Moving forward to decarbonisation

Speakers for this event

• Alix Chambris

  Alix Chambris

  Vice President Global Public Affairs and Sustainability, Viessmann Group

  Alix Chambris is leading Global Public Affairs and Sustainability at Viessmann since January 2019. Focus areas include the decarbonisation of heating and cooling, digitalisation and competitiveness.

  Alix has seventeen years experience in policy making and business, with a strong focus on energy and climate policy. She has worked in the European Commission where she drafted regulations on energy-related products. She has previously led EU public affairs at Danfoss; she was president of EuroACE, the European alliance for energy efficiency in buildings; and vice-president of EU-ASE, the European alliance for energy savings.

  Alix holds a master’s degree in Economics from the College of Europe, a master’s degree from Science-Po Strasbourg, and a master’s degree in German language and civilisation.

  Vice President Global Public Affairs and Sustainability, Viessmann Group

• Axel Eggert

  Axel Eggert

  Director General, The European Steel Association – EUROFER

  Axel Eggert is Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), a post he has held since 2014, having initially joined the association in 2007 as Director of Public Affairs and Communication. A German national holding degrees from his studies of modern history, economics and law, Mr Eggert has extensive experience, having worked 8 years in the European Parliament prior to his leadership at EUROFER. Mr Eggert is also Vice-President and Member of the Board of ESTEP, The European Steel Technology Platform.

  Director General, The European Steel Association – EUROFER

• Boyana Achovski

  Boyana Achovski

  Secretary General, Gas Infrastructure Europe

  Boyana Achovski has been the Secretary-General of GIE since 2016. Boyana
  started her European affairs career in the European Parliament in Brussels and
  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 also chaired the Steering Committee
  of GasNaturally twice, the coalition of Europe’s whole gas value chain.

  Boyana graduated in International Economic Affairs, specializing in
  International Finance. She holds a master’s degree in finance and management of
  international Associations from the Solvay Brussels School. She also obtained a
  certificate in women’s leadership from the University of Oxford.

  In 2023, Boyana won the award of the most influential Energy Women
  Leader of Central & Eastern Europe. Committed to advocating for greater
  gender equality and diversity in the energy transition, she is a Member of the
  Board of WiRA (Women in Renewables Alliance), a global network of professional
  women in the renewable energy sector and is part of WoNY, an alliance promoting
  gender diversity in the CEE-SEE region.

  Secretary General, Gas Infrastructure Europe

• Christine Cabau Woehrel

  Christine Cabau Woehrel

  Executive Vice-President Assets & operations, CMA CGM

  Christine Cabau Woehrel started her career in the maritime transport in 1987 when she joined CMA-CGM, now the 3rd largest shipping line and major logistic Operator. From Line Manager to Member of the Executive Committee, her career in CMA-CGM leads her to the management of several group of lines: Asia-Mediterranean and Asia-Middle East.

  When in 2011, Christine Cabau WOEHREL quits the CMA-CGM group, it is still as an expert of shipping matters that she starts a brief experience in the consulting business. In 2012 she is appointed, by ministerial decree, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Dunkirk. Two years later, she is appointed at the head of the first French port, Marseille Fos.

  As from March 2019 she joined back the CMA CM Group, next to Rodolphe Saadé, as Executive Vice President Assets Group & Operations. She is in charge of Vessels fleet, Terminals & Energy departments as well as Operations.

  Executive Vice-President Assets & operations, CMA CGM

• Cristian-Silviu Buşoi,

  Cristian-Silviu Buşoi,

  MEP, EPP, Chair of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament

  Cristian-Silviu BUŞOI is a Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee. He is also Member of the Delegation for Southeast Asia, as well as substitute Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Delegation for the Arab Peninsula.

  Mr. Busoi graduated Medicine from Carol Davila University in Bucharest, Law from Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest, and Diplomacy from the Romanian Diplomatic Institute in Bucharest. His political career started in 1996 when, as a student, he became member of the National Liberal Party. Eight years later, he entered the Romanian Parliament and, in 2013, became President of the Romanian National Health Insurance House. Since 2007, he has been elected to the European Parliament for three consecutive terms.

