Speakers at this Event

Son-U Michael Paik is the CEO at GRC Solutions Korea. With over 25 years of experience as an attorney and consultant, Michael specializes in working with Clients to design and build AI-assisted systems for governance, risk management and compliance (GRC), as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.  Michael holds a JD from Columbia Law School and an MBA from Yale's School of Management, and is certified as a GRC Professional and Auditor by OCEG, a global leader in governance, risk management and compliance education & certification.  He is also a MindStudio Certified AI-App Developer.

Mr Naveen Ahlawat presently leads the Power to X vertical of Jindal Steel & Power, he is responsible for the development of Green Steel, Green Hydrogen, CCSU initiatives across the group.  He has accumulated over 13 years of experience in various fields including manufacturing of speciality chemicals, coal gasification & co-products marketing, integrated steel plants (brown & green field)

Naveen started his career as process engineer with Jubilant Organosys Limited and subsequently moved to Reliance Industries as operations manager in petrochemical vertical.  He became part of the executive team, leading to the world’s first coal gasification based DRI plant in Angul, Odisha.

Naveen spearheaded group procurement function in Jindal Steel and Power via various disruptions in supply chain in the last 4 years, to ensured availability of the material since the beginning of the Covid-19 pamdemic.  Jindal Steel & Power is the only steel company in India that has posted 12 percent growth in Q1 & Q2 of 2020-2021.

Naveen graduated as a chemical engineer with Hons from Government Engineering College, Thrissur, in Kerala and received his MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Patrick Buergi is a sustainability entrepreneur and expert with 22 of experience in carbon markets, climate policy, corporate sustainability and impact investing. He is a co-founder of both the myclimate Foundation in 2002 and South Pole in 2006. 

In mid 2022, Patrick relocated to Tokyo to lead the establishment of South Pole’s presence in Japan. In addition, Patrick also acts as a Senior Innovation Advisor within South Pole working across a portfolio of innovation and R&D initiatives, including Net Zero strategies, carbon removals (CDR), regenerative agriculture, plastic stewardship and digital growth opportunities, for example.

Xinyi Shen is a Researcher and the China Team Lead at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). In this role, she is responsible for leading analytical research on China's power systems, the steel industry, and air pollution. Currently, her research is focused on decarbonising the steel sector, and she has published several briefings on monitoring the development of China's steel sector.

Prior to joining CREA, Xinyi served as the Global Campaigner at the Global Air Pollution Unit of Greenpeace East Asia. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science from Zhejiang University and a master's degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Currently, she is also pursuing an MBA degree at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

Coming from a finance & economics background at Warwick University, Øyvind has been an integral part of Vestre's strategic plans to become the world's most sustainable furniture company. Starting as a controller back in 2016, he has been part of the company from a small Nordic player, to a truly international actor. Today he heads up the sustainability efforts of the company, from raw materials to new business models.

Joined Mitsui O.S.K.Lines, Ltd. in 2005 and spent most of the career with traditional shipping sector including tanker and RORO
vessel business. Now he heads the Carbon Removal team in Carbon Solution Development Unit which was formed April this year
(2024), and is in charge of CDR procurement, project investment related with CDR, and carbon credit trading. 

Martin Smith graduated from Imperial College, London with a degree in Process Metallurgy in 1987.  An initial engagement with the steel industry started with British Steel Teesside both before and during study.  This was followed by employment with the then Davy McKee Iron and Steel group with a focus on iron and steelmaking related technologies.  Following overseas secondments to many of the world’s most famous iron and steel makers for commissioning and troubleshooting type roles, Martin was promoted to become Manager of Process Engineering and then to Head of Blast Furnace Technology whilst the company transformed through various guises to be the Primetals that is now a leader in the iron and steel technology supplier market.  Martin has now taken a permanent transfer to the Primetals Taiwan office with a responsibility for business development over iron and steel technologies in the Asia region.  Martin is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, a member for its Iron and Steel Division subcommittee and a nominated reviewer of papers for the Ironmaking and Steelmaking journal.

