Speakers at this Event

Datin Stella Ambrose, currently serving as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Sawit Kinabalu Sdn Bhd, specializes in oil palm milling operations, and projects evaluation, management and monitoring. With 30 years of working experience, her academic qualifications include a B.Eng (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from UMIST UK (1994) and an MBA from IUMW (2023). Her research interests and experience lie in leadership, organizational behavior, and strategic management.

Trung has more than 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with half that time spent in consulting with a specific focus on advising the Asia Pacific / Australasian, Middle Eastern, and North American energy clients. He has advised clients on Energy Reform Strategy, Organizational Restructuring, Growth and Diversification Strategy, and Technology and Digital Strategy.

Recently, Trung has been developing strategies for energy companies across Southeast Asia on their decarbonisation strategy and energy transition roadmaps which includes developing the hydrogen, bio-fuels, and convergence technologies. With this, Trung has advised clients in how to set up their new business capabilities and driving results through supporting their feasibility studies on pilot / demonstration plants within the region.

On top of features in regional media such as The Business Times Singapore, Trung has recently published thought leadership articles and viewpoints with Arthur D. Little.

Prior to joining ADL, Trung worked in Schlumberger Business Consulting, Independent Project Analysis, and as an engineer for wireline services with Halliburton.

Trung holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School. He also has a Mechanical and Space Engineering degree (Hons) at the University of Queensland.

Suy Kokthean has been a pivotal figure in the Cashew nut Association of Cambodia for the past 15 years, serving as Vice President. With extensive experience spanning planting, trading, and processing cashews, Kokthean has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the cashew sector in Cambodia. His expertise and leadership have been instrumental in enhancing the industry’s standards and expanding its reach in the global market.

In addition to his role with the association, Kokthean is the Executive Manager of CSNC Agriculture Co., Ltd, further showcasing his commitment to advancing agricultural practices and business operations within the cashew industry.

Dominique Kühner is an accomplished professional with over 25 years of experience delivering equipment, systems, and comprehensive solutions for various industrial applications in Mining/Minerals, Chemical, and Agriculture. After obtaining his Process Engineering degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, he began his career as a Project Manager and Commissioning specialist at W. Kunz dryTec AG in 1996.
 
Mr. Kühner quickly advanced to the role of Managing Director before moving to GEA Barr-Rosin in 2006, where he served as a Senior Business Development Manager. In 2012, he relocated to the UK, assuming the role of global Director of Sales Responsibility.
 
Subsequently, in 2016, Mr. Kühner joined the Moret Industries Group as Director of Sales and Technology, initially supporting Promill S.A.S in France before transitioning to VetterTec Ltd in the UK.
 
In 2021, Mr. Kühner became part of ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel as Industry Director for Biomass, Waste and Industrial Application. Leading a diverse global team spanning Denmark, The Netherlands, France, and Brazil, he is responsible for developing and executing the global strategy for Biomass, Waste, and other Industrial Applications within the ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel product portfolio. Additionally, he spearheads the development and implementation of a Plant Solution-based approach optimized to meet the evolving needs of the company’s customers worldwide.

Brock Harrington has spent more than 35 years  in the Biomass and Waste Industry. He has been the Global Sales Director for Alternative Fuels and Industrial at CPM for 18 months. Brock was previously the President of Scotia Machinery in Indianapolis, USA where he sold CBI Grinders and chippers. Brock sits on the Board of the IBTC. He resides in Alberta Canada.

James Pham is the Managing Partner at VSE Lawyers and serves as an arbitrator for TRACENT. With extensive experience in the energy sector, James has been instrumental in guiding major corporate transactions and renewable energy projects both within Vietnam and across emerging markets. His firm provides comprehensive legal and advisory services to a diverse client base, including significant work in renewable energy, where James has played a key role in facilitating investments and navigating complex legal landscapes.

Notably, he supported Shire Oak International in expanding renewable energy investments across Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia and Thailand, gaining substantial insight into the region's energy landscape. James is also known for his collaborative approach, ensuring clients receive top-tier service across all sectors, with a strong emphasis on promoting green transition initiatives and projects.

Citra Abidin is the VP of business development & strategic planning at PT Smart Tbk, a subsidiary of Sinarmas Agribusiness & Food.  In the business development role, Citra is in charge of finding the most optimum product utilization out of sinarmas agri captive biomass, solid (such as palm kernel shells, empty fruit bunch, oil palm trunk, mesocarp fiber, etc) and liquid (such as palm oil mill effluent).  The team strives to improve the product value, seek new revenue generation source from such feedstock as well as avenues to improve sustainability practices to reduce the carbon footprint.

The team is on a look out for new technology or partners to develop the palm oil biomass into high value added feedstock and is willing to explore various kinds of co-operation mode which include pure offtake arrangement, co-development, or other potential scheme of collaboration.

Fabien Méhu runs the biomass trading department within ENGIE. He has worked in commodity markets for 13 years, having held various positions within the GDF Suez group. Fabien first worked in Paris for five years in the gas and LNG business before taking a power assets management and renewable certificate origination position in the UK. Fabien joined the Brussels-based coal, freight and biomass division in 2012, and became Head of Biomass Trading in 2014. He holds a postgraduate degree in mathematics, economy and finance from the University of Sciences and Economy of Paris.

More than 19 years in FGV Palm Industries Sdn Bhd (FGVPISB) in various capacity such as Chemist, Mill Assistant Manager, Quality Control & Environmental Officer and now currently serving as Senior Manager & Head of Bio-Energy in Renewable Energy Division FGVPISB. Responsible for overseeing Division business operations, monitoring secondary products sale and renewable energy plants performance, strategize Division’s roadmap and initiatives to maximize revenue, government engagement, streamlining Group ESG with the Division and ensuring efficient project expenditure and cost control. Led the implementation of world’s first palm-based bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG) project and two Feed-In-Tariff biogas projects in two location totaling 4.0 MW capacity. Won three National Energy Awards in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for renewable energy projects in various categories.

