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David Turk, who serves as a distinguished visiting fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, will testify at a full committee hearing of...
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COLUMBIA GLOBAL
ENERGY SUMMIT 2025
In-person registration at this year’s Summit has reached capacity, and at this time ticket sales have been closed. Please register for our Summit’s livestream to participate in the Summit virtually.
The Columbia Global Energy Summit 2025, hosted by the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, is an annual event dedicated to thought-provoking discussions around the critical energy and climate challenges facing the global community. The Summit brings together some of the world’s foremost thought leaders and decision makers for thought-provoking conversations focused on the nexus of geopolitics, energy, security, and climate.
This year’s day-long Summit will address myriad issues at the heart of today’s complex geopolitical, environmental, and economic landscape. Speakers from around the world, including current and former government officials, financial industry executives, CEOs of major companies, leaders of civil society, and experts from academia will offer valuable perspectives on critical challenges facing the global energy and climate community.
Speakers will participate in high-level conversations focused on the energy and security demands of the growing artificial intelligence industry, critical minerals security and supply chain dynamics, the impacts of rising trade tensions, industrial policies, and Great Power competition on the energy sector and the clean energy transition, the challenges facing emerging and developing economies to meet rapidly rising energy needs and mobilize capital for clean energy investment, and today’s complex and fragmenting geopolitical landscape.
Chairman and CEO, Lazard
Learn MoreCEO and Founder, Groq
Learn MoreFormer United States National Security Advisor
Learn MoreChairman and CEO, Lazard
Peter R. Orszag is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Lazard, the preeminent global financial advisory and asset management firm. He has led the firm and been a Board Director since October 2023.
Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Orszag was CEO of Financial Advisory, leading Lazard's advisory businesses serving companies and governments across the globe, between April 2019 and September 2023.
He was previously the firm's Head of North American Mergers & Acquisitions and Global Co-Head of Healthcare from July 2018 to June 2019. Dr. Orszag joined Lazard as Vice Chairman of Investment Banking in May 2016.
In the Obama Administration, he served as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and before that, as the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
He graduated summa cum laude in Economics from Princeton University and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics, which he attended as a Marshall Scholar.
Dr. Orszag is married to Bianna Golodryga of CNN.
CEO and Founder, Groq
Jonathan Ross, CEO and Founder of Groq, has dedicated his career to revolutionizing compute. He pioneered the Language Processing Unit (LPU), the technology democratizing fast AI inference by unlocking the potential of AI for developers and enterprises alike. Ross' visionary leadership has been instrumental in shaping the AI infrastructure market, drawing from his formative experience at Google where he spearheaded the development of the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) and incubated innovative projects within the esteemed Google X Rapid Eval Team. Ross is defining the AI landscape with his unwavering commitment to driving the cost of compute to zero, paving the way for a future where human creativity knows no bounds.
Former United States National Security Advisor
Jake Sullivan was the 28th Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) for four years, from January 2021 to January 2025. He previously served as National Security Advisor to then-Vice President Biden, Director of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, and Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In the years between government service, Sullivan was a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he helped conceive and design a bipartisan task force project on a foreign policy for the middle class. He also held teaching posts at the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, and Yale Law School. He co-founded and co-chaired the advisory board for National Security Action, a nonprofit national security advocacy organization, and served on the advisory boards of a number of organizations involved in foreign policy and national security. Sullivan was a senior policy advisor on Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
He holds a B.A. in political science and international studies from Yale College; a M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He grew up as the second of five children in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a proud product of the Minneapolis public schools. He lives with his wife Maggie Goodlander in New Hampshire.
Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy
Learn MoreCGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Learn MoreExecutive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Constellation
Learn MoreFounding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Learn MorePartner, Emerson Collective
Learn MoreChairman, BeyondNetZero
Learn MoreSenior Research Scholar
Learn MoreCEO, Sigma Lithium
Learn MoreFounder, Fannon Global Advisors, and Former Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
Learn MoreGlobal Fellow
Learn MoreExecutive Director, Blue Horizons Foundation
Learn MoreClimate Reporter, The New York Times
Learn MoreManaging Partner, TWG Global, and Former Deputy Assistant and Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment
Learn MoreSenior Director of Research
Learn MoreClimate Reporter, The Washington Post
Learn MoreCo-Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates
Learn MorePresident, Environmental Defense Fund
Learn MoreManaging Director, US Program, RMI
Learn MoreCGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former Secretary General, International Energy Forum
Learn MorePresident and CEO International Rescue Committee
Learn MoreChief Sustainability Officer, Microsoft
Learn MorePresident and CEO, ONEOK
Learn MoreDirector, Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Learn MoreHead of Global Affairs, Appian Capital Advisory
Learn MoreInaugural Fellow
Learn MoreCGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former European Commissioner for Energy
Learn MoreChief Executive, Rio Tinto Group
Learn MoreDirector, Program on Trade and the Clean Energy Transition
Learn MoreChairman and CEO Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
Learn MoreGlobal Energy and Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Learn MorePartner, Head of Sustainability & Infrastructure, Apollo Asset Management
Learn MorePresident, Shell USA
Learn MoreVice Chairman, S&P Global
Learn MoreEditor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy
Ravi Agrawal is an award-winning journalist and media executive, and the author of INDIA CONNECTED: How the Smartphone is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.
Currently, he is the Managing Editor of Foreign Policy, the world’s leading website and print magazine on international relations. Agrawal is a frequent commentator on TV and radio.
Before joining Foreign Policy in 2018, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than 11 years, spanning full-time roles on three continents. His most recent position at CNN was as New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. In that role, Agrawal led the network’s coverage of news from South Asia and traveled across the region to report on-air and for CNN.com. He was responsible for global exclusive interviews with U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Before his time in New Delhi, Agrawal worked as a senior producer in CNN’s London and New York bureaus, covering a wide range of stories around the globe. His work in TV news has been recognized with a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations.
Agrawal has been named a Young Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, and an Asia21 Young Leader by the Asia Society in New York. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. Agrawal was born in London, England, and grew up in Kolkata, India. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, NY.
CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Wally Adeyemo served as the 15th US deputy secretary of the Treasury and chief operating officer of the 100,000 employee department. Adeyemo played a leading role in Treasury’s national security and economic inequality work, and in implementing some of the department’s top policy priorities.
Adeyemo was responsible for the department's use of economic tools in service of protecting US national security, including financial sanctions and the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. He also oversaw Treasury’s implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the most significant investment in the economy, energy security, and climate change in a generation, as well as the most significant effort in decades to modernize the Internal Revenue Service.