Alvin Lee is Regional Head for APAC at Puro.earth, the world’s leading crediting platform for engineered carbon removal. He is responsible for leading the company’s regional engagement with developers of negative emissions technology projects which are aligned to methodologies within Puro Standard, as well as engaging with corporations which are active in voluntary carbon markets and stakeholders including financial institutions, exchanges, and regulators.

Prior to joining Puro.earth, Mr. Lee served as Head of Southeast Asia Coverage at MSCI, and at IHS Markit, now part of S&P Global, where he worked with governments and exchanges on their ESG disclosure regimes and carbon credit registries. He started his career in JPMorgan’s Risk Management Advisory team and is the author of the CorporateMetrics Technical Document.
Mr. Lee received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering from Stanford University. He is now based in Singapore with Puro.earth, a partner company of Nasdaq, and is a member of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

Kenta has over 10 years of experience as a journalist and a research analyst. Prior to Transition Asia, he led multiple projects at a London-based news agency, the Japanese embassy, the American embassy, and London Stock Exchange group. With a primary focus on sustainable investment, corporate ESG assessment, and consulting services for Japanese players, his responsibilities extended from primary research to engagement with a variety of stakeholders including private corporations and governments.

Cameron, originally from Perth, has started and operated several companies in the sectors of renewable energy, SAAS, & Investments for a decade, with a background in 5+ coal & iron ore mine sites. Cameron set up one of the first renewable energy broking platforms which he ran as founder & CEO for 7 years. During that time the company won start-up of the year & Cameron was awarded finalist for entrepreneur of the year. For the past 3-4 years Cameron has been involved in the Venture Capital sector in Australia. In particular, addressing climate challenges and Venture building solutions into Climate & infrastructure companies. Cameron is a firm believer that not only is climate the single biggest challenge facing our world today, but that the biggest business opportunities of this generation will be
the emerging green energy & decarbonisation solutions.

Erik Rylander has +20 years’ experience from the energy industry. In recent years with focus on circular economy business development. Today Erik is Commercial Director of Stockholm Exergi’s CDR program with the short-term objective to establish a business model and commercial framework for permanent removals incl. securing the revenues that will allow Exergi to invest in a BECCS plant capturing 800.000 tons biogenic CO2 p.a. starting 2028.

Antoinette has over 10 years experience in the field of energy and decarbonization. She is Energy Strategy Manager at Tata Steel Netherlands, a company in the midst of the transition towards clean, green and circular steel making. Prior to Tata Steel, she worked for 5 years at McKinsey & Company, supporting many different clients with always a focus on energy and decarbonization: from industrials, energy providers, OEMs, to grid operators and governments. Antoinette also has a background in (renewable) energy trading.

Gaku Ito is an executive officer in charge of domestic sales for Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. , the biggest Japanese electric-arc-furnace-steel producer which makes both of flats and beams. Tokyo Steel has the top market-share of H beams and the first company to produce hot rolled coils from scraps in Japan. The production has increased from 2.2 million to 3.6 million tons for 4 years even though domestic demand of steel has been shrinking. And Tokyo steel’s pricing of steel scraps is regarded as an indicator of the world steel market.

Gaku had been responsible for export sales at Tokyo headquarters since he entered the company in 1994. Gaku has abundant experience especially in HRC trade with various areas such as North America, Europe, China and other Asian countries. Now Gaku promotes sales of EAF steel as a green steel to eco-friendly customers as the executive branch manager of Osaka. Gaku is also a member of Green EV steel project which is a special task force for development of green steel for automotive industry.

Moriyama is the CEO of Carbon Xtract Corporation, a developer of direct air capture technology and solutions based on separation membranes. Before joining Carbon Xtract, he spent 15 years at Sojitz Corporation, one of the major Japanese trading and investment houses. There, he was responsible for sales and investment management in its metal resources business division, and for new business development related to nanomaterials and climate tech solutions. In 2023, Sojitz and Kyushu University, which has advanced R&D in direct air capture technology that captures and condenses CO2 simply by passing air through a membrane system, jointly established Carbon Xtract. At that time, he was appointed as CEO.

Azlan is the managing director for Green Steel of WA. He has a background in engineering and project development with almost 25 years of experience in study, project, program and operations management both locally and internationally. His experience spans mining and metals, chemicals and energy. He has a record of successfully delivering projects and studies from early phase development through to feasibility studies, detailed design, construction and commissioning, often under difficult and ambiguous conditions.