  MEP, EPP, Chair of the ITRE Committee, European Parliament

• Dale Vince

  Dale Vince

  Founder and Chief Executive, Ecotricity

  With more than 25 years experience as a green entrepreneur, Dale Vince launched Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy company back in 1995. Today, it powers around 200,000 homes and businesses across the UK with renewable energy from the wind and sun. Dale also owns Devil’s Kitchen, which makes vegan school dinners, and his latest business, Skydiamond – creating lab grown diamonds from the wind, rain and sun. His work focuses on three key areas – energy, transport and food – collectively responsible for 80% of our own carbon emissions.

  He is Chairman and owner of Forest Green Rovers – recognised by FIFA as the “world’s greenest football club” and became a United Nations Climate Champion in 2018. He launched his first book, Manifesto in 2020, and is Executive Producer of the Netflix Original documentary, Seaspiracy.

  Founder and Chief Executive, Ecotricity

• Didier Holleaux

  Didier Holleaux

  President of Eurogas

  After graduating as an Engineer (Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale des Mines de Paris), Didier HOLLEAUX started to work as an Engineer in the car-manufacturing and in the oil industry. He then made a career in the French Civil Service which led him to the position of head of the departmental staff (“Directeur de Cabinet”) of the Energy Minister (1992-1993).

  Didier HOLLEAUX joined Gaz de France (merged in GDF SUEZ in 2008 and renamed as ENGIE in 2015), in 1993. Since then, he held different managing positions in the transmission, distribution, and LNG businesses of the company. He also founded and managed the North Sea Exploration and Production (1997-2000) and managed the worldwide Exploration and Production of the group (2007-2015). Since 1st of July 2015, he is Executive Vice President of ENGIE. He is currently in charge of special projects particularly in the field of renewable gases and external representation.

  Didier HOLLEAUX has been elected President of Eurogas in June 2021.

  President of Eurogas

• Felicia Mester,

  Felicia Mester,

  Director, Public Affairs, Hydrogen Europe

  Director, Public Affairs, Hydrogen Europe

• Helena Anderson

  Helena Anderson

  Co-founder and COO, Ikigai Capital

  Co-founder and COO, Ikigai Capital

• Joaquim Nunes de Almeida

  Joaquim Nunes de Almeida

  Director, Ecosystems IV: Mobility & Energy Intensive Industries, DG GROW, European Commission

  Joaquim Nunes de Almeida is director in charge of “Mobility and energy intensive industries” at the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) since March 2021. This includes “Green and Circular Economy” as well as the Circular Plastics Alliance. Before that, he was director in charge of single market policy (since 2016).

  Joaquim started his career at the European Commission in 1995 and has extensive experience in policies related to the internal market and home affairs (police cooperation, terrorism, law enforcement, asylum and immigration).
  He studied law and worked as a lawyer at the Bar of Lisbon, Portugal, from 1989 to 1994, dealing mainly with anti-trust law as well as commercial and civil law.

  Director, Ecosystems IV: Mobility & Energy Intensive Industries, DG GROW, European Commission

• Kadri Simson

  Kadri Simson

  EU Commissioner for Energy, European Commission

  Kadri Simson is an Estonian politician from the Centre Party. She is serving as a European Commissioner for Energy in the Von der Leyen Commission since 1 December 2019.
  She was previously the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure in Jüri Ratas’ first cabinet from 2016 to 2019. During the Estonian Presidency in the Council of the EU, Simson chaired both energy ministers and transport ministers meetings in TTE Council and ministers of economy format in EU Competitiveness Council.
  From 2007–2016 Kadri Simson was a member of the 11th, 12th, and 13th Riigikogu and in 2019 she was also elected to the 14th Riigikogu. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from University College London.