Prior to his service in the Biden Administration, Adeyemo served as the president of the Barack Obama Foundation. He also previously served as deputy national security advisor for international economics and deputy director of the National Economic Council.
Adeyemo will join CGEP and the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University SIPA starting February 1, 2025. He will simultaneously serve as a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at SIPA's Institute of Global Politics.
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Constellation
Profile
Barrón serves as chief strategy and growth officer for Constellation, the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy and the leading competitive retail supplier of energy products and services for 2 million homes and businesses across the United States. In this role, Barrón is responsible for corporate strategy, corporate development, sustainability, communications, corporate relations, and philanthropy, as well as for co-leading Constellation’s data economy business development initiatives, working to ensure that our clean energy centers are poised to power this essential industry moving forward. She also leads the company’s work to identify new opportunities to bring new reliable, clean energy sources to the grid.
Professional Background
Barrón previously served as executive vice president for government and regulatory affairs and public policy, where she led the development and implementation of federal, state and regional governmental, regulatory and public policy strategies for Constellation and its predecessor company, Exelon Corporation. She was responsible for identifying and assessing key federal and state policy issues, crafting the company’s position on such issues, and developing strategies for achieving public policy objectives on behalf of the company’s customers and businesses. She was also responsible for managing the company’s wholesale market design advocacy in each of the regional markets where the company operates.
Prior to joining Exelon, Barrón was the Deputy General Counsel at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where she advised the Commission on all aspects of its responsibilities and represented the Commission before Congress, government agencies, and industry groups. Previously, Barrón was the FERC’s associate general counsel for energy markets, where she led a group of about 90 lawyers on legal and policy matters related to electric power sales and transportation, electric system reliability, corporate regulation of public utilities and natural gas and oil pipeline transportation. Prior to joining FERC, Barrón was in private practice with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. There, she represented utility and independent power producer clients in proceedings before FERC, U.S. Courts of Appeal, and state utility commissions.
Community Work
Barrón serves as the Executive Sponsor of the Constellation Latino Network employee resource group at Constellation. She also serves as a Board of Director for the Keystone Policy Center, Baltimore Waterfront Partnership, and the Foundation for Nuclear Studies.
Educational Background
Barrón received her B.A. from American University where she studied Political Science and Communications-Law-Economics-Government. She received her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, and her Executive Education in Financial Analysis from the University of Chicago Booth Business School.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Jason Bordoff is the Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he is a Professor of Professional Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Columbia Climate School, where he is Co-Founding Dean Emeritus.
He previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change on the Staff of the National Security Council. Prior to that appointment, he held senior policy positions on the White House’s National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality. Earlier in his career, he was a scholar at the Brookings Institution, served in the Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration, and was a consultant with McKinsey & Company.
One of the world’s leading energy and climate policy experts, Bordoff’s research and policy interests lie at the intersection of economics, energy, environment, and national security. As a member of the Columbia SIPA faculty since 2013, he teaches and mentors the world’s future energy and climate leaders in government, business and civil society.
In 2013, Bordoff created the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), which is now widely recognized as among the world’s leading energy policy research institutes, advancing evidence-based and actionable energy and climate solutions through research, dialogue, and education. (Learn more here.) In addition to serving as CGEP’s Founding Director, Bordoff co-led and created the nation’s first graduate school devoted to tackling climate change, the Columbia Climate School, from 2021 to 2023. Bordoff is a columnist for Foreign Policy Magazine and has authored numerous essays and articles for Foreign Affairs. He frequently publishes articles in leading outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, and appears on NPR, CNN, NBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS, and the BBC as a commentator.His Foreign Affairs article with Meghan O’Sullivan, "Green Upheaval: The New Geopolitics of Energy," was selected as one of the "Top Ten" print articles published in that journal in 2022.
Bordoff also has extensive experience advising the private sector and non-profit organizations. He is a Senior Advisor at Permira, a global investment firm. He chairs the Aspen Institute-Columbia Global Energy Forum and serves on numerous advisory boards and leadership councils, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Sustainable Energy for All at the United Nations, The Nature Conservancy of New York, Foreign Policy 4 America, the New York Energy Forum, and the World Economic Forum’s "Future of Energy Stewardship" and "Mobilizing Investment for Clean Energy in Emerging Economies" programs. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Oxford Energy Club, and the National Petroleum Council (a federally chartered advisory committee to the Secretary of Energy).
Bordoff graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was Treasurer of the Harvard Law Review, and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He also holds an MLitt degree from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar, and a BA magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brown University.
For all media inquiries please email [email protected].
Partner, Emerson Collective
Michael Bruce leads energy + environment investments at Emerson Collective. His investments include Commonwealth Fusion Systems, X-energy, Twelve, Aurora Solar, Redwood Materials, Anthro, Lilac Solutions, PosiGen, Antora, Xcimer, Zap Energy, Noon Energy, and BioLite among others. Prior to Emerson Collective, Michael held leadership roles at Hannon Armstrong and Manifest Energy, as well as serving as Senior Advisor for Finance at the U.S. Department of Energy. Michael received a BS in Management Sciences & Engineering from Stanford University, where he was an NCAA Champion and All-American swimmer.
Chairman, BeyondNetZero
Lord Browne is Chairman of BeyondNetZero, a climate growth equity fund established in partnership with General Atlantic. He served as Group Chief Executive of international energy company BP from 1995 to 2007, having joined the company in 1966 as a university apprentice.
He led BP through a period of significant growth and transformation, including a merger with Amoco in 1998. His landmark speech at Stanford University in 1997 established BP as a global leader in the way it thought about and sought to address climate change. In 2007, Lord Browne joined Riverstone, where he was co-head of the world’s largest renewable energy private equity fund until 2015. He is Chairman of Windward, a global maritime predictive intelligence company and Chairman of SparkCognition, an artificial intelligence technology company.
Lord Browne is independent co-Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology, Chairman of the Francis Crick Institute, Chairman of the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a former Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering as well as a past President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Lord Browne was educated St John's College, Cambridge, where he earned a BA degree in physics. In addition to his degree in physics from the University of Cambridge, he holds an MS degree in business from Stanford University, California. He is a former Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Judge Business School.
Senior Research Scholar
Jonathan Elkind is a fellow and senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Elkind came to the Center after a long and distinguished career devoted to energy and environment policy in the private and public sectors. From 2009 to 2017, he worked on international energy and climate issues at the United States Department of Energy, helping to coordinate energy policy in the Obama Administration and leading climate and energy programs with key global partners. He departed DOE as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs.
