Speakers

Roberta Boscolo is leading the Climate and Energy Unit at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, Switzerland. She is also served as Chief of the WMO Liaison Office in New York between October 2024 and June 2025.

Roberta Boscolo has a proven track record in driving transformative initiatives on energy transition and climate adaptation. She is passionate about climate science and energy to strengthen societal resilience against climate change by implementing science-based strategies. She has long-term experience in developing knowledge platforms and good practices to support climate-related risk management and pathways to resilient low-carbon economy.

She is a Member of the Expert Advisory Panel of the Earthshot Prize providing strategic guidance to identify and champion the world’s most innovative climate solutions. Member of the Advisory Board of the Copernicus Climate Change Operational Service, Member of the Bureau of Experts on Renewable Energy for the UN Economic Commission for Europe fostering collaboration between climate science and the energy industry.

Previously she served as science officer for the World Climate Research Programme, coordinating scientific efforts worldwide to address the knowledge gaps in understanding Earth climate system. Such knowledge is assessed by the IPCC milestone reports.  

She launched and managed multi-stakeholders development projects in 20+ countries, currently she manages a portfolio of several multi-million projects (US$ 30M) in Africa, South America, South East Asia and Pacific.

Dr. René Cotting, CFO Smartenergy Group since May 2021, a privately owned investment company, focusing on investments in renewable energy and related ventures. Additionally, he is mandated CFO and head of Investor Relations of SIX stock-listed company Edisun Power.

Previously, Dr. René Cotting has held various management positions in Switzerland and abroad for the ABB Group since 1995. From 2013 until the end of May 2017, he was CFO of ABB Switzerland. On March 1, 2017, he was named Head of Operation, Innovation and R&D for the ABB Group and Chairman of ABB Technology Ventures.

In addition, he has served as Board member in different companies, including SIX stock-listed company Bossard, being the Chairman of the audit, risk & compliance committee from 2015 to April 2023. Since April 2023, he is Board member of SIX stock-listed insurance company Helvetia.

In the course of his professional activities, Dr. René Cotting gained experiences in emerging markets, in particular in India, China and Poland and worked several years as CFO in the Silicon Valley and Texas (USA).

Dr. René Cotting holds a PhD from University Fribourg/Freiburg Switzerland in Strategic Management, Finance and Macro-economics and has educated himself further at IMD (Lausanne CH), Harvard Business School (Boston USA), Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University (Evanston USA), MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge USA) and at Wharton Business School (San Francisco USA).

Vincent Girard joined the European Investment Bank in 2009.

Since 2021, he has been heading the Project Finance team covering Southern European countries including Italy, Spain and Portugal, focusing on Renewable Energies, PPPs (rail, hospitals, universities) and Telecom (data centres, fibre networks) transactions.

Vincent has been working on the origination and execution of structured finance operations for 20 years, initially working at Natixis (2006-2009) and then at the EIB where he covered both EU and non-EU countries (Africa and Latin America).

Melanie Heiniger is Head of Corporate Responsibility at Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), driving the company's sustainability transformation alongside her team and the entire organization. The focus is on holistically reducing the carbon footprint and promoting new relevant technologies.

The aviation expert is convinced that achieving a more sustainable air travel industry requires new business models and innovative collaborations between companies, technology pioneers, and academia.

Melanie has been with SWISS for over 10 years, possessing proven expertise and experience in Corporate Responsibility, Organizational Change & Process Transformation, Project Management, Governmental Affairs and Communications.

Melanie holds a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, along with specialized education in Corporate Responsibility and an university degree in political science.

Gunnar Holen has served as CEO of Nordic Electrofuel since February 2016. Under his leadership, the company has been successfully developed and financed with seed capital, while securing key contracts across off-take, utilities, CO₂ supply, long-term renewable power, and oxygen deliveries and distribution. He has built a highly qualified management team and guided the company through Basic Engineering for its first plant, bringing it to construction readiness.

In July 2023, Nordic Electrofuel, under Holen’s leadership, secured a maximum grant award of €40 million from the EU Innovation Fund, achieving the highest score among all mid-sized projects (82.5 out of 90 points). He has also overseen the signing of an impressive global project portfolio.

With a background in corporate and investment finance, Holen brings 31 years of investment banking experience, with extensive expertise in fundraising and M&A activity, including leadership and participation in a large number of placements. He was previously recognized as a top-rated and highly profiled investment analyst both domestically and internationally.

As an entrepreneur, Holen co-founded and developed an investment bank, growing it from two to 50 employees and from zero to NOK 80 million in annual revenues within five years. He has co-founded two investment banks and served as CEO of both, advising numerous companies that have grown into large enterprises under his guidance. In each role, he has been a significant contributor to the growth and success of the organizations he served.

Holen is also the co-founder and a former board member of Norge Mining, as well as CEO of its Norwegian subsidiary, Norge Mineraler, which has reported one of the largest mineral discoveries worldwide in recent years, totaling 4.5 billion tonnes of critical raw materials.

