Symposium

keynote bios

	Jean-Pierre Benqué Senior Executive Vice President, N.A. EDF S.A. Jean-Pierre BENQUE is head of EDF’s American Operations. This leadership position follows almost 35 years of service with EDF. A PhD and former professor in Structural Engineering at Paris’ most renowned engineering school (Ecole National des Ponts et Chaussees) he first joined EDF in 1974 and held various positions within the French national hydraulics laboratory. In 1986 he was appointed head of the research and networks division before taking over responsibility for technical services – electricity in 1991. Two years later he was given responsibility for France’s Overseas Territories, and then became Sales Director for key accounts and then Senior Executive Vice President of EDF in charge of sales and marketing before taking on his current role. Mr. Benqué is based in Washington, D.C.
	Niels B. Christiansen President & CEO Danfoss A/S Niels B. Christiansen, President & CEO of the Danfoss Group, has a broad experience of leading large global high tech companies and understands the challenges they face. Danfoss is a global industrial group with headquarters in Denmark and 32,000 employees across the world. Danfoss takes the CO2 challenge very seriously and produces a long line of components and solutions that promote energy efficiency. With a long-term perspective in mind the group also puts innovation and product development within this area high on the agenda. Niels B. Christiansen joined Danfoss as EVP & COO in 2004, and before that he was Executive Vice President at GN Store Nord and President & CEO of GN Netcom. Niels B. Christiansen has an MSc in Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and holds an MBA from INSEAD in France. He began his career at McKinsey & Co. After that, he worked for Hilti Corp., Switzerland, before joining GN Store Nord. Niels B. Christiansen is a member of the Boards of Directors of TrygVesta A/S, Axcel A/S, Bang & Olufsen A/S, William Demant Holding A/S, Sauer-Danfoss Inc., Confederation of Danish Industry and Federation of Regional Industries.
	Bracken Darrell President, Whirlpool Europe EVP, Whirlpool Corporation Bracken Darrell was named president, Whirlpool Europe, and executive vice president, Whirlpool Corporation, effective January 1, 2009. He was named senior vice president Operations Whirlpool Europe in September, 2008. Darrell joins Whirlpool Europe with vast general management and marketing experience in consumer durables, including appliances and consumer packaged goods. He was president of Braun, a Procter and Gamble division, based in Germany and served as a general manager of General Electric’s major appliance business. He also held positions of increasing responsibility in Procter and Gamble, Pepsi and Arthur Andersen. Darrell holds an MBA from Harvard business school, and is a certified Six Sigma leader.
	Thomas K. Dreessen Chairman & CEO EPS Capital Corporation Mr. Dreessen has served as President or CEO of an ESCO since the virtual formation of the U.S. performance contracting industry in 1981. He was one of the principal individuals in 1984 to develop the use of "third-party" leases for financing energy performance contracts on an "off-balance sheet" basis in the U.S. Mr. Dreessen's extensive financing and performance contracting expertise enabled him to successfully negotiate some of the largest ESCO projects in the US. In the last few years, Mr. Dreessen has focused his efforts on developing financing procedures in the US and overseas for ESCO projects developed by others, and in the US and Canadian healthcare markets. As a result, he is in demand to provide structuring of energy efficiency deals, and to configure innovative financing techniques. One notable project was the Albany Medical Center, Albany NY, which won a Governor's Energy Award for the State of New York. Mr. Dreessen is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.B.A. in Accounting and a M.B.A. degree from Lamar University. Listen to Thomas Dreessen’s EE Global Voices podcast.
	Hon. Lena Ek Member of European Parliament (Sweden) Lena Ek is a Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament. She is a member of the Centre Party, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Mrs. Ek is on the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. She is also a substitute for the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, and a member of the delegation to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
	John Fielder President Southern California Edison John R. Fielder is president of Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation's largest electric utilities. Mr. Fielder began his Edison career in 1970. Mr. Fielder was named vice president of Information Services in 1989 and assumed the role of vice president of SCE’s Regulatory Policy and Affairs in 1992 and was promoted to senior vice president in 1998. In this role, Mr. Fielder was responsible for developing and implementing regulatory policies and managing proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission and other regulatory agencies and in that role, was also responsible for the utility's Environmental Affairs organization. In October 2005, Mr. Fielder was elected president of the company. Mr. Fielder earned his law degree from Pepperdine University Law School, his M.B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Listen to John Fielder’s EE Global Voices podcast.