More recently, Azlan and team of like-minded entrepreneurs and technical experts have come together, partnering with Danieli Group to create Green Steel of WA, a company whose objective is to create a sustainable steelmaking industry in Western Australia.

Alcom is a Singapore based  company with a global foot print. It focuses on developing waste agri Biomass based Carbon removals projects – (Biochar) Globally.

At the helm of Alcom is Prateek Tiwari who brings over 23 years of global work experience in Carbon markets and Biofuels. He had previously worked for ED&F Man in London and in the Philippines, where he set up and managed a joint venture with Shell Philippines for Biofuels and low carbon fuels distribution. He then worked  for Bunge (A NYSE company) in UK and Singapore, Vitol (Singapore) and Trafigura (Singapore).

Alcom focusses on developing carbon removal projects – CDR from agri biomass waste through its unique combined heat and power technology(CHPB).

Prateek has a Master’s Degree in Applied Economics and Specialist Master’s MSc Energy, Trade & Finance from Bayes Business School(Formerly Cass Business School), London.

Fabio Passaro is a Senior Transition Policy Analyst at the Climate Bonds Initiative. Fabio leads the hard-to-abate sectors' transition policy work steam, and develops policy reports, blogs, and briefs on the net-zero transition, promoting the role of sustainable finance in meeting climate targets. He has authored several policy papers on these sectors' transition, including "The role of policymakers in mobilising private finance to ensure a credible and just transition in steel and cement",  and "A Fork in the Road for the Global Steel Sector." He is an energy transition and governance graduate from the Centre International de Formation Européenne and holds the CFA UK level 4 certificate in climate and investing.

Runeel Daliah is a Principal Analyst at Lux Research where he brings deep expertise to the company’s Energy Transition coverage, focusing on strategic opportunities within the evolving energy landscape. Runeel’s expertise lies in the fields of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), the Hydrogen Economy, and Low-Carbon Fuels. Runeel is a trusted advisor to major global energy, materials, and chemicals companies, helping them navigate the intersection of traditional energy systems and emerging low-carbon technologies.

Jiro is the Strategist for ACT Commodities in Japan. After a stint in ACT’s hub for APAC in Singapore, he opened the Tokyo office in May 2024.

In this role, he is responsible to engage with a variety of stakeholders and develop decarbonization strategies for corporates through renewable energy and carbon markets including transition to a sustainable path.  He has worked with governments and multilateral organizations in the development of mitigation projects, and he is currently using this experience to create international climate-related projects, involving different types of technologies, such as CDR.

Jiro has more than 15 years of experience in the areas of climate change and sustainability, working for both, the public and private sector.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and has a master’s degree in development from Hiroshima University. He also obtained a certification in climate and renewable energy finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.

Kentaro Yamaguchi is currently Group Manager of Overseas Hydrogen Supply Chain Group, Hydrogen Business Dept., in ENEOS Corporation. His responsibility is to conduct priority measures as follows to launch hydrogen supply chain in Japan with stability and mega scale leveraging ENEOS’ existing refinery assets.  This include cooperation with overseas countries/partners where CO2-free hydrogen is abundant to establish stable hydrogen supply to Japan, and accelerating ENEOS’ lower carbon business prospects, including the commercialization of upstream hydrogen business opportunities.

Kentaro joined ENEOS (formerly Nippon Oil Corporation) in 2003 and since then accumulated 20 years of experience in wide variety of fields including integration of refinery operations, supply and trading of crude oil and products (including overseas assignments in Singapore), and most recently initiated startup investments under ENEOS’ corporate venturing.

Kentaro holds a Bachelor of Law from Keio University in Tokyo and currently enrolling in Executive Master of Business Administration from Keio University.

As the hydrogen business expert, he worked at Toshiba, the Australian Trade and Investment Committee (AUSTRADE), Hitachi affiliation company, Mitsubishi HC Capital, and Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha.

