Keynotes Speakers and Thought Leaders

Namhoon Kang

President, CEO, Korea Energy Agency (KEA)

From Oct. 2016 President & CEO of Korea Energy Agency (KEA)
Sept. 2013 - Sept. 2016 President & CEO of Korea Industrial Complex Corporation (KICOX) May 2011 - Feb. 2013 Senior Presidential Secretary for Knowledge Economy (Industry, Trade and Energy), Presidential Office

Priyantha Wijayatunga

Director South Asia Energy Division, ADB

Priyantha D C Wijayatunga holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa Sri Lanka and a Doctorate in Power Economics from Imperial College London where he was a Beit Scientific Research Fellow.

Dr. Sun Xiansheng

Secretary General, IEF

Dr Sun was elected IEF Secretary General in August 2016. Prior to that he was President of China National Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) Economics and Technology Research Institute (ETRI), reporting to the Chinese leadership on energy policy decision making, Chinese gas pricing reforms, and international energy cooperation.

Paul Simons

Deputy Executive Director, International Energy Agency, Paris

Paul Simons took up his duties as IEA Deputy Executive Director on 8 July 2015. He supports the Executive Director in providing leadership and strategic direction to the Agency, including advancing the global engagement strategy by strengthening co-operation with non-member countries and pursuing initiatives with key partner countries.

Vivien Foster

Global Lead (Energy Economics, Markets & Institutions) and Practice Manager, Energy & Extractives,
World Bank

She has also held the roles of Sector Manager and Practice Manager, Strategy & Operations for the Practice since 2012. She was a core member of the team that developed and secured Board consensus for the Energy Sector Directions Paper in 2013.

Dr. Yongping Zhai

Technical Advisor (Energy),
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Dr. Yongping Zhai has been working on energy development in Asia and Africa for about 25 years. He is currently Technical Advisor, Energy Sector Group, Asian Development Bank (ADB), in charge of overall energy policy coordination and technical support to ADB energy sector operations.

Carmela D. Locsin

Director General Sustainable Development & Climate Change Department,
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Ms. Carmela D. Locsin is Director General at the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. Previously, she assumed various positions including: Head, Office of Cofinancing Operations; Deputy Director General, South Asia Department; and Deputy Director General, Regional and Sustainable Development Department.

Stephen P. Groff

Vice-President (Operations 2), Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Stephen P. Groff is Vice-President (Operations 2) of the Asian Development Bank. He assumed office in October 2011. Mr. Groff is responsible for the full range of ADB's operations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

Ajaita Shah

Founder and CEO, Frontier Markets

Ajaita is the Founder/CEO of Frontier Markets, a social business that has built access to over 200,000 clean energy solutions in rural India with a focus on market building, customer-centric design thinking, and building a network of 3000 farmer and 1000 rural women entrepreneurs.

Bambang Susantono

Vice-President (Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development), Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Dr. Susantono is responsible for management of ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, and Department of External Relations.

Mr. Wencai Zhang

Vice-President (Operations 1), Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Prior to joining ADB, Mr.Zhang was the Director General of the Department of External Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) pf the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Jerry Bisson

Mission Director for Pakistan, United States Agency for International Development

For more than 30 years, Jerry Bisson has built and motivated teams dedicated to improving the lives of people in Afghanistan, Philippines, Indonesia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

Takehiko Nakao

President and Chairperson, Board of Directors, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Takehiko Nakao is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Chairperson of ADB’s Board of Directors. He was elected President by ADB’s Board of Governors and assumed office in April 2013.

Somesh Kumar

Partner & Leader – Power and Utilities, Ernst & Young, India.

Somesh has been involved in managing large-scale power and utilities transformation programs for over 20+ years.

Richard Taylor

Chief Executive, International Hydropower Association

Richard M Taylor, a fellow of the Energy Institute (UK), has been involved in the hydropower sector since 1985. He became a founding board member of IHA in 1995, and has served as the association’s executive director since 2001.

Bartosz Wojszczyk

President and CEO, Decision Point Global

Accomplished executive, visionary and innovation spokesperson with over 23 years of international experience with Fortune 100 companies, utilities, academia and consulting with annual sales up to $2B.

Laure Vinçotte

Managing Director, Corporate Impact Investment Fund dedicated to energy access for poor populations, ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies

With more than 20 years in energy companies, specialized in sustainable development issues. Laure Vinçotte is currently Managing Director of the corporate impact investment fund ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies.

Ashok Bhargava

Chair, Energy Sector Committee Director, Energy Division East Asia Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

As Director of the Energy Division in the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ashok Bhargava oversees energy sector operations in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Mongolia.

Niels Ehlers

50Hertz Transmission

Dr. Niels Ehlers is heading the Concepts and System Strategy department at 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, one of four transmission system operators in Germany.

Somesh Kumar

Partner & Leader – Power and Utilities, Ernst & Young, India.

Somesh has been involved in managing large-scale power and utilities transformation programs for over 20+ years.

Jaquelin Cochran

Senior Energy Analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Jaquelin Cochran is a Senior Energy Analyst with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Peter du Pont

Senior Climate Change Advisor, USAID Asia

Peter du Pont in senior advisor to USAID for activities in energy and the environment in the Asia region, and is based at the USAID regional mission in Bangkok.

Ingo Puhl

Director for Strategy, Co-Founder and Member, The South Pole Group

Ingo began his career in clean energy as a consultant to the World Bank in 1995 and became a pioneer in the emerging international carbon market.

Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama

Chairman of Platinum Society Network, Chairman of Mitsubishi Research Institute, Former President of University of Tokyo, Platinum Society Network

Dr. Hiroshi Komiyama obtained a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1972.