Before his service in the Obama Administration, he founded Eastlink Consulting, LLC where he guided corporate and non-profit clients on commercial energy projects in Europe and Eurasia, and he served as a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, researching international energy security issues.
Earlier in his career, Elkind focused on energy, environment and economic issues in the post-Soviet nations in a variety of posts with the Joint Global Change Research Institute, the U.S. National Security Council, Office of the Vice President of the United States, the Department of Energy, and the Council on Environmental Quality.
Elkind holds a Master of Business Administration in Strategy and International Business from the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, a Master of Arts in Russian History and Certificate in Soviet Studies from the W. Averell Harriman Institute, and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is a Director on the Board of Infineon Technologies, LLC. He is also a distinguished associate with the Energy Futures Initiative; an advisor to GTI Energy; and a senior advisor with WestExec Advisors, a Washington, DC-based strategic advisory firm.
CEO, Sigma Lithium
Ana is CEO at Sigma Lithium, co-Chairing the Company inception in 2012.
Sigma Lithium is the 5th largest industrial-mineral lithium complex globally, producing carbon neutral lithium oxide. She is one of the pioneer investors and longest serving CEOs in the lithium industry.
Ana was a co-founder of A10 Invest, a leading venture capital boutique focused on impact investing. A10 FIA isthe largest shareholder of Sigma Lithium, backing it toproduce the Quintuple Zero Green Lithium: Carbon neutral and environmentally and socially sustainable.
Ana was awarded “Mining Person of the Year” in 2023 by Canada’s Northern Miner and “Industrial Person of the Year” in 2024 by Minas Gerais Industry Federation’s. The State of Minas Gerais has awarded her the “Tiradentes Medal of Honor” for her contribution to its economic development. She was recognized by Forbes Magazine’s as one of 50 women over 50 global trailblazers.
She has more than 30 years of experience as a venture capital investor and sênior banker at global investment banks in New York, London and São Paulo. She was Head of Latin American Capital Markets and a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in New York. During her career, she has been involved in more than 150 capital markets and M&A transactions, totaling more than $120 billion. Five of the transactions she worked on received the prestigious IFR “Deal of the Year” award, including the privatization of Vale in 1996.
Ana is on the Global Advisory Board of Columbia University Global Centers in New York. She was a co-founder of “Mulheres do Brasil”, the leading civil movement in thecountry, with over 120,000 women as active members.
Founder, Fannon Global Advisors, and Former Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
Frank is the founder of Fannon Global Advisors. He previously served as America’s first Senate-confirmed assistant secretary of state for Energy Resources during the first Trump administration, where he led major energy and infrastructure initiatives across the globe, and elevated the critical role of minerals in the clean energy transition. Earlier in his career, he served as counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Global Fellow
Dr. Ashley Finan is a global fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy, where she focuses on AI, energy, and national security. She is also a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center.
Dr. Finan serves as Chief Science Officer for the National and Homeland Security Directorate at Idaho National Laboratory. In this role, she provides scientific and strategic leadership for the directorate’s mission, manages the laboratory directed research and development portfolio, directs the Research Accelerator Department, and oversees the delivery of quality, relevant, and impactful research and development.
Dr. Finan was previously the founding Director of the National Reactor Innovation Center and a Division Director in the Nuclear Science & Technology Directorate at Idaho National Laboratory. In that role, she was responsible for establishing and implementing initiatives, experimental facilities, and test beds to provide resources to reactor innovators to test, demonstrate, and conduct performance assessments to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear technology concepts.
Dr. Finan served as founding Executive Director for the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, where she was responsible for managing the organization’s strategy, operations, government affairs, policy and technical development, stakeholder outreach, and fundraising. She provided expert guidance to policymakers, academic teams, industry stakeholders, and NGOs.
Dr. Finan earned her Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her doctoral work focused on energy innovation investment and policy optimization. She has played a key role in studies of the use of advanced nuclear energy in several innovative applications, including hydrogen production, coal to liquids processes, and oil production methods. She has worked as a strategy and engineering consultant, primarily on nuclear energy applications.
Dr. Finan holds an SB degree in Physics as well as SB and SM degrees in Nuclear Science and Engineering from MIT.
Executive Director, Blue Horizons Foundation
Dr. Jane Flegal is the inaugural Executive Director of the Blue Horizons Foundation. She brings more than a decade of experience in climate technology, policy, and politics. Prior to joining Blue Horizons, Jane was the Market Development and Policy Lead at Stripe Climate and Frontier, a more than $1 billion advance market commitment to purchase permanent carbon dioxide removal. In 2023, Jane was named one of Vox’s Future Perfect 50, which recognizes 50 thought leaders working to make the world a better place.
Prior to joining Stripe, Jane was the Senior Director for Industrial Emissions at the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, where she was responsible for developing and advancing policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote technological advancement, and support job creation in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. Previously, Jane directed the US Climate Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, as well as the Environment Program at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust. Jane holds a doctorate in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and politics from Mount Holyoke College.
Climate Reporter, The New York Times
David is an award winning reporter for the New York Times. He currently writes for the Climate desk, and previously wrote for the Business section and was the Corner Office columnist. Read his recent stories here.
His reporting has won Gerald Loeb and SABEW awards, and he was part of the team that made “Boeing’s Fatal Flaw,” a documentary film that won the News and Documentary Emmy for outstanding business coverage.
Before joining the Times in 2013, he spent five years with the Financial Times. At the FT, he covered tech, media and M&A in San Francisco and New York. In 2011 he conducted an exclusive jailhouse interview with Bernie Madoff, shedding new light on the $65 billion ponzi scheme.
His next book, coming September 9, 2025, is “DIRTBAG BILLIONAIRE: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away.”
His 2022 book, “The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America — and How to Undo His Legacy,” was an instant New York Times bestseller.
His first book, “Mindful Work: How Meditation is Changing Business from the Inside Out,” was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015.
Managing Partner, TWG Global, and Former Deputy Assistant and Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment
Amos Hochstein is a recognized global energy expert, senior negotiator, and business executive with extensive experience in national security, economic strategy, and international infrastructure investments. He has been at the forefront of shaping U.S. national security, energy security, infrastructure investments, and high-stakes negotiations that have strengthened global economic and geopolitical stability.
Until recently, Hochstein served as the White House Senior Advisor to the President, where he played a leadership role in advancing U.S. national security interests as well as American and global energy security, economic resilience, and international investment strategies.
