Tokyo’s energy policy. He also serves as part-time lecturer at the University of Tokyo, a member of Seoul International Energy Advisory Council (SIEAC) and Adviser for ICLEI Japan and Board Member for WWF Japan.
He was awarded Haagen-Smit Clean Air Awards by California Air Resources Board in 2014. His publications include "Energy Strategies of Municipality Governments" (Iwanami, 2013, Japanese) among others.

Mika Ohbayashi
Director, Renewable Energy Institute

Mika Ohbayashi is a founding member and Director at Renewable Energy Institute since 2011. Before joining the Institute, Ohbayashi worked for International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi as Policy and Project Regional Manager for Asia Oceania. She served as Deputy Director at Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies for 8 years since its establishment in 2000. She also worked for UKFCO at the British Embassy to Japan, as Advisor for Climate Change Projects and Policies before joining IRENA, and started her carrier in the energy field by joining Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in 1992. She coordinates many scientific study projects, takes leadership to team up various networks including national parliamentarians and local authorities, domestically and internationally to improve sustainable energy society. She was awarded the Global Leadership Award in Advancing Solar Energy Policy by the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) in 2017.

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