Empowering the future: Clean energy innovations, regional cooperation and integration, and financing solutions.
2 – 6 June 2025 | ADB Headquarters, Manila
Plenary Speakers
ALL PLENARY SPEAKERS
Sadie Cox
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Sadie Cox is the Director of Strategic International Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In this role, Sadie leads and works collaboratively with the science and technology directorates at NREL to strategically develop and execute on NREL’s international partnership development strategy and vision with a focus on bringing together the world-class knowledge, unique capabilities, and signature facilities at NREL to benefit a diverse set of international partners. Sadie also manages NREL’s strategic USAID-NREL Partnership with a team of thought leaders at USAID, NREL and across other U.S. laboratories advancing clean energy development around the world. Sadie’s career started in NREL’s Strategic Energy Analysis Center where she spent 14 years developing strategic partnerships and managing and conceptualizing key elements of several large-scale international programs focused on global clean energy transformation – LEDS Global Partnership (now the Global Climate Action Partnership), Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium, Women in Power System Transformation, Net Zero World, and the USAID-NREL Partnership. She has also been a thought leader for several USAID-NREL country-specific and analytic efforts focused on high-resolution, renewable energy data development, economic impact analysis, and resilience planning. Sadie’s areas of expertise and interest include multi-partner clean energy program design, gender equality in the energy sector, renewable energy policy and strategy design and good practices, data-driven decision-making frameworks, and multi-criteria impact assessment for clean energy and climate actions.
Read Full BioSadie Cox
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Bio
Sadie Cox is the Director of Strategic International Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. In this role, Sadie leads and works collaboratively with the science and technology directorates at NREL to strategically develop and execute on NREL’s international partnership development strategy and vision with a focus on bringing together the world-class knowledge, unique capabilities, and signature facilities at NREL to benefit a diverse set of international partners. Sadie also manages NREL’s strategic USAID-NREL Partnership with a team of thought leaders at USAID, NREL and across other U.S. laboratories advancing clean energy development around the world. Sadie’s career started in NREL’s Strategic Energy Analysis Center where she spent 14 years developing strategic partnerships and managing and conceptualizing key elements of several large-scale international programs focused on global clean energy transformation – LEDS Global Partnership (now the Global Climate Action Partnership), Global Power System Transformation (G-PST) Consortium, Women in Power System Transformation, Net Zero World, and the USAID-NREL Partnership. She has also been a thought leader for several USAID-NREL country-specific and analytic efforts focused on high-resolution, renewable energy data development, economic impact analysis, and resilience planning. Sadie’s areas of expertise and interest include multi-partner clean energy program design, gender equality in the energy sector, renewable energy policy and strategy design and good practices, data-driven decision-making frameworks, and multi-criteria impact assessment for clean energy and climate actions.
Sang-Hoon Lee
Korea Energy Agency
Dr. Sang-Hoon Lee is President and Chief Executive Officer of Korea Energy Agency since January 2022. Korea Energy Agency is a governmental institute established in 1980 with a mandate to promote energy efficiency and conservation for rational use of energy, deploy renewable energy and other high-level technologies to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to international actions to cope with climate change. Prior to this position, Dr. Lee was Executive Director of New and Renewable Energy Center of Korea Energy Agency. In his professional career that spans over three decades, Dr. Lee has established his reputation in the areas of renewable energy, climate change, and environmental protection by holding key positions in several civil society organizations, public institutes, and academia including Director of Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, Vice President of Korean Society for New and Renewable Energy, Director of Green Energy Strategy Institute, and Director of Climate Change Center of Sejong University. He also served as a member of the Korean Presidential Committee of Green Growth during 2018-2019. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration in Climate Change Policy from Sejong University in Korea, a M.A. in Environmental Planning and a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Seoul National University in Korea.
Read Full BioSang-Hoon Lee
Korea Energy Agency
Bio
Dr. Sang-Hoon Lee is President and Chief Executive Officer of Korea Energy Agency since January 2022. Korea Energy Agency is a governmental institute established in 1980 with a mandate to promote energy efficiency and conservation for rational use of energy, deploy renewable energy and other high-level technologies to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to international actions to cope with climate change. Prior to this position, Dr. Lee was Executive Director of New and Renewable Energy Center of Korea Energy Agency. In his professional career that spans over three decades, Dr. Lee has established his reputation in the areas of renewable energy, climate change, and environmental protection by holding key positions in several civil society organizations, public institutes, and academia including Director of Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, Vice President of Korean Society for New and Renewable Energy, Director of Green Energy Strategy Institute, and Director of Climate Change Center of Sejong University. He also served as a member of the Korean Presidential Committee of Green Growth during 2018-2019. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration in Climate Change Policy from Sejong University in Korea, a M.A. in Environmental Planning and a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Seoul National University in Korea.
Steven Olive
USAID
Steve Olive serves as the Mission Director for the Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA). He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. From 2018 to 2020, he was the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, often serving as its Acting Assistant Administrator. At USAID/Kenya and East Africa based in Nairobi, he served as the Deputy Mission Director for Somalia from 2014 to 2017. He concurrently served as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Mission to Somalia from 2016 to 2017. Before USAID/Kenya and East Africa, Dr. Olive served as a Deputy Mission Director for USAID/Haiti from 2011 to 2014 leading post-earthquake reconstruction and development efforts. He also was posted in Peru and Nicaragua from 2002-2011 managing environment, trade, agriculture, food security and emergency-response programs. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii.