Hochstein was the lead negotiator in securing the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, ending the post October 7th war between Israel and Hezbullah. Previously, he negotiated several global economic and diplomatic agreements including the Israel-Lebanon maritime border agreement, a landmark diplomatic and economic agreement that resolved a long-standing dispute and enabled significant investment opportunities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Hochstein was the driving force behind the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), leading global efforts to successfully mobilize billions of USD investments in energy, digital infrastructure, commercial rail, and agribusiness. As part of this effort, he led the effort to revitalize the Lobito Corridor, a transformative infrastructure initiative that enhances trade and connectivity across Africa, fostering long-term economic growth and regional integration. And, the Luzon Economic Corridor to develop infrastructure in the Philippines between key sites, including Manila, Batangas, Subic, and Clark, to accelerate growth in critical industries by reducing energy and logistics costs.
In the private sector, Hochstein served as a senior advisor to several companies in the financial, energy and technology sectors. He was also Executive Vice President at Tellurian, leading the international marketing team.
With a track record of high-level negotiations, global investments, and national security expertise, Hochstein is a frequent speaker on critical issues shaping global geo-politics and the future of energy security, infrastructure development, and international economic policy.
He lives in the United States with his wife and four children.
Senior Director of Research
Robert (“RJ”) Johnston is Senior Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the Center’s research strategy, staff, products, and operations. RJ was previously the founder and Managing Director of the Eurasia Group’s Energy, Climate, and Resources practice, and served as the firm’s CEO from 2013 to 2018. At the Eurasia Group, RJ worked closely with corporate and institutional investor clients in the oil and gas, mining, electric power, and clean tech sectors.
Prior to joining Eurasia Group, RJ served as managing director of equity research at Medley Global Advisors, where he was responsible for providing political and strategic insights to clients in the institutional investment community and served as the lead analyst for global energy equities. RJ, in addition, was a research director at UBS Warburg Energy, working directly in support of energy trading. And he previously directed internal research teams supporting oil, LNG, metals, and FX trading at Enron Global Markets. Earlier, at ArmorGroup, RJ directed political risk research for corporate clients in a variety of markets including China, Russia, Colombia, and Indonesia.
RJ is an independent advisor to the First Nations Climate Initiative, a Canadian initiative focused on building economic prosperity and resilient communities for Indigenous nations in a decarbonizing world. He is an advisor to the CEO of Ubiquity Solar, a US-based solar power manufacturing concern. He is also an advisor on North American energy policy to a New York-based diversified investment management firm.
Recent notable achievements include serving as a counselor for the Canada-US Trade Council. He also served as Project Director for the Aspen Institute Task Force on US Critical Minerals Policy. He has also been a featured speaker at industry and expert gatherings including the International Gas Union, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum Abu Dhabi, the Canadian Public Policy Forum, the CD Howe Institute Energy Dialogue, the World Petroleum Congress, and the First Nations Major Projects Coalition.
RJ is a member of the Trilateral Commission and is a member of the steering committee for the Open Minds Next Generation initiative on the dual energy/climate policy challenge. He was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center from 2017 to 2021.
RJ holds a doctorate in international relations from American University, a master’s degree in political science from McMaster University, and a bachelor’s degree in political studies from Bishop’s University.
Climate Reporter, The Washington Post
Maxine Joselow covers climate change and the environment for the Washington Post, with a focus on U.S. climate policy and politics. Before joining the Post in September 2021, she spent nearly five years at E&E News, where her investigative reporting was honored with a Dateline Award from the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Co-Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates
Karen Karniol-Tambour is Co-Chief Investment Officer at Bridgewater Associates, responsible for managing the company’s investment process. She oversees the systemization of Bridgewater’s research into trading strategies, manages the development of proprietary investment management models, directs the design and implementation of client investment strategies, and publishes timely market understanding to clients and global policy makers via Bridgewater’s Daily Observations. Karen also co-leads the firm’s Sustainable Investing efforts, overseeing the design of new investment solutions with both financial and sustainability objectives. She joined Bridgewater in 2006 after graduating from Princeton University.
Karen is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council. She is also a member of the Robin Hood Foundation Investment Committee and serves on the Financial Services Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. As a committed advocate of enhancing women’s leadership, she is an active angel investor focused on technology startups led by women.
Karen has been recognized across the industry for her achievements, including Fortune’s "40 Under 40" most influential leaders in business in 2019, and she has been named to Barron's list of "Most Influential Women in US Finance" for five years in a row.
President, Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp has guided EDF for three decades, overseeing its growth from a small nonprofit with a budget of $3 million to one of the world’s most influential environmental organizations, with an annual budget of more than $300 million and 1000 employees. EDF works across the globe, including in the United States, China, India, and Europe.
In 2023, Krupp worked through the global climate talks, COP28, to help secure commitments from 50 oil and gas companies, representing 40% of global oil sales, to reduce their methane pollution by 90% by 2030. As a leading voice on climate change, energy and corporate sustainability, Krupp appeared on the TED stage in 2018 to announce plans to launch MethaneSAT, a satellite that will measure and map planet-warming methane emissions from the oil and gas industry worldwide. Now orbiting the Earth, this satellite will help usher in a new era of climate action -- and accountability for corporate and national commitments. He was also a key advocate for the overhaul of America’s chemical safety laws in 2016 and the passage of historic climate investments in 2022.
Krupp has pioneered innovative approaches to harnessing the power of the marketplace to protect the environment and has led EDF’s groundbreaking corporate partnerships with FedEx, KKR, McDonald’s and others. He helped GM develop its plan to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Most recently, Walmart announced it achieved the goal it set in partnership with EDF to cut a billion metric tons of climate pollution, equivalent to Japan’s annual climate emissions.
He was educated at Yale, where he serves on the board of trustees, and at the University of Michigan Law School. Krupp appears frequently in the media and was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report. He is a recipient of the 2015 William K. Reilly Environmental Leadership Award from the Center for Environmental Policy at American University.
Managing Director, US Program, RMI
Sarah Ladislaw is a managing director with the US Program at RMI.
Background
Sarah returned to RMI in Sept. 2024 after serving as Senior Director for Climate and Energy, National Security Council at The White House from Jan. 2023 to Aug. 2024.
Prior to RMI, Sarah was senior vice president and director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she led the think tank’s work in energy policy, geopolitics, and technology analysis. She spearheaded new work at CSIS on climate change and foreign policy, deep decarbonization, and just transitions.