  EU Commissioner for Energy, European Commission

• Magda Kopczynska

  Magda Kopczynska

  Director, Waterborne, DG MOVE, European Commission

  Magda Kopczynska, Director for Waterborne Transport in Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport within the European Commission, since 16/10/2016. Her Directorate is responsible for the development and follow-up of the implementation of policies in support of logistics, maritime transport, ports, and inland navigation.

  After joining the European Commission in 2006, to work in the Directorate-General for Internal Market and Services, she was appointed as the Head of Unit for Clean Transport, Urban Transport and Intelligent Transport Systems – between May 2009 and June 2011. In July 2011 she became Head of Unit dealing with Maritime Transport policy and Logistics, until taking up the post of Director for Sustainable and Innovative Mobility in DG MOVE on 1 May 2014 to 15 October 2016.

  Director, Waterborne, DG MOVE, European Commission

• Małgosia Rybak

  Małgosia Rybak

  Climate Change & Energy Director, Cepi

  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.

  Climate Change & Energy Director, Cepi

• Monique Goyens

  Monique Goyens

  Director General, BEUC

  As Director General of BEUC, Monique Goyens represents 46 national consumer associations in 32 European countries, acting as a strong consumer voice in Brussels, ensuring that consumer interests are given weight in the development of policies.
  Monique is a member of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance and of the Euro Retail Payments Board. She is a member of the European Commission’s Consumer Policy Advisory Group, High-Level Roundtable on the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, and Structured Dialogue on Security of Medicines Supply.
  Monique is Co-Chair of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) a network of EU and US consumer organisations.

  Director General, BEUC

• Paolo Gallo

  Paolo Gallo

  Chief Executive Officer, Italgas

  Paolo Gallo is Chief Executive Officer and General Manager at Italgas since 4 August 2016. He received his degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin. He subsequently earned an MBA from Turin University. From 2014 to 2016 he was the Chief Executive Officer of Grandi Stazioni S.p.A, of which he oversaw the privatization. Previously (from 2011 to 2014) he worked at Acea S.p.A., firstly as Chief Operating Officer and then as Chief Executive Officer. From 2002 to 2011 he was in the Edison Group, initially as Head of Strategy and Innovation, then as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Edipower.

  He started his career in Fiat Avio S.p.A. in 1988, holding several roles and responsibilities over 13 years. In 1997 he began working in the energy field, developing new initiatives in Italy, India and Brazil and subsequently he recollected all Fiat Group’s electricity generation activities in Fiat Energia, of which he was Chief Executive Officer until 2002.

  Between 1992 and 1993 he was dean of the MBA program at the School of Business Administration of the University of Turin, where he lectured “Industrial Investments Economical-Financial evaluations” until 2002. He is also co-author of relevant publications in the sector. Since 2018 he has been Professor of Re-engineering Operational Processes (Master Digital Ecosystem) and Energy Management (Master Energy Industry) courses at the Luiss Business School.

  Chief Executive Officer, Italgas

• Paula Pinho

  Paula Pinho

  Director Just Transition, Consumers, Energy Efficiency & Innovation, DG ENER, European Commission

  Ms 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.

  Director Just Transition, Consumers, Energy Efficiency & Innovation, DG ENER, European Commission

• Sophie Grenade

  Sophie Grenade

  Policy Advisor, industriAll Europe

  Sophie Grenade is Policy Advisor for industriAll European Trade Union. Her main areas of focus are raw materials and circular economy. She is also in charge of European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees in Gas, Electricity, Extractive Industries and Pulp and Paper sector. She has more than 10 years of trade union work at national, European and international level. Before joining industriAll Europe, she was advisor on European affairs within the Belgian Trade Union Confederation FGTB. Sophie holds a Research Master’s degree in Political Sociology from EHESS (Paris, France) and a masters’ degree in Sociology (University of Liège, Belgium). She worked during 6 years at the Faculty of Social Sciences in the University of Liège as research and teaching assistant and was guest lecturer during several years.

  Policy Advisor, industriAll Europe

• Yuriy Vitrenko

  Yuriy Vitrenko

  CEO

  CEO