Speaker 2021

Bio

Academic Background

• The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, US Master of Business Administration, 1993
• The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan April 1980 - March 1986 Master of Engineering, 1986 (majored in civil engineering) Bachelor of Engineering, 1984 (majored in civil engineering)

Professional Career

• June 2020: Managing Director, the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan or IEEJ
• January 2020: Counsellor, the IEEJ
• May 2018: Government Relations Manager, AIR LIQUIDE Japan Ltd.
• April 2017: Executive Advisor, Maeda Corporation
• October 2016: Executive Advisor, Fujimi Consultants Inc.
• June 2016: Retired from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI
• June 2013: Deputy Director-General for Trade Policy
• July 2010: Director, Division for Paper Industry and Recreational Goods Industry
• July 2008: Director, Energy Efficiency Division
• August 2006: Senior Strategic Advisor, DTI (Dept. of Trade and Industry), the UK Government
• May 2003: Director, Global Environmental Affairs Office
• April 1986: Joined Ministry of International Trade and Industry or MITI

Bio

He has 28 years of experience in geotechnical and geological engineering for civil works and environmental projects playing as a main engineer and a project manager in many projects. He is a “Professional Engineer, Japan (Engineering Management, Soil and Foundation)” and a member of “The Remote Sensing Society of Japan”. He is expertise for soil mechanics, particularly, groundwater behavior in urban area. He had worked in Vietnam as a representative of ATK’s Ho chi Min City office for three years since October 2016. The latest publication is on a special borehole probe for a groundwater measurement presented in GEOTEC HANOI 2019. He joined a research project for enhancement of the ground source heat pump widely in Japan in 2020. ASANO TAISEIKISO ENGINEERING CO.,LTD. (ATK) is focusing on a geothermal energy utilization and ground source heat pump system both in Japan and overseas.

Bio

Mr. Tutuka Ariadji is the Director-General of Oil and Gas, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Which has the following duties and functions: Policy formulation in the oil and gas sector; Implementation of policies in the oil and gas sector; Formulation norms, standards, procedures, and criteria in the oil and gas sector; Providing technical guidance and evaluation in the oil and gas sector; Implementation of the administration of the Directorate General of Oil and Gas.

Mr. Tutuka Ariadji obtained a Master of Science at Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Philosophy at Texas A&M University. Before being appointed as a Director-General of Oil and Gas, Mr. Tutuka Ariadji was a lecturer at Bandung Institute of Technology.

Bio

Dr. Twarath Sutabutr is Chief Inspector-General attached to the Ministry of Energy since October 2018. Dr. Twarath has experiences in a wide range of energy policy coordination and initiatives such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and international energy cooperation. His other current positions include Board of Directors of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) and (National Security and Dual – Use Technology Center.

Prior to this current position, he served as Director-General of Energy Policy and Planning Office (EPPO) from 2015 and Deputy Permanent Secretary from 2014 and Deputy Director-General of Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency from 2009 to 2014. Moreover, when he served as Director of Policy and Strategy Coordination Office, he assumed parts of the work with National Economic and Social Development Board in energy infrastructure development planning, and involved in liberalization of electricity and natural gas sectors, which led to his strong relationship with major energy players in Thailand such as Energy Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and PTT Public Company Limited, resulting in the successful development in such energy sectors.

Dr. Twarath holds Sc.D. in Civil and Environment Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, Master of Geotechnical Engineering from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Bio

Utsav Dhoj Adhikari is currently a Vice President at Delphos International, a leading financial advisory firm for clients in emerging market, providing transaction advisory and technical assistance to private, public, and multilateral clients in energy sector engagements.

He has extensive experience across the energy sector, spanning power markets, project finance, corporate finance, utility regulation, power trade, and off-grid or distributed energy services, with particular expertise in renewable energy. He holds an MPA in Energy Policy and Finance from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Bio

Will is an experienced sustainability professional with focus areas in sustainability strategy and green finance, and particular expertise in energy efficiency. He leads the Carbon Trust’s work in South East Asia, working with a range of clients to set transformational sustainability strategies and reduce their carbon emissions. This includes supporting regional governments to deliver low carbon policy and regulation, working with financial institutions to help decarbonise portfolios and assess investment impacts, and working with corporate organisations to develop sustainability strategies and the setting of science-based targets.

Will’s main focus for the past two years has been delivery of the UK Government’s ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Programme (LCEP). This three-year programme is focused on opening green finance and energy efficiency markets in ASEAN with outcomes including strengthened policy and regulation, an improved business environment, and a robust pipeline of investment-grade projects.

Bio

Mr. Um is ADB’s Managing Director General. He assumed the position on 22 February 2021.

Mr. Um reports to the ADB President and is responsible for supporting bank-wide coherence on key initiatives and issues. He provides oversight to ADB’s Department of Communications, the Office of Professional Conduct, and the Office of the Ombudsperson.

Mr. Um joined ADB in 1993. He served most recently as Director General and concurrently Chief Compliance Officer of ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, leading knowledge management and innovation work in all thematic and sector operational areas. He served as ADB Secretary from 2014 to 2018.

Prior to joining ADB, he worked for Pfizer Inc. in New York and Pitney Bowes Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut, United States.

Mr. Um holds an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Boston College.

Bio

Dr. Xavier Chen is President of the Beijing Energy Club (www.beijingenergyclub.org) – a Beijing-based high-level forum and think-tank on Chinese and global energy issues, since its creation in 2008. Membership of the Club includes China’s most prominent energy experts, senior energy company executives, government officials, and leading experts from around the world.

Since January 2020, Dr. Chen works as part-time advisor for a number of companies and organisations including Zhejiang Energy Group – China’s largest provincial state-owned energy company; Trina Solar Group – one of China’s largest solar energy companies; and senior consultant for the Asian Development Bank.