Before CSIS, Sarah worked in the Office of the Americas in the US Department of Energy’s Office of Policy and International Affairs, where she covered a range of economic, political, and energy issues in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, she spent a short time working at Statoil as its senior director for international affairs in the Washington office.
She is a member of the Strategic Advisory Council for Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Initiative and the University of California, Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies Board of Advisors.
Education
B.A., International Affairs/East Asian Studies and Japanese language, The George Washington University
M.A., International Affairs/International Security, The George Washington University
CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former Secretary General, International Energy Forum
Joe McMonigle is a leading authority on energy, international business and politics. He is the former Secretary General of the International Energy Forum (IEF), the largest international organization of energy ministers from 72 producing and consuming countries focusing on energy security, market stability, data transparency and energy transitions. He is the former Vice Chairman of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Board of Governors, former Chief of Staff at US Department of Energy, and former General Counsel and communications director to a United States Senator.
Prior to the IEF, he was President of The Abraham Group, an international management consulting group. McMonigle is Founder and President of the Global Center for Energy Analysis, an independent organization that provides original research and analysis on global energy markets and issues. He lives in Washington DC (USA) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
President and CEO International Rescue Committee
David Miliband is the President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. He oversees the agency’s operations in over 40 crisis-effect countries and its refugee resettlement and assistance programs throughout Europe and the Americas. The IRC’s mission is to help the world’s most vulnerable people, whose lives and livelihoods have been shattered by conflict and disaster, including the climate crisis, to survive, recover, and regain control of their futures. In 2023, the IRC served more than 34.5M people in countries affected by crisis.
Prior to joining IRC, David had a distinguished political career in the United Kingdom. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the 74th Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, representing the United Kingdom throughout the world. His accomplishments have earned him a reputation, in former President Bill Clinton's words, as ""one of the ablest, most creative public servants of our time.” In 2016 David was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine and in 2018 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2016, he was one of the Guest Readers in the Grammy Award-winning recording of Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom by the Ted Nash Big Band.
David is also the author of the book, Rescue: Refugees and the Political Crisis of Our Time. As the son of refugees, David brings a personal commitment to the IRC's work and to the premise of the book: that we can rescue the dignity and hopes of refugees and displaced people, and if we help them, in the process we will rescue our own values.
Chief Sustainability Officer, Microsoft
As Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa leads the company’s targets to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030. She brings nearly two decades of experience at the nexus of policy, business, and technology, most recently serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy on the National Security Council at the White House. Prior to the White House, Melanie helped launch Princeville Capital's inaugural global growth equity climate technology fund, investing in companies delivering transformative solutions to climate change. She also served as a strategic advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change and environmental issues and held roles in the U.S. Senate and with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Melanie has a JD and MA from American University and an AB from Brown University.
President and CEO, ONEOK
Pierce H. Norton II is president and chief executive officer of ONEOK and is a member
of the ONEOK Board of Directors.
He has been in his current role since June 2021 and previously served as president and
chief executive officer of ONE Gas, Inc. and was a member of the ONE Gas board.
He currently serves on the American Petroleum Institute Board of Directors. He also
served on boards of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, Interstate Natural Gas
Association of America, Texas Pipeline Association, Western Alliance and the American
Gas Association.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University
of Alabama and began his natural gas industry career in 1982. He also is a graduate of
Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.
Director, Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Meghan L. O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project, and Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
Dr. O’Sullivan’s scholarship continues to be at the nexus of traditional disciplines, examining topics at the intersection of geopolitics, science, markets, and policy. Her work on large changes in the energy system has shaped how policymakers and academics alike view these issues. Her publications in this area include her award-winning 2017 book Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power.
O’Sullivan has served in multiple senior policymaking roles and has advised national security officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her public service, including the U.S. Defense Department’s highest honor for civilians (the Distinguished Public Service Medal) and the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (which she has received three times).
O’Sullivan is a member of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. Between 2004 and 2007, she was special assistant to President George W. Bush and was Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan during the last two years of her tenure. In 2013, O’Sullivan was the Vice Chair of the All Party Talks in Northern Ireland.
O’Sullivan also has extensive experience advising the private sector on geopolitical risk and in board leadership and advisory roles in non-profit organizations. She is a Senior Director at the strategic consulting firm Macro Advisory Partners, and is the Chair of the North American Group of the Trilateral Commission.
O’Sullivan earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a masters of science in economics and doctorate in politics from Oxford University. She was a Henry Crown Fellow from 2015 to 2017 and a Henry Luce Fellow in Indonesia from 1991 to 1992.
Head of Global Affairs, Appian Capital Advisory
Dominic Raab is the Head of Global Affairs at Appian Capital Advisory, providing strategic advice and support on Appian’s international engagement activities, primarily with government or government affiliated institutions and initiatives, most importantly around the topic of critical minerals.
Mr Raab is the Chair of the Appian-SAFE’s Sub-Committee on Opportunities and Risks in the Critical Minerals Sector (SCOR), bringing together leading commercial experts and investors to advise the US and international Governments on how to address investment barriers to build more critical minerals supply chains.
Mr Raab is a former Deputy Prime Minister for the British Government serving in this position under both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
Mr Raab started his career as an international lawyer at Linklaters, a law firm in the City, working on project finance, international litigation and competition law. He also spent time on secondments at Liberty (the human rights NGO) and in Brussels advising on EU and WTO law.
In 2000, Mr Raab joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). He advised on a wide range of briefs, including UK investor protection, maritime issues, counter-proliferation and counter-terrorism, the UK overseas territories and the international law of outer space. He headed up a team focused on bringing war criminals to justice and also advised on the Arab-Israeli conflict, EU law and Gibraltar.
Mr Raab left the FCO in 2006 and worked for three years as Chief of Staff to respective Shadow Home and Justice Secretaries, advising in the House of Commons on crime, policing, immigration, counter-terrorism, human rights and constitutional reform.
In 2010, Mr Raab was elected to the UK House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Esher and Walton. In 2015 Mr Raab was appointed Minister for Human Rights in David Cameron’s government.
In 2017, Mr Raab was appointed Minister of State for Justice in Theresa May’s government.
In January 2018, Mr Raab was made Minister of State for Housing. In July, he was appointed Brexit Secretary.
In July 2019, Mr Raab was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and made First Secretary of State under the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. In September 2020, the FCO merged with the Department for International Development, with Mr Raab becoming the Secretary of State for the new Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
In September 2021, Mr Raab was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Boris Johnson until September 2022.