Maria Luisa Huidobro is the Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Spanish Embassy in Switzerland and belongs to the special branch of Civil Service which provides the staff for the highest-level of Economic Policy making in Spain

She has occupied the position of senior economist in the Spanish General Direction of Macroeconomic Analysis at the Ministry of Economy, and she had worked in various governmental departments. of the Ministry of Industry.

She occupied the position of General Director of Energy at the Ministry of Industry and Energy from 1990-1997. At that time, she was member of the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency and of the High-level Groups of, Energy (EU) and of the Energy Chater and member of the Intergovernmental Committee AIRBUS

She has been the founder executive president of OMIE, the Iberian Power Exchange, (from 1998 to 2009) and Vice-president of Red Electrica de España.

From 2013 to 2022 she had occupied the role of CEO of the Energy Division of Villar Mir Group, one of the biggest Spanish private industrial groups (fertilizers, ferroalloys, real state and generation and commercialization of electricity and gas) and Member of the Board of VM Energía.

She has also been a board member in several public and private companies in the financial, industrial and energy sectors. CDTI, BCI, CASA, REPSOL, RED ELECTRICA DE ESPAÑA, ENRESA., on behalf of the State and MIBGAS, OMIP and VME and other institutions and associations.

She has written for several publications and has given lectures at several courses and seminars in different organisms.

Josef Janssen is scientific advisor at the Federal Office of Civil Aviation of Switzerland, where he has been leading the development of a national funding programme for aviation and climate since August 2024, with a focus on scaling sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

He brings over 20 years of experience in European power and gas markets, including roles in energy trading at Swiss energy utility BKW and as Sales Manager at the Norwegian energy software company Volue.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of St. Gallen.

Pedro Amaral Jorge graduated in Mechanical Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, and also has an EMBA with focus on Finance and Operations, from IESE / AESE.

In his previous professional experience, he worked as a specialist in structuring and financing projects in the private sector investment aspect for the African Development Bank (AfDB), in the areas of Infrastructure, Energy and Water and Sanitation in Africa, focusing on the sub-Saharan region.

In addition to his career, Pedro Amaral Jorge also has a history of developing projects for public service concessions and BOT (Build Operate and Transfer) as well as financing, planning, construction and management, accumulating more than 15 years of international experience, having worked and lived in different markets, especially in Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East.

He has a total of 20 years of professional experience in top management positions, assuming functions as Director of Business Unit, Member of the Executive Committee, Executive Director and CEO in companies such as Mitsubishi / METITO Utilities, Indaqua / Mota-Engil Group, SACYR / SOMAGUE and IDOM / APREN

He joined OMIP in May 2026, serving as Chair of the Board of Directors

Benefiting of his wide experience in the energy sector, José María Llopis is managing Smartenergy’s Operations in Spain, as well as the Groups’ Wind Business. He is Industrial Engineer by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia with a superior course in Energy Business by ICADE. José María has more than 26 years of professional experience in the energy and utilities industry, having worked in IBERDROLA and in DS2, a telecommunications start-up participated by ENDESA and ITOCHU. Early 2009, he joined the German PV specialist IBC SOLAR, and started his track record in renewable business. In this Group, he was holding various executive management positions leading the expansion of the company from wholesale retail distribution business into large scale project business. During his over 12 years of experience in the solar PV sector, he has been leading highly qualified multinational teams in EPC, O&M and project development business in countries like Spain, Germany, India and Japan.

Horst H. Mahmoudi has more than two decades of experience in the renewable energy sector. As the visionary founder of Smartenergy, he has played a pivotal role in steering the company since 2011. He serves as the Chairman of Edisun, a company listed on the Swiss stock exchange, where Smartenergy holds the majority stake. Mahmoudi's extensive technical acumen, coupled with his profound expertise in investment, sets him apart as a driving force in the industry.

Hussein Matar is responsible for leading the sourcing and evaluation of energy sector investments at AMEA Power across Africa and Middle East with a focus on renewable energy (utility scale).

His experience with various governmental bodies, regional organizations, and other authorities help him identify investment needs in the energy sector. In turn, leading in bilateral collaborations resulting in formal investment cooperation agreements.

His work also includes leading the development of investment strategy, from target identification to evaluation to due diligence to transaction completion. He has an extensive network of contacts across government, renewable power, financial institutions and multilateral institutions in Middle East and Africa.

Cornelius is a well-respected leader and investor in the renewable energy industry and built several successful clean energy businesses and start-ups within Middle East and Africa. He has extensive board level experience from 10 years in Deutsche Bank (among others, youngest board member in Deutsche Bank Italy Group) and several leading renewable energy organizations and associations via pro bono work as well as different startup companies.