Between June 2018 and December 2019, Dr. Chen was Chief Strategy Officer of ENN Group – one of China’s largest private energy companies (US$ 30 billion revenue), where was in charge of the Group’s strategy, performance and new business development.

Dr. Chen worked four and half years (January 2014 - May 2018) for Statoil (now equinor) – Norway’s largest energy company, as China Country President. Despite the political tension between Norway and China (due to Nobel Peace Prize issue) between 2010 and 2016, Dr. Chen successfully managed Statoil’s China relationship and achieved the company’s US$3 billion per year of crude oil sales to China in 2015 and 2016, and expanded the company’s reach to China’s renewables and innovation space.

With Statoil’s permission, Dr. Chen joined the Chinese bidding team for the Presidency of the International Gas Union (IGU) in 2017 and played the most critical role in securing the Chinese IGU Presidency 2021-2024.

From August 2003 to December 2013, Dr. Chen worked for BP in China, initially at the Gas and Power division in charge of developing China’s first LNG receiving terminal – Guangdong Dapeng LNG. He was promoted to the position of Vice President in 2006, in charge of different areas, ending up as VP for Policy and Business Integration.

Before joining BP, Dr. Chen worked for 8 years at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, where he served consecutively as 1) Senior Economist at the Division of Asia-Pacific and Latin America in charge of India and South East Asia （1996-1997）; 2) Chief of Staff to the IEA Executive Director （1997-2000）; 3) China Program Director (2000-2003).

As Chief of Staff of the IEA from Sept 1997 to Oct 2000, he assisted the Executive Director in leading this world’s most authoritative energy agency, including annual programme of work and budget, its relationship with the OECD, preparing the Executive Director’s official missions as well as the formulation the Agency’s policies.

As China Program Director, he significantly improved the IEA’s relationship with China, recommended the Chinese government in the creation of today’s National Energy Administration, and published the IEA’s first in-depth study on China’s gas market.

From 1993 to 1996, Dr. Chen worked for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was seconded to the Asian Institute of Technology, teaching courses on energy economics and markets and conducting research on Asian energy and environmental policies.

From 1988 to 1993, Dr. Chen worked as research engineer at the Institute of Energy Policy and Economics (IEPE) of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Grenoble, France.

Xavier Chen graduated from China’s Zhejiang University in 1985, and obtained MS in energy technology from the Asian Institute of Technology in 1987 and Ph.D. in Energy Economics from the University of Grenoble, France in 1993.

Bio

Yashraj Khaitan is the Founder and CEO of Gram Power, an energy technology company founded out of Berkeley, California. The company develops and commercializes path breaking technology for a smarter electricity grid and energy analytics to help Utilities and Businesses radically reduce their energy losses. Yashraj started working on Gram Power when he was 19 and prior to that worked on cutting edge solar cell research as a high school student. He completed his undergraduate studies in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California - Berkeley and then dropped out of his post graduate program to start and scale Gram Power. As CEO, he focuses on partnerships, strategy and building the overall technology vision and portfolio for the company. While the company started off with building low cost solar products and microgrids for rural electrification, it today is one of the market leaders for smart metering solutions for the national grid in India and is managing over 100,000 kW of power in over 15 cities across the country. Yashraj was honored with the Global Indian Award by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and recently was also chosen in the Forbes 30 under 30 List.

Bio

Dr. Yongping Zhai is Chief of Energy Sector Group, Asian Development Bank. He has been working on energy development in Asia and Africa for more than 25 years. He is currently Chief of Energy Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in charge of overall energy policy coordination and technical support to ADB energy sector operations. He is also in charge of developing energy sector knowledge work for ADB and interacts with worldwide energy sector partners.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Yongping Zhai was Director of South Asia Energy Division (2010-2015), ADB, covering energy sector operations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In this capacity, he led ADB’s support to renewable energy, energy efficiency and power trade in South Asia. He also served as ADB’s Lead Energy Specialist (2008-2010), in charge of energy sector in Southeast Asia including Indonesia, Philippines, and the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). In particular, he was instrumental in leading ADB’s support to the power sector’s successful restructuring process in the Philippines. Moreover, Dr. Zhai has played a key role in promoting power trade and cooperation in GMS.

From 1993 to 2000, Dr. Zhai was a Principal Program Coordinator/Public Utilities Economist at the African Development Bank (AfDB) in charge of energy projects in Southern African Development Community (SADC). Between 1990 and 1993, he served as an Assistant Professor at the Energy Technology Division (Energy Policy and Planning), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. He graduated from the Thermal Energy Engineering Department, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (1983) and received a Ph.D in Energy Economics from Institute of Energy Economics and Policy, affiliated with the University of Pierre-Mendès France in Grenoble, France (1989).

Dr. Zhai can be reached by email at yzhai@adb.org, by phone at (632) 632 5976 in Manila, Philippines.

Bio

YT Kim is expert of EV, ESS battery R&D, demonstration and project leader of international standard (IEA, ISO). He is a member of Energy Storage policy maker in MOTIE and KEA. New research areas are battery Reuse, Re-fabrication, Recycling using the end of life-time battery.

ADB, W.B consultant of Battery Energy Storage System demonstration and Test standards and Grid code

Bio

Yukihiro Kawaguchi is the Director of the Global Environmental Affairs Office – in charge of international relations on climate change issues in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan. Mr. Kawaguchi is also in charge of CCUS policy and technology development.

Mr. Kawaguchi previously served as the Director of the Global Environment Partnership Office and as the Deputy Director of the Environmental Policy Division and the Environmental Economy Office in METI. Mr. Kawaguchi was also the Secretary General of the Japan Business Council in Europe.

Mr. Kawaguchi obtained a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Waseda University and a Master of Arts in public affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.