He was re-appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2022, serving in this position until April 2023.
Inaugural Fellow
David Sandalow is the Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) and Co-Director of the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. He is the lead author of the Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition) (November 2024) and Guide to Chinese Climate Policy (October 2022).
Mr. Sandalow chairs the ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project. In that capacity, he has led development of roadmaps on artificial intelligence for climate change mitigation, low-carbon ammonia, biomass carbon removal and storage, industrial decarbonization, direct air capture and carbon dioxide utilization, among other topics.
Mr. Sandalow founded and directs CGEP’s US-China Program. He teaches a short course on the energy transition each year as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University.
Mr. Sandalow has served in senior positions at the White House, State Department and U.S. Department of Energy. He came to Columbia from the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as Under Secretary of Energy (Acting) and Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs. Prior to serving at DOE, Mr. Sandalow was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment & Science and a Senior Director on the National Security Council staff.
Mr. Sandalow writes and speaks widely on energy and climate policy. In addition to the publications mentioned above, his writings include Can AI Transform the Power Sector?, CGEP (December 4, 2024) (lead author); Using AI to Craft Better Climate Policy, Wall Street Journal (July 20, 2023); Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Food System: Building the Evidence Base, Environmental Research Letters (June 2021) (co-author); Finding and Fixing Food System Emissions: The Double Helix of Science and Policy, Environmental Research Letters (June 2021) (co-author); Food and Climate InfoGuide, CGEP (May 2021) (lead author); Energizing America, CGEP (September 2020) (co-author); Leveraging State Funds for Clean Energy, CGEP (September 2020) (with Richard Kauffman); Green Stimulus Proposals in China and the United States, CGEP (August 2020) (with Xu Qinhua); China’s Response to Climate Change: A Study in Contrasts, Asia Society Policy Institute (July 2020); China and the Oil Price War, CGEP (March 2020) (co-author); Decarbonizing Space Heating With Air Source Heat Pumps (December 2019, co-author); Electric Vehicle Charging in China and the United States (February 2019) (with Anders Hove); A Natural Gas Giant Awakens (June 2018) (lead author); The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy (2017) (CGEP and Harvard Kennedy School, co-lead author); Financing Solar and Wind Power: Lessons from Oil and Gas (CGEP, 2017, co-author); and The History and Future of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CGEP, 2016). Other works include Plug-In Electric Vehicles: What Role for Washington? (Brookings Institution Press, 2009) (editor), Overcoming Obstacles to U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate Change (Brookings Institution, 2009) (with Ken Lieberthal) and Freedom from Oil (McGraw-Hill, 2007).
Mr. Sandalow is a member of the Zayed Sustainability Prize Selection Committee, Electric Drive Transport Association’s “Hall of Fame” and Council on Foreign Relations. He is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Mr. Sandalow serves as a director of Enagás, SA and Fermata Energy. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Yale College.
CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former European Commissioner for Energy
Kadri Simson most recently served as European Commissioner for Energy. In that role, she oversaw the European Union’s energy policies and worked to ensure that the bloc transitions to a more sustainable, secure, and competitive energy system.
Her priorities included the implementation of the European Green Deal, supporting the EU’s ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, which includes boosting renewable energy and enhancing energy efficiency. Kadri was also responsible for Fit for 55, a legislative package designed to reduce EU emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, through carbon pricing and cutting fossil fuel reliance. This included the first-ever hydrogen strategy—promoting the development of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier particularly for sectors in which direct electrification may not be feasible.
Kadri worked to maintain EU energy security following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, to cut dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, and to strengthen energy diplomacy with trusted trading partners. She initiated the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which helped repair and rebuild Ukraine’s energy sector and infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes.
Kadri previously served as the Estonian minister of economic affairs and infrastructure and was a member of the Riigikogu, the Estonian parliament. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Tartu and a master’s degree in political science from University College London.
Kadri Simson will simultaneously serve as a Carnegie Distinguished Fellow at SIPA's Institute of Global Politics.
Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Group
Jakob joined Rio Tinto in September 2018 as Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. He became Chief Executive in January 2021. As Chief Executive, Jakob has used his strategic, commercial and governance expertise to oversee the implementation of Rio Tinto's current strategy. He is committed to building trust with communities, governments and other stakeholders, improving operational performance, and decarbonisation.
Jakob has worked globally in senior finance roles for more than 20 years. From 2012 until 2018, he worked for AP. Moller-Maersk, the world's largest shipping company. He was Chief Strategy, Finance and Transformation Officer, first for Maersk Line and later the broader Maersk Group. In 2008, Jakob moved back to his native Denmark as Group CFO of the global facility service provider ISS. Before that, he spent 19 years working for Shell across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
From 2009 to 2016, Jakob served as a non-executive director of Statoil (now Equinor), the last six years as Chairman of the Audit Committee. He served as a non executive director of Woodside Petroleum between 2006 and 2008.
Jakob grew up in the city of Nyborg, Denmark, the son of a civil engineer and a teacher. He made his start in business working at Shell's Danish head office while studying at the University of Copenhagen. Jakob is married with three children and splits his time between homes in Denmark, Mallorca, and London. An avid cyclist, Jakob's favourite way to get to know a place while on business is through an early morning bike ride.
Director, Program on Trade and the Clean Energy Transition
Trevor Sutton, a Senior Research Associate at CGEP, focuses on the intersection of trade, climate, and industrial policy and leads the center’s Program on Trade and the Clean Energy Transition. Trevor previously served as Research Director of the Remaking Global Trade for a Sustainable Future Project and was a co-author of a seminar report on trade system reform, the Villars Framework for a Sustainable Trade System. He has also served in various roles at the Center for American Progress, most recently as a Senior Fellow for Energy and Environment, and the United Nations. Prior to these positions, Trevor served as a judicial clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Trevor has a BA from Stanford University, a JD from Yale Law School, and an MPhil from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.
Chairman and CEO Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
Mr. Terazawa has been leading the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), one of the leading energies thinktanks in the world, to present pathways to achieve carbon neutrality as well as to recommend measures to enhance energy security for the governments and industries since he became the Chairman and CEO of IEEJ in July 2021. He has been a very active global speaker in the discussions concerning global climate issues and energy security.
Before joining IEEJ, he supported the then Minister Yasutoshi NISHIMURA as the Senior Advisor of the Cabinet Office between January and June 2021 to assist the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the formulation of the Growth Strategy including the Japanese “Green New Deal”.