By building the international shareholder and partner network of Dii (Desertec Industrial Initiative), he was at the forefront of the renewable energy revolution in North Africa and the Middle East. A keen entrepreneur and investor in emerging markets with recognitions such as “Solar Pioneer 2015” for the Middle East or the Visionary CleanTech Influencer of The Year 2022 by World Cleantech Awards. He is lecturing at several universities including St. Gallen and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He holds an MBA (Dipl. Kaufmann) from University of Passau, and speaks German, English, Italian, French and Russian.

His experience ranges from M&A transactions, asset management, developing utility scale renewable energy projects (including mid-market with private PPAs), pay-as-you-go solar to energy efficiency, including ESCO projects and new business models. Some of the projects and companies were executed in challenging settings or countries. He has led sizable organizations both in startup environments and blue-chip companies and has raised funds from angel investments to USD 100m+ projects with institutional investors.

“I am glad to be able to work in renewable energy which is also my passion – we can genuinely make an impact with many different things and help people, to make our planet a better place. Having new challenges every day is fantastic and many more mountains to be climbed!” Executive management and boards of a variety of companies in emission-free technologies, as well as investment funds, seek his advice.

Eleonora Moro is a Policy Analyst at the OECD, where she works on industrial decarbonisation and the financing of near-zero emission technologies, with a particular focus on clean hydrogen. Her work explores policy and financial solutions to accelerate industrial transformation and mobilise investment. She previously worked at GIZ and E3G, a climate think tank based in Brussels.

Christian Pho Duc is the CTO at Smartenergy Group AG and a member of the Board of Directors at Solar Power Europe. He has been the Chair of its Hydrogen and Electrification Workstreams since 2021. He graduated as a Physicist and an Engineer from Munich and Cambridge University. Christian has accumulated 30 years working experience in Semiconductors (Siemens, IBM, G&D, Infineon Technologies), Renewable Energies & Hydrogen (Solyndra, Nanosolar, Smartenergy) and Electric Mobility (Torqeedo) in various management positions.

Adrian Timbus is Senior Vice President and Strategic Business Development Lead for Hitachi Social Innovation Business. In this role, he focuses on identifying new growth opportunities, shaping market-entry and scaling strategies, and connecting Hitachi’s capabilities across business units, regions and external partners to accelerate growth in new markets. He works at the intersection of strategy, innovation and business incubation, helping translate emerging customer needs and technology trends into scalable offerings and commercially viable growth platforms.

Adrian brings deep company experience, having held senior roles across portfolio management, market strategy and technology development since joining the company in 2007. Most recently, he served as Head of Portfolio and Market Strategy at Hitachi Energy, where he contributed to the development of technologies and solutions supporting the energy transition. This combination of long-standing sector expertise, cross-business collaboration and executive-level strategy execution enables him to help position Hitachi for growth beyond its traditional markets.

Raghu Viswanathan has been the Global Director of eFuels, Supply Chain, and Strategy at Smartenergy since July 2024. He has a background in Chemical and Materials Engineering and over 20 years of expertise in renewable fuels, energy, utilities, and academia.

Prior to joining Smartenergy, he served as the Global Head of Strategy & Business Development for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) division at Neste in Amsterdam, where he was instrumental in driving growth and developing business models that ensured the successful operation of the business.

Having held senior management roles at Vestas and GE Renewable Energy, his expertise extends into energy and utilities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions in business development, product management, and commercial operations.

Dr. Axel von Perfall is Senior Advisor to Dii Desert Energy, an international industry network connecting companies and leaders across the global energy transition in the Middle East and Europe.

He is also Managing Partner of Gilvion Energy Advisors, an energy advisory and project finance firm working with energy companies, project developers and investors across Europe and the Middle East.

Axel has more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector and has held senior consulting positions with EY and PwC/Strategy&, advising energy companies and investors across Europe and the Middle East on growth strategies, market entry, transformation and energy infrastructure investments.

His expertise includes power & utilities, renewable energy, battery energy storage, hydrogen, clean fuels, project development and project finance.

Axel studied Business Administration at WHU Koblenz in Germany and holds a PhD from the University of St. Gallen.

Uwe Weichenhain is a Partner in Roland Berger's Energy & Infrastructure Practice. He focuses on the energy transition and new technologies, incl. renewable energy, hydrogen & fuel cells, and clean fuels/P2X. Uwe helps clients in the energy, technology and mobility sector in formulating investment and growth strategies, business planning, setting up and managing capital investment projects and M&A processes. He further has substantial experience in formulating technology commercialization roadmaps for public institutions.

María Ángeles Zatarain, Vice President, Investment Banking at Bankinter, specializing in structured finance for renewable energy and hydrogen projects. She has led landmark financings across PV, wind, CSP, and hydrogen, from merchant portfolios to long-term PPA assets, designing ad-hoc structures to offer full debt-equity solutions. Angeles Zatarain is CFA charterholder, PhD in Economics (Cum Laude), and lecturer at IESE and ICADE, she combines deep academic rigor with hands-on transaction leadership in the energy transition.