Speakers

Bio

Mr. Sashi Kumar is a senior advisor in Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector – India - GIZ India. His current profile is integrating renewable energy and post-harvest loss management in the agriculture value chain. Mr. Kumar has more than 18 years of experience in the development sector contributing most of his service to access to finance and micro-enterprise promotion in the agriculture sector. Has intensively worked with Indian microfinance institutions and Small and Medium enterprises on scaling market-led financial products and community-owned livelihood initiatives. Before GIZ, Mr. Sashi Kumar worked with National Bank for Agriculture Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development Financial Services, and CARE International.

Bio

Mr. Satoru Harada is a Managing Executive Officer of Marubeni Corporation and the Chief Operating Officer of its Power Division. He has been with Marubeni since 1991, advancing through various leadership roles. His international experiences in Mexico and the Philippines have enriched his expertise in global market dynamics. Mr. Harada has spearheaded Marubeni's major clean energy and energy transition initiatives, notably by leading investments in renewable energy businesses in the APAC region, such as solar projects in Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand, a geothermal project in Indonesia and a hydro project in the Philippines. He is currently involved in discussions with ADB and others on the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) to be applied to a coal IPP project in Indonesia. His leadership also extends to other areas, including the completion of the first offshore wind project in Japan in 2022. Mr. Harada received his degree in Economics from Kobe University.

Bio

Saurav Kumar is the CEO and co-founder of Euler Motors, an automotive start-up focused on transforming transportation in the country with electric vehicles. He leads product development and business functions.

Saurav is an innovator who is fascinated with technology and work on driving advancements that helps to make lives better. Before Euler Motors, Saurav co-founded Cube26 Software Pvt. Ltd, a successful mobile technology platform that helps to improve consumer engagement experience. Cube26 was funded by Tiger Global and Flipkart. Cube26 was acquired by Paytm at the beginning of 2018.

An alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering, he had successfully raised funds from DSIR to build an autonomous ground vehicle. After completing engineering, he joined INRIA in France where he worked on the next generation of Driving Assistance Systems to mitigate roadside accidents. Later, he joined Cornell University’s Master’s program in Computer Science focusing on Machine Learning, Computer Vision and Natural Language Processing. During his Cornell days, he worked on building a machine learning and computer vision system for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles that received the accolade from the Office of Naval Research, U.S.A.

Bio

Scott Bartos serves as USAID's Regional Energy Advisor in Southeast Asia. Prior to joining USAID, Scott designed and led climate change and air quality programs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, performing groundbreaking work for which he was recognized as a recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Scott received his M.A. in Environment and Natural Resource Policy from the George Washington University and a B.S. in Biology from James Madison University. Scott also served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Group 101) teaching sustainable aquaculture techniques and environmental education in rural Northeast Thailand. In his free time, Scott enjoys playing sports, hiking, and exploring the outdoors on two wheels.

Bio

Scott Countryman is the founder of the Philippine based marine conservation organization Reeph. For the past ten years he led his NGO to help establish marine protected areas as well as develop technologies and programs to monitor, restock and rehabilitate coral reefs. Prior to becoming a full time marine conservationist, Scott was the Founder and Chief Executive at PeopleSupport Philippines and Digital Media Exchange. He is a licensed US Coast Guard Ship’s Captain, boat builder promoting electric propulsion systems, has and Masters in Business, and envisions a future where commercial activity in our oceans is carbon negative and regenerative to marine ecosystems.

Bio

Mr. Scott Morris joined ADB on 1 November 2023 and has significant prior leadership experience in both government and the non-profit sector. He is currently responsible for overseeing ADB’s operations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. Mr. Morris is an expert on development finance and debt policy with more than 25 years of experience in international economic policymaking and research. Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Morris was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) in Washington, DC. At CGD, he led work on multilateral and bilateral development finance, including the role of concessional finance in supporting low-income and climate-vulnerable countries. Mr. Morris previously served in senior roles in the US government, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Development Finance and Debt in the US Treasury. In this role, he oversaw the participation of the US in multilateral development banks, including ADB, as well as US participation in the Paris Club. Prior to his US Treasury appointment, he managed the international and monetary policy portfolio of the Committee on Financial Services, US House of Representatives. Mr. Morris holds a master of public policy studies (international economics) from the University of Michigan, Institute for Public Policy Studies, in Michigan, US. He obtained his bachelor of arts degree in government from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, US.

Bio

With over 25 years’ work experience in Korea Energy Agency(KEA), Mr. Seok-Jai Choi is an MRV specialist for emission reduction activities, especially in energy and industry sector. He is a director in International Cooperation Division of KEA. KEA is a public entity for energy efficiency, renewable energy deployment and climate change mitigation of Korea. He has managed boiler and pressure vessel inspection scheme of Korea for 12 years, with experiencing various energy facilities as a field inspector for 4 years. He holds a qualification as in-use inspector for boiler and pressure vessel by NBBI of USA. And he also served in standardization and product certification in renewable energy sector for 5 years. Especially, he managed CDM DOE function of KEA and audited various CDM projects in developing countries for seven years. Currently, he manages government support programs of Korea related to Article 6 activities of Paris Agreement to facilitate the global GHG mitigation activities. He is also engaged in ODA programs, feasibility studies, pilot demonstration projects, investment programs for ITMO and 6.4ER and funds to achieve NDC target of Korea.

Bio

Seonyeong Jeong is a assistant manager at the Korea Energy Agency(KEA). Since joining KEA in 2020, she have been managing subsidy support project for promoting and expending new & renewable energy(2020 - 2023). Currently, she is in charge of managing the ESCO program and its registration for energy efficiency improvement. Recently, she developed an interest in M&V for energy efficiency projects, completing PMVA(Performance Measurement and Verification Analyst) training and obtaining certification.

Bio

Serene is the Assistant Director (SIEW) of the External Relations Department at the Energy Market Authority of Singapore (EMA). The EMA is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Our goals are to ensure a reliable and secure energy supply, promote effective competition in the energy market and develop a dynamic energy sector in Singapore. She oversees the EMA’s annual flagship energy event, the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW). SIEW is an annual platform for energy professionals, policymakers and commentators to share best practices and solutions within the global energy space though a comprehensive line-up of high-level conferences, exhibitions, and meetings.

Bio

Sergio's combined technical and political expertise has brought him to management of various complex, international, and multi-discipline projects related to energy and development issues for a large number of public and private clients across Europe, Asia Pacific and other continents. With over 30 years of consultancy experience, Sergio has a thorough understanding of investment decision making, as well as extensive hands-on experience on overcoming market barriers. His experience extends to advisory services in renewable energy infrastructure, energy technology innovations, energy efficiency and industrial low carbon strategies. He has also developed strong expertise in bioeconomy issues, particularly the sustainability of bioproducts. His long-term career includes among others being Vice-Minister of Energy in Peru.Sergio holds a PhD in Engineering, with minors in Economics and Mathematics from Northeastern University (USA), where he was for several years an associate researcher on future energy needs.

Bio

Serik is an Electrical Engineer with Executive MBA degree and has more than 24 years of professional experience in power transmission, distribution, and system operations.Since 2022, Serik has been working as an energy specialist on various projects related to power transmission, distribution, renewable energy, and energy transition in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Before joining ADB, Serik worked as an independent technical consultant for ADB, World Bank, and other IFIs. Prior to his consulting career, Serik spent 16 years with the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), where he held various positions, including Director of the Operations and Technology Department."