	Hon. Dian M. Grueneich Commissioner California Public Utilities Commission Dian M. Grueneich was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in January 2005 and unanimously confirmed by the State Senate in May for a six year term. Commissioner Grueneich is a nationally recognized expert in energy and environmental issues, with over 30 years of experience in the field. At the CPUC, she focuses on energy efficiency, transmission planning and permitting, climate change, renewable energy resources, and low income consumer issues. Commissioner Grueneich helped develop the Western Public Utility Commissions’ Joint Action Framework on Climate Change, now adopted by the California, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico Commissions, and is a member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Climate Action and Green Action Teams. She serves on the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners’ Task Force on Climate Change and its Energy and Environment Committee and International Committee. Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Grueneich served as a Board member of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and is a past-President of the California League of Conservation Voters. She is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a J.D. from Georgetown University.
	Fiona Harvey Energy Correspondent Financial Times Bio to come...
	Dr. Douglas Howe Senior Director, Global Power Cambridge Energy Research Associates Douglas Howe, CERA Senior Director, leads the consulting practice of the Global Power Group. Dr. Howe’s primary area of focus is in the areas of long-range corporate, strategic, and regulatory planning, utilizing CERA scenario- and portfolio-based methodologies. He has over 25 years of experience in the global power industry, with expertise in the areas of executive management, corporate strategy, regulatory affairs, power contracting, retail energy and energy efficiency. His research and consulting activities have involved working with governments and companies in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America in establishing a framework for long-range energy planning. His written research has most recently focused on gas and power energy efficiency. Prior research has focused on mergers and acquisitions in the global power and gas industries, and he was coauthor of the CERA Executive Power Survey. Prior to joining CERA, Dr. Howe held senior executive positions with a multinational utility company, where he had responsibilities for regulatory policy, customer services, information technology, and sales and marketing. Formerly an assistant professor of mathematics at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Dr. Howe holds an MS and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Franklin Scholar, and an Executive Education degree from the Fuqua School of Business of Duke University.
	Dr. Johannes Milde CEO Siemens Building Technologies Divisions, Industry Sector Dr. Johannes Milde is a senior executive with nearly 30 years of experience in guiding companies to market success and profitability. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Building Technologies - a €6 billion global division of Siemens. A native of Nettersheim, Germany, Dr. Milde received a bachelor of science degree in computer science from the Technical University of Rhineland-Westphalia in Aachen, where he subsequently also obtained his doctorate (Dr. Eng.). He remained at the university as Head of Research until 1985, when he joined what was then BBC (ABB) in Dättwil (Switzerland) in the same capacity. From 1987 he occupied various executive positions in the production engineering field at ABB, before moving to Landis & Gyr in 1990. There he progressed through various stages to become head of the global electricity meter business. Following the company's acquisition by Siemens, he oversaw the integration of the two metering businesses until 1999. After moving to the executive board of Zumtobel AG as CTO, he joined Siemens Building Technologies in 2004 as Head of the product and system component business. Dr. Milde has been a member of the Group Executive Management of Siemens Building Technologies since 2005. He was appointed Group President, effective June 1, 2007.
	Hon. Andris Piebalgs Commissioner for Energy European Commission I took up the post of Energy Commissioner in November 2004. Since the EU enlargement on 1st of May 2004, when the Commissioners of the new Member States came into the European Commission, I was heading the Cabinet of Latvian Commissioner Mrs. Sandra Kalniete. Before joining the European Commission, I worked for almost a decade in diplomacy. I started my diplomatic career in 1995 when I became the ambassador of Latvia in Estonia. During five years – between 1998 and 2003 – I was the Ambassador of Latvia to the European Union, later – Undersecretary of State for EU affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia. Six years of my career I have spent being active in Latvian politics. From 1990 till 1993 I was Minister of Education, in 1993 and 1994 I was chairing the Budget and finance committee of the Parliament of Latvia (Saeima). In 1994 I became Finance minister of Latvia and held this post for two years. I was born in Valmiera (Latvia) on 17th September 1957, and in 1980 I obtained my degree in Physics from University of Latvia. During the eight years time after my university studies I worked as a teacher, later Headmaster of the 1st Secondary School of Valmiera. My career in the education system continued when I started to work as Director of the Department in the Ministry of Education of Latvia. Listen to Commissioner Piebalgs’ EE Global Voices podcast.