Earlier, he served at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan where he held leading positions including the Vice-Minister for International Affairs. In this role, he assisted the then Prime Minister Shinzo ABE, participating in many of the meetings with the leaders of the world. He also played a crucial role in the coordination for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit. Through September 2011 to December 2012, he served as the Executive Secretary to the then Prime Minister Yoshihiko NODA. During this period, he assisted the Prime Minister on the Government’s multiple challenges to deal with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
He has been the Senior Specially Appointed Professor at the Tokyo University of Science, teaching international negotiations since January 2020. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law. He also studied at Harvard University in the United States, where he earned MBA in 1990. He was born in January 1961 in Osaka, Japan.
Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran is the new Global energy & climate innovation editor, covering the energy and utility industries, the clean energy transition, climate innovations and low carbon technologies. He leads our coverage of America’s climate and green infrastructure efforts, and keeps a watchful eye on ESG trends and corporate pledges of net-zero emissions for signs of promise as well as greenwashing.
An award-winning senior journalist, he previously served as both US Business Editor and China Business Editor. He also serves as chairman of The Economist Innovation Summit, a provocative series of global conferences on innovation.
He joined the editorial staff in 1992 as its London-based Latin America correspondent, and opened the magazine’s first regional bureau in Mexico City. From 1998 to 2006, he covered the politics, economics, business and technology of energy and the environment. From 2007 to 2011 his portfolio encompassed innovation, global health, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
His latest book, published by Harper Collins, is “Need, Speed and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation Can Transform Businesses, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World’s Most Wicked Problems”. Amazon named it a Book of the Month and Kirkus Reviews called it “the perfect primer for the postindustrial age.” In reviewing the book, the Financial Times declared that “Vaitheeswaran is a writer to whom it is worth paying attention.” It has been translated into Chinese and several other languages. His second book, “ZOOM: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future,” co-authored with Iain Carson, was named a Book of the Year by the Financial Times.
Vijay is a life member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an advisor on sustainability and innovation to the World Economic Forum at Davos, and his commentaries have appeared on NPR and the BBC, in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. He has addressed groups ranging from the US National Governors’ Association and the UN General Assembly to the Technology, Entertainment & Design (TED), Aspen Ideas and AAAS conferences.
Partner, Head of Sustainability & Infrastructure, Apollo Asset Management
Olivia Wassenaar is a Partner and Head of Sustainability & Infrastructure at Apollo. In this role, Olivia leads the Firm’s multi-asset investment strategy focused on financing and investing in infrastructure, the energy transition and decarbonization of industry. Olivia serves on the boards of several Apollo funds’ portfolio companies including Energos, FlexGen, Graanul, Takkion and Total Operations and Production Services (TOPS).
Prior to joining Apollo, Olivia was a Managing Director at Riverstone Holdings, where she was a member of the investment team for10 years. Previously, she worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division, where she focused on renewable energy sector coverage. Olivia started her career in the Environment Department at The World Bank Group. She received her AB, magna cum laude, from Harvard College, attended the Yale School of the Environment, and received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. She serves on the boards of The Brearley School and The School of American Ballet.
President, Shell USA
As President of Shell USA, Inc., Gretchen Watkins oversees the strategic integration of all Shell businesses in the United States. Since being named to this post in 2018, she has become the company’s leading voice, with public and private leaders, across a wide range of energy-related policy and societal challenges. She has a personal passion for collaboration and believes strong businesses require talent with a wide range of experiences and diverse perspectives.
In addition to these responsibilities from May 2018 – June 2021, Gretchen also served as Executive Vice President of Shell’s Global Shales business, overseeing the exploration, development, and production of Shell’s Upstream shale oil and gas portfolio.
Before joining Shell in 2018, Gretchen served as the Chief Executive Officer of Maersk Oil, following two years as Chief Operating Officer. Despite a low-price environment, under her leadership, the company delivered above-target operational and financial results, enabling an enterprise sale of Maersk Oil to Total Energies in 2018.
Gretchen began her career over 30 years ago as a Facilities Engineer for Amoco in the Gulf of America. She then worked as a Trading Manager for Amoco and BP before commencing an international career that has included a variety of senior executive roles in North America, Europe, and Asia. She has led people and projects across the world and across the upstream, midstream, and downstream businesses.
In 2025, Gretchen serves as the Board Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership. She sits on the executive committees for both the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the US Chamber of Commerce and is chairman of the Finance Committee for API. She is a current member of the Houston Symphony Board of Directors. Gretchen currently serves as a non-executive director of the Mosaic Company, one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients and previously served as a non-executive director for W. S. Atkins, a global engineering consultancy from 2014 until its merger with SNC Lavalin in 2017. Gretchen graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has had executive education at Cambridge and Stanford Universities.
Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Daniel Yergin is a highly respected authority on energy, international politics, and economics, and a Pulitzer Prize winner. He is Vice Chairman of S&P Global and Chairman of S&P’s CERAWeek conference, which CNBC has called "the Super Bowl of world energy". He has oversight for the Commodity Insight research at S&P.
Time Magazine said, "If there is one man whose opinion matters more than any other on global energy markets, it’s Daniel Yergin." The New York Times described Daniel Yergin as "America’s most influential energy pundit."
Dr. Yergin's new book The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations is described by NPR as "a master class on how the world works", in The Washington Post as "a tour de force of geopolitical understanding," and by The London Sunday Times as "a wonderful book". It has been translated into 14 languages.
A Pulitzer Prize winner, Dr. Yergin is the author of the bestseller The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World. The Quest, which The New York Times said it is "necessary reading for C.E.O.'s, conservationists, lawmakers, generals, spies, tech geeks (and) thriller writers." Bill Gates summed up his review of The Quest by saying, "This is a fantastic book."
Dr. Yergin is known around the world for his book The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. It became a number one New York Times best seller and has been translated into 20 languages.
Of Dr. Yergin’s book Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy, which has been translated into 13 languages, The Wall Street Journal said, "No one could ask for a better account of the world’s political and economic destiny since World War II." Both The Prize and Commanding Heights were made into award- winning television documentaries for PBS and BBC, which Dr. Yergin co-produced, co-wrote, and narrated.
Dr. Yergin is a member of the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior trustee of the Brookings Institution. He is a member of the Energy Advisory Council of the Dallas Federal Reserve. Dr. Yergin served on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under four U.S. presidents.