Dr. Phuc Xuan To has a PhD in resource governance. He has been working extensively in the global academic and political arenas for more than 20 years. His work focuses on the dynamics of natural resource use and management in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries. His research examines the dynamics of cross-border trade of forest-risk commodities such as timber, rubber, cassava. His recent work has been focusing on emission reductions in Vietnam.

Phuc works with Forest Trends as a senior policy analyst. He has provided policy advice to the governments of Vietnam, Laos, US, UK, among others in sustainable resource management and trade. He has been collaborating closely with private sector in Vietnam. In recent years, he has advocated for the transition from fossil fuel to biomass products including wood pellets. He strongly supported the establishment of the Vietnam Wood Pellet Association in 2022 and has been servicing as an advisor to the association since then.

Matt Bovelander, Senior Consultant Biomass Solutions, holds a master’s degree in science from the University of Auckland and a Graduate Diploma in Business (Management) from Massey University.

Nicolas joined SBP in January 2022 as Technical Director. A senior sustainability professional with extensive agriculture and international supply chain experience, Nicolas has proven technical and strategic competencies in advancing sustainability agendas.
Prior to joining SBP, Nicolas spent ten years at Bonsucro, a global membership organisation promoting sustainable sugarcane production, processing and trade. Key amongst his responsibilities were overseeing the maintenance of Bonsucro’s three standards, recognition of the standards by the European Commission and the Netherlands’ regulatory body, strengthening the certification and accreditation systems and growing Bonsucro’s presence in Asia. Nicolas started his career in the dairy industry, with a focus on quality management, technical specification and compliance audits, before moving on to the seafood industry, including two years at the Marine Stewardship Council, a leading global certification scheme for sustainable seafood.

Nicolas holds a Master’s in Quality Management in the Food Value Chain from the National School of Agricultural Engineering in Bordeaux, France, and an Advanced Master’s in Strategy and Management of International Business from the ESSEC Business School in Cergy, France.    
Nicolas is based in the UK.

She started her career at PLN in 2003 as a SCADA engineer and then handled PLN's business strategy as a manager from 2016 to 2021. From 2021, she was profoundly involved and focused on New and Renewable Energy, especially bioenergy as Vice President of Bioenergy PLN. Currently, she is a Vice President of Business Development, Marketing and Biomass Planning at PLN Energi Primer Indonesia, focusing on Biomass Business Development and the Planning and Identification of Biomass utilization in Power Plant.

She got her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 2002 from Universitas Hasanuddin and her master's degree in 2016 from Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Ryuu is the newly appointed Head of Asia Trading at CM Biomass, a world-leading value-adding biomass aggregator and producer with its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

His role revolves around building further on CM Biomass' presence in the Asian biomass market towards balancing supply and demand through flexible and efficient logistics solutions, in a market characterised by constant change and volatility, by adding value throughout the value chain from the suppliers to the end-users. With a strong diversified portfolio along with a continued growth of own pellet production in the US, CM Biomass is positioned to take expand its network in this region. 

Before joining CM Biomass, he spent 9 years working at Hanwa as one of the founding members of their Renewable Energy Department, in which he was responsible for the overall sourcing of biomass materials, and sales of biomass to regions out of Japan and Korea, as well as new project developments.

Mads is the managing director for the world-leading value-adding biomass aggregator and producer, CM Biomass.

His role revolves around managing the global biomass portfolio (wood pellets in particular) together with the Deputy CEO of CM Biomass with a key focus on caretaking the company’s commercial activities in Europe and Asia. His activities strives towards balancing supply and demand through flexible and efficient logistics solutions in a market characterised by constant change and volatility, where adding value throughout the value chain from the suppliers to the end-users is considered vital. With a strong diversified portfolio along with a continued growth of own-production in the US, CM Biomass is positioned to expand its network further around the world.  

Before joining CM Biomass 5 years ago, he spent several years working within the shipping and commodity industry already back then focusing on energy commodities, in particular.

Douglas is a Director in Provident Capital Partners, a Southeast Asian-focused investment group.  Douglas manages Provident’s biomass trading business that he helped start in 2011.  Today Provident Biofuels is one of the leading suppliers of biomass in Southeast Asia handling both palm kernel shells as well as wood pellets.

Prior to joining Provident, Douglas spent ten years at Citigroup in its Special Situations Group as well as Investment Banking Division.  Douglas received a BA in Economics from the University of Melbourne

Dharmesh Kumar Kewat is an accomplished energy sector professional with over 8 years of experience in clean energy, sustainability, and climate change solutions. Currently serving as an Executive at NTPC Limited under the National Biomass Mission (SAMARTH), he plays a key role in promoting biomass utilization in thermal power plants. His responsibilities include stakeholder coordination, market analysis, and capacity-building initiatives to support India’s clean energy transition.

Monika Merdekawati is a research analyst of ACE's sustainable and renewable energy department with over 8 years of experience in renewable energy.

She is responsible for the engagement with government officials, dialogue partners, and international organisations for any renewable energy-related initiatives to align with the regional energy cooperation blueprint, known as APAEC.
She has published various studies, commentaries, and academic paper covering renewable energy policies, financing issues, just energy transition, coal phase-out, innovative solar PV applications, bioenergy, offshore wind, and renewable energy certificate.
Prior to ACE, she was a developer of wind and solar farms in Indonesia, involved in the development of Sidrap Wind Farm. She holds a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Southampton, United Kingdom.