	Eric Pilaud Executive Vice President, Strategy, Customers, Innovation & Technology Division, Schneider Electric After a PHD in Computer Science (critical information systems) Harvard Business School, Eric Pilaud began his career as both a university professor and researcher and a corporate consultant in information technology. He joined Schneider Electric subsidiary SES in 1986. Five years later, he was appointed to head SF Gardy in Chalon-sur-Saône (France). Mr. Pilaud spent 1995 to 1998 in the UK, first as director of Westinghouse Systems and then of the Automation and Control Division. He led the "Schneider 2000+" Company program from 1999 to 2000. He was subsequently responsible for the development of eBusiness within the group until 2001. Between 2002 and the end of 2003, he was in charge of the Strategy-Markets Division. In 2003, he was named Executive Vice President for the Strategic Deployment Division and in 2005, he assumed additional responsibility for the company's new Services Division. In July 2006, he was appointed Executive Vice President in charge of the Strategy, Customers & Technology Division and the Services & Projects Business Unit.
	Hon. Suresh Prabhu Member of Parliament Former Union Minister for Power, India Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu is a four-time Member of the Lok Sabha from Rajapur Constituency of Maharastra - one of the most developed states of India. Mr Prabhu has held various Ministerial positions in the Indian Government including that of Industry Minister, Minister of Environment and Forests, and Fertilizers & Chemicals, Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises. He was best remembered as the Minister of Power, as he was the guiding force behind the Energy Conservation Act (2001), which is the cornerstone of the Energy Conservation Policy-making in India. He has chaired the Taskforce on Interlinking of Revers from Dec-2002 to March 2004. As a Member of Parliament he is actively involved in the international sphere, and is a Member of various Committees and Task Forces relating to Environment and Climate Change and Energy issues. He was elected a member of the World Bank Parliamentary network and nominated as the Chairman of the South Asia Water conference. He is married to Uma Prabhu, a journalist and has one son, Ameya Prabhu. He currently resides in Mumbai and Delhi.
	Hon. Lisa Raitt Member of Parliament for Halton, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources The Honourable Lisa Raitt is the Member of Parliament for Halton, Ontario, where she was first elected in 2008. She was appointed as Minister of Natural Resources by the Right Honorable Stephen Harper, on October 29, 2008. Until her election, Minister Raitt was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), responsible for leading the Canadian federal corporation that manages commerce, transportation (including the Toronto City Centre Airport) and recreation in the Toronto harbour. In 2008, she was elected Chair of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities. She had previously served as the TPA’s chief counsel, and Harbourmaster. Minister Raitt pursued education first in science, graduating with a B.Sc. from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, and an M.Sc. in Chemistry, specialized in environmental biochemical toxicology, from the University of Guelph (Ontario). She then proceeded to earn her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School. Upon her call to the bar in 1998, she was honoured as a Dr. Harold G. Fox Scholar and trained with barristers in the United Kingdom who specialized in international trade, commerce, transportation and arbitration.
	Jaana Remes Senior Fellow McKinsey Global Institute Jaana Remes is a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey's economics research arm. MGI's independent investigations combine McKinsey's microeconomic understanding of companies and industries with the rigor of leading academic economic analyses. Since 2003, Jaana has led MGI research on productivity and competitiveness. MGI has conducted more than 15 country performance assessments around the globe and developed a unique approach to understanding how managerial decisions and industry dynamics lead to different aggregate outcomes across countries. Current MGI research examines how productivity, cost, and skills mix influence sector-level competitiveness across countries. Jaana also leads MGI research on energy markets. This work examines energy users across the globe to understand how price and GDP changes impact global energy consumption and identifies opportunities for reducing energy demand growth through higher energy productivity. Most recently, MGI has assessed the near-term balance between demand and supply for oil and other major fuels. In addition, Jaana has led MGI research examining the process of global industry restructuring across countries and the impact of multinational companies on developing-country economies. Jaana was previously a McKinsey consultant in San Francisco and Mexico, working with high-tech clients on strategy-related topics. Prior to joining McKinsey in 1996, Jaana worked as a research fellow and consultant at several international development agencies and universities. She has a Ph.D. in applied economics from Stanford University and a master’s degree in economics and philosophy from the University of Helsinki, Finland.