Among his honors, the Prime Minister of India presented Dr. Yergin with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" and the U.S. Department of Energy awarded him the first "James Schlesinger Medal for Energy Security." The University of Pennsylvania
presented him with the first Carnot Prize for "distinguished contributions to energy policy." Dr. Yergin was awarded the Gold Medal of the President of the Republic of Italy for combining "an understanding of the dynamics of the market with a broad view of the forces of geopolitics as he seeks to point the way to the positive outcomes for the world community."
Dr. Yergin is a member of the advisory board for the Columbia University Center on Global Energy policy. He is also member of the Indian Government’s Energy Think Tank and the advisory board of the MIT Energy Initiative.
Dr. Yergin holds a BA from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar.
Senior Director of Research
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist
CEO and Founder, Groq
As the United States aims to usher in a new era of “Energy Dominance”, it must navigate an increasingly fractured geopolitical landscape. New policies are upending market dynamics, international relationships and alliances, and the energy transition, all of which create ripples in the realm of geopolitics. The Trump administration’s priorities and policies are causing tension between the US, its North American neighbors, and other traditional trade and economic partners. Internationally, policy shifts focusing on “America first” are leading to a reevaluation of some of the world’s most complicated geopolitical situations, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, with significant implications for the energy sector.
This panel will examine how America’s foreign and domestic policies of energy dominance are impacting an already complex geopolitical landscape, and having ripple effects for the future of the global energy transition.
Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy
Director, Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
President and CEO International Rescue Committee
Founder, Fannon Global Advisors, and Former Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
Managing Partner, TWG Global, and Former Deputy Assistant and Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment
The first 90 days of the Trump administration signal a sharp shift in domestic energy policy, and a clearer picture has begun to emerge around the domestic and international impacts of these policies. With a focus on domestic “Energy Dominance”, a flurry of energy and climate executive orders rolling-back key Biden-era clean energy policies, and a “National Energy Emergency” declared, the US has signaled a move away from climate action as a priority and towards bolstering domestic fossil fuel production and exports. At the same time, Trump’s desire for lower oil prices and sharp shifts in economic policy, particularly on tariffs, create an uncertain outlook for energy producers.
This panel will focus on opportunities and challenges facing the energy industry in the early days of the Trump administration. Panelists will also share their views on the future of the energy transition in an era where climate policy support is waning in many countries.
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
President, Shell USA
Executive Director, Blue Horizons Foundation
President, Environmental Defense Fund
President and CEO, ONEOK
In recent years, trade has quickly risen to the forefront of public policy conversations around the globe. Most recently, this has been fueled by the Trump administration’s dramatic shifts in tariff policy, including toward traditional trading partners and allies. These tariffs, and the resulting tensions created between those who have long been global trade partners, have lent new urgency to a longstanding debate over the impact of trade relations, industrial policy, and geopolitics in the transition to a clean energy economy.
This panel will focus on the impact the current administration’s policies are having on clean energy supply chains, Chinese dominance in clean energy manufacturing and critical minerals, and the future of carbon border tariffs such as in Europe.
Climate Reporter, The Washington Post
Managing Director, US Program, RMI
CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former European Commissioner for Energy
Director, Program on Trade and the Clean Energy Transition
Chairman and CEO Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
Data centers account for more than 4 percent of US electricity consumption, a number that experts expect to at least double by 2030. Driving that growth is the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, which requires vast amounts of electricity for computing power. Developers of artificial intelligence and data center operators–or hyperscalers–require low-cost and reliable electricity to enable this technological revolution, but current power systems are ill-equipped to meet electricity demands for computing. While hyperscalers have announced agreements with low-carbon energy producers to provide clean power for the expanding AI industry, the United States and many other countries need more affordable, reliable and low-carbon electricity for this booming sector.
This panel will discuss how the energy sector and hyperscalers are meeting the energy needs of a rapidly expanding AI industry today. Panelists will examine the energy sources, technologies and financing required to meet the energy demands for AI, as well as how AI as a tool will have impact throughout the energy sector.
Inaugural Fellow
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Constellation
Partner, Emerson Collective
Global Fellow
Chief Sustainability Officer, Microsoft
Critical minerals are key for many clean energy, industrial, technological, and national security applications. With increasing demand for critical minerals, there is a growing urgency in the United States and elsewhere to diversify critical mineral supply chains in response to Chinese dominance, particularly in refining and processing. Additionally, other governments outside of China are facing challenges entering this global market and securing these materials for their own use.
This panel will explore challenges facing the competitive global critical minerals marketplace, including in financing responsible mining projects, and the role of environmental standards to foster responsible supply chains globally.
Senior Research Scholar
CEO, Sigma Lithium
CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former Secretary General, International Energy Forum
Head of Global Affairs, Appian Capital Advisory
Chief Executive, Rio Tinto Group
Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; Professor, Columbia SIPA; Professor and Co-Founding Dean Emeritus, Columbia Climate School
Former United States National Security Advisor
The future of the global clean energy transition is increasingly uncertain, with diminished support from the United States and fiscal strains in Europe, among other factors. These headwinds are creating questions surrounding how effectively financial markets will play a role in mobilizing the capital necessary.
This panel will address the current state of funding for the clean energy transition, including challenges mobilizing capital for clean energy in emerging and developing economies, and the impact of the United States’ curbed support for global climate finance. Panelists will also discuss the incentives and trade-offs facing investors in allocating capital in financial markets and in making decisions to finance clean energy projects, how risk and governance issues make it difficult for infrastructure investors to invest in lower income countries, and the role that Multilateral Development Banks play in the energy transition’s future.
Climate Reporter, The New York Times
CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow; Former US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Chairman, BeyondNetZero
Co-Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates
Partner, Head of Sustainability & Infrastructure, Apollo Asset Management
Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Chairman and CEO, Lazard
Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA for a rapid response briefing with Kadri Simson, CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute of Global Politics Carnegie Distinguished Fellow,...
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion with Sunaina Ocalan, who will discuss...
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a student roundtable lunch and discussion with Kadri Simson, who most recently...
Energy finance is transforming rapidly amid shifting political and economic dynamics in the U.S. and globally. As the landscape becomes increasingly complex, we will explore key legal insights,...
This Energy Explained post represents the research and views of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center on Global Energy Policy. The piece...
President Donald Trump has made energy a clear focus for his second term in the White House. Having campaigned on an “America First” platform that highlighted domestic fossil-fuel growth, the reversal of climate policies and clean energy incentives advanced by the Biden administration, and substantial tariffs on key US trading partners, he declared an “energy emergency” on his first day in office.
Can U.S. gas exports throw a lifeline to Europe without raising prices at home?