Read Full BioSteven Olive
USAID
Bio
Steve Olive serves as the Mission Director for the Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA). He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. From 2018 to 2020, he was the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, often serving as its Acting Assistant Administrator. At USAID/Kenya and East Africa based in Nairobi, he served as the Deputy Mission Director for Somalia from 2014 to 2017. He concurrently served as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Mission to Somalia from 2016 to 2017. Before USAID/Kenya and East Africa, Dr. Olive served as a Deputy Mission Director for USAID/Haiti from 2011 to 2014 leading post-earthquake reconstruction and development efforts. He also was posted in Peru and Nicaragua from 2002-2011 managing environment, trade, agriculture, food security and emergency-response programs. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii.
Sujata Gupta
Asian Development Bank
Sujata has been with ADB since 2003 and has worked in sovereign and non-sovereign operations of the bank. Sujata has a PhD from the London Business School, University of London and Master’s and Bachelor’s from the University of Delhi. Before joining ADB, she was the Director of the Policy Analysis Division, at TERI (then the Tata Energy Research Institute), New Delhi. She has also worked as a visiting researcher at the International Institute of Applied System Analysis in Austria. She was a member of United Nations (UNFCCC) CDM Methodologies for Baselines and Monitoring Panel and a coordinating lead author for the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Read Full BioSujata Gupta
Asian Development Bank
Bio
Sujata has been with ADB since 2003 and has worked in sovereign and non-sovereign operations of the bank. Sujata has a PhD from the London Business School, University of London and Master’s and Bachelor’s from the University of Delhi. Before joining ADB, she was the Director of the Policy Analysis Division, at TERI (then the Tata Energy Research Institute), New Delhi. She has also worked as a visiting researcher at the International Institute of Applied System Analysis in Austria. She was a member of United Nations (UNFCCC) CDM Methodologies for Baselines and Monitoring Panel and a coordinating lead author for the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Sujata Gupta
Asian Development Bank
Sujata has been with ADB since 2003 and has worked in sovereign and non-sovereign operations of the bank. Sujata has a PhD from the London Business School, University of London and Master’s and Bachelor’s from the University of Delhi. Before joining ADB, she was the Director of the Policy Analysis Division, at TERI (then the Tata Energy Research Institute), New Delhi. She has also worked as a visiting researcher at the International Institute of Applied System Analysis in Austria. She was a member of United Nations (UNFCCC) CDM Methodologies for Baselines and Monitoring Panel and a coordinating lead author for the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Read Full BioSujata Gupta
Asian Development Bank
Bio
Sujata has been with ADB since 2003 and has worked in sovereign and non-sovereign operations of the bank. Sujata has a PhD from the London Business School, University of London and Master’s and Bachelor’s from the University of Delhi. Before joining ADB, she was the Director of the Policy Analysis Division, at TERI (then the Tata Energy Research Institute), New Delhi. She has also worked as a visiting researcher at the International Institute of Applied System Analysis in Austria. She was a member of United Nations (UNFCCC) CDM Methodologies for Baselines and Monitoring Panel and a coordinating lead author for the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Woochong Um
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Woochong Um is the Managing Director General of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since February 2021. Mr. Um has been with ADB for over 28 years. His leadership experience covers financing operations, knowledge, and corporate administration departments, including his role the Secretary of ADB for four years. He leads the bank-wide initiatives on various sustainable development programs including climate change, gender, infrastructure finance, COVID-19 response, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to ADB, he worked for Pfizer, Inc and Pitney Bowes in the USA. Mr. Um holds an MBA in Finance from New York University, USA, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Boston College, USA.
Read Full BioWoochong Um
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Bio
Woochong Um is the Managing Director General of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since February 2021. Mr. Um has been with ADB for over 28 years. His leadership experience covers financing operations, knowledge, and corporate administration departments, including his role the Secretary of ADB for four years. He leads the bank-wide initiatives on various sustainable development programs including climate change, gender, infrastructure finance, COVID-19 response, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to ADB, he worked for Pfizer, Inc and Pitney Bowes in the USA. Mr. Um holds an MBA in Finance from New York University, USA, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Boston College, USA.
Yuko Fukuma
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Yuko has over a decade of experience working with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known for its excellence in energy, transport, shipping, submarines, aerospace, precision machinery, and industrial robots. Yuko is a procurement and communications specialist in the company’s hydrogen division and since 2014 has contributed to the development and delivery of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project. Yuko is responsible for working with Australian and Japanese consortia and governments and overseeing community and stakeholder engagement activity in Australia.
Read Full BioYuko Fukuma
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Bio
Yuko has over a decade of experience working with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known for its excellence in energy, transport, shipping, submarines, aerospace, precision machinery, and industrial robots. Yuko is a procurement and communications specialist in the company’s hydrogen division and since 2014 has contributed to the development and delivery of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project. Yuko is responsible for working with Australian and Japanese consortia and governments and overseeing community and stakeholder engagement activity in Australia.
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