	Björn Stigson President World Business Council for Sustainable Development Björn Stigson has extensive experience in international business. He began his career as a financial analyst with the Swedish Kockums Group. From 1971-82 he held various positions in finance, operations and marketing with ESAB, the international supplier of equipment for welding. In 1983-91 he was President and CEO of the Fläkt Group, a company listed on the Stockholm stock exchange and the world leader in environmental control technology. Following the acquisition of Fläkt by ABB, in 1991 he became Executive Vice President and a member of ABB Asea Brown Boveri’s Executive Management Group. From 1993-94 he ran his own management consultancy. In 1995 he was appointed President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a coalition of some 200 leading international corporations. Björn Stigson has served on the board of a variety of international companies. He is presently a Member of the Board of the International Risk Governance Council and Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. He is also Chair of the Peer Review of German Sustainability Policies and Co-Chair of the China Low Carbon Economy Task Force. Björn Stigson is a member of the following advisory boards/councils: China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development; The Copenhagen Climate Council; Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI); Germany BDI Climate Change Taskforce; Germany Climate Protection Initiative; Global Energy Assessment Council; Harvard Environmental Economics Program, India Council for Sustainable Development; Executive Director’s Industry Advisory Group (IAG) of the International Energy Agency (IEA); US National Academy of Sciences America’s Climate Choices Initiative; and Veolia Sustainable Development Advisory Committee.
	Nobuo Tanaka Executive Director International Energy Agency Mr. Nobuo Tanaka took over as Executive Director of the IEA on September 1, 2007. He has extensive national government and international experience within the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo, the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. and the OECD. Mr. Tanaka was responsible for Japan’s involvement with the IEA and the G7 Energy Ministers’ meeting during the second oil crisis, helped establish the comprehensive energy policy of Japan, oversaw the implementation of Japan’s international nuclear energy policy and co-coordinated domestic environment and energy policy during the Kyoto COP3 negotiation. He served as a Minister for Industry, Trade and Energy at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. from 1998 to 2000. Prior to joining the IEA, Mr. Tanaka was Director for Science, Technology and Industry at the OECD. Mr. Tanaka has a degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He and his wife, Gloria, have two children.
	Jean-Pascal Tricoire President & CEO Schneider Electric Jean-Pascal Tricoire was named Chief Operating Officer of Schneider Electric in October 2003. In May 2006, the Supervisory Board appointed him Chairman of the Management Board & Chief Executive Officer. His past work experience includes missions at Alcatel, Schlumberger and St Gobain in 1985 and 1986. He joined Merlin Gerin (today Schneider Electric) in 1986 to develop a partnership with a German company. From 1988 to 1999, he held operating positions at Schneider Electric in Italy (five years), China (five years) and South Africa (one year). From 1999 to 2001, he served in corporate functions as head of Schneider Electric's Global Strategic Accounts and of the Schneider 2000+ program. From January 2002 to end of 2003, Jean-Pascal Tricoire was Executive Vice-President of the International Division. Jean-Pascal holds a degree in Electronic Engineering from ESEO in Angers, France, and an MBA from the CESMA Business School in Lyon, France.
	Hon. Claude Turmes Member of European Parliament (Luxembourg) Claude Turmes has been an MEP in the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament since 1999, and a Vice-President of the group since 2002. He is responsible for the coordination of energy policy within the group and he was Parliament's rapporteur on the second directive on the liberalisation of the energy market. He has also launched the concept of "Energy Intelligent Europe" with the aim of promoting European initiatives in the area of energy efficiency along with the establishment of a European Agency for energy efficiency. Currently, he is rapporteur on the Renewable Energy Directive and member of the temporary committee on climate change of the European Parliament.