Also, he took lectures about the GX business (mainly hydrogen and renewable energy) in Japan for European business players who are interested in entering the Japanese market and have conducted a panel moderator of an international hydrogen conference in Japan since 2021.

She joined Wartsila since 1994 and taken the position as Business Development Manager since 2021.
Her responsibility is to develop the sales activities in Japan to be front line toward business customers in Japan.

Kenji is responsible for Strategic Leadership in East Asia to develop and execute a comprehensive business strategy in alignment with global and regional goals by collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure the successful implementation of business plans. Before joining ACME, Kenji gained skills through EPC in industries and biomass power, and hydrogen supply chains at Marubeni.

March 1973 Graduate from Chuo University with a Master's Degree in Economics
1994 - 2022 Representative Port of Zeebrugge
2022 - Representative Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Brent Lakeman is Director for Edmonton Global’s Hydrogen Initiative, where he is leading the Edmonton Metropolitan Region’s activities to position the region as Canada’s preeminent hydrogen hub.
Brent collaborates with other regional partners in the transition to this low carbon fuel.  Activities include working closely with other partners, including the Edmonton Region Hydrogen Hub, to attract industries to the region, support global trade opportunities in clean energy, grow the region’s hydrogen value chain and support economic development within the region.
Brent is leading a number of initiatives to grow hydrogen demand in the Edmonton region, including the 5000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge. 
In 2024, Brent chaired the Canadian Hydrogen Convention, North America’s largest hydrogen conference.
Prior to joining Edmonton Global, Brent served as the Executive Director for teams within the Alberta government focused on the growth and diversification of the province’s economy, with a strong focus on the clean technology, life sciences and digital technology sectors.  He has also had leadership positions within Alberta’s research and innovation system.

Hanna leads Carbo Culture's global climate policy advocacy and activities in the Voluntary Carbon Market. Based out of Brussels and originally Finnish, she has worked on a wide range of topics in this space, with a focus on foresight, strategy and carbon removal policy.

Her prior experience includes working in strategy and policy in Finland at the Prime Minister Sanna Marin's Office. She regularly contributes to policy discussions within the EU and is the Chair for the High Level Climate Policy Working Group at the Negative Emissions Platform.

Peder Osterkamp is Head of Commercial, New Hydrogen Business at Stegra. He is responsible for new business identification, evaluation and early stage development. He has a background in transport from McKinsey and MTR and transitioned to the green industry transition after a year supporting the Climate Champions for COP26 where we worked on decarbonization of the shipping sector.

Sylvia Low is the Director of Business Development for 1PointFive Asia. Oxy Low Carbon Ventures created 1PointFive with the aim of becoming a leader in developing Direct Air Capture facilities worldwide. Sylvia is responsible for developing business opportunities within Asia and Middle East with Carbon Engineering’s DAC technology. Sylvia has more than 20 years of experience in the Oil industry with experience in risk management, market analysis and trading.

Graduating from Chuo University with BA in Economics, Hiroaki Sugimori started off his career working for an investment management company. He joined ANA in 1998 and has over 25 years of experience in the airline industry. In the past 5 years, he has been engaged in various projects pertaining to the control and reduction of GHG emissions within the ANA group with a particularly strong focus on introducing sustainable aviation fuels into the Japanese market.
He and his team have worked very closely with SAF producers in the US to inspect fuel quality at each step of the manufacturing process and other areas critical to usage, including transportation logistics and fuel blending for loading onto aircraft. This successful flight was a major step toward full-scale sustainable aviation fuel use for ANA. With this experience, his team was able to establish a procurement supply chain from Europe to Japan together with a leading European SAF producer. He also played a key role in launching the “SAF Flight Initiative Program” for ANA’s corporate customers.

As of May, 2023.

Yuki Nakama is the project head of CO2-to-CO technology development and demonstration project in R&D center at Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.

The team currently engages to develop CO2 conversion technology with improvement of oxygen carrier material and chemical looping reaction process. That technology will be useful as CCU/Carbon Recycle technology.

Has his master of life sciences, from Tohoku University's graduate School of Life Sciences, Yuki is keenly interested in chemical process design and scale up technology by chemical engineering method. He believes that the technology, which his team is developing, will contribute to achieve carbon neutrality.