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Energy Transitions: Reconciling Competing Imperatives of Development and Environmental SustainabilitySeptember 25, 2018 | 2:30 - 4:30 PM (EST) Venue: The Hub, Convene, 237 Park Avenue, New York, USA

Dr Ajay Mathur Director General, TERI & Co-Chair, Energy Transitions Commission (ETC)

Ajay Mathur is the Director General of TERI - The Energy & Resources Institute, and a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. He was Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in the Government of India from 2006 till February, 2016, and was responsible for bringing energy efficiency into our homes, offices, and factories, through initiatives such as the star labelling programme for appliances, the Energy Conservation Building Code, and the Perform, Achieve and Trade programme for energy-intensive industries. Dr Mathur was earlier with TERI from 1986 to 2000, and then headed the Climate Change Team of World Bank in Washington DC. He was also the President of Suzlon Energy Limited, and headed the interim Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund.

He has been a key Indian climate-change negotiator, and was also the Indian spokesperson at the 2015 climate negotiations at Paris. He is a global leader on technological approaches to address climate change; recently, he joined the global group of industrial, financial and think-tank leaders to co-chair an Energy Transitions Commission which will suggest ways for companies and countries to move towards climate-friendly energy futures.

Mohit Bhargava Head, Corporate Planning, NTPC Limited & Director, EESL and Meja Urja Nigam Limited

Mohit Bhargava, heads the Corporate Planning Department at NTPC Limited, a Maharatna company. NTPC is currently ranked the 12th largest power generating company globally. He is the nominee Director of NTPC on the Boards of its two JV companies, EESL Limited and Meja Urja Nigam Limited. He is an Electrical Engineer by qualification and has undergone leadership training at Harvard Business School and S P Jain Institute in Singapore.

He has a rich experience of over 30 years in the power sector. He started his career as an Executive Engineer Trainee in NTPC and has worked at two prestigious projects at Vindhyachal and Dadri. His experience covers commissioning of power plants, maintenance activities, procurement and planning functions at these stations.

As the Head of Corporate Planning, he has overseen the development of the company’s long term Corporate Plans. He is deeply involved in setting the annual targets, preparing and pushing through the various strategic and growth initiatives like identification and investment approval of new projects; accelerating renewable portfolio; pushing the digital and flexible operation initiative; entry into various adjacencies like e-vehicle infrastructure and storage; reduction in power cost; improving efficiency, etc.

Remy Rioux CEO, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Chairperson for International Development Finance Club (IDFC)

Remy Rioux is the Chairman of the International Development Finance Network (IDFC) and the Chief Executive Officer of Agence Française de Développement (AFD). An expert in public finance, economic governance, and international financial institutions, Rémy Rioux has a proven track record in advancing the sustainable development and climate agendas. He was the lead negotiator of the climate finance agenda of the Paris Agreement. According to its new strategy, the AFD Group has set the objective of becoming “100% compliant with the Paris Agreement”. The IDFC, a network of 23 development finance institutions from all over the world, committed USD 159 billion in climate finance in 2016. The Club is delivering and advocating "to make all financial flows consistent with a pathway towards low-emissions, climate-resilient development" – a key goal of the Paris Agreement.

SUMANT SINHA Chairman & Managing Director, ReNew Power

Sumant Sinha is the Chairman and Managing Director of ReNew Power Limited. ReNew Power is the largest renewable energy IPP in India in terms of total energy generation capacity*. The company has a strong track record of nearly doubling its operational capacity in each of the last three Fiscal Years. As of May 2018, ReNew Power has a total capacity of 5.85 GW**.

Under Mr Sinha’s leadership, ReNew Power has demonstrated its ability to access diversified pools of Indian and international capital, including equity, project finance and corporate debt, from a broad cross-section of investors, lenders and other capital providers.

Mr Sinha holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, a post-graduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and a master’s degree in International Affairs from the Columbia University. He worked as an investment banker in the United States and the United Kingdom at Citicorp Securities and ING Barings Services Limited, respectively, before returning to India as the Group CFO of the Aditya Birla Group and subsequently as the Chief Executive Officer of Aditya Birla Retail. Subsequent to this, he joined Suzlon in 2008 and served as the Chief Operating Officer until 2010.

Mr Sinha has won many awards over the years. Most recently he was recognized as the “Champion of Tomorrow” by CEO Awards and received the “Hall of Fame” award at the India Solar Week Leadership Awards 2018.

Woochong Um Director General, Sustainable Development & Climate Change Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Mr. Woochong Um is Director General of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC) – formerly the Regional and Sustainable Development Department (RSDD) in the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He assumed office in 1 June 2018.

He leads ADB-wide knowledge management and innovation in various thematic and sector operation areas. As the Director General, he is responsible for developing sector and thematic policies, strategies, frameworks and operational plans, encouraging vibrant sector and thematic communities of practice, and developing new business ideas. Previously, he served as The Secretary of ADB, Deputy Director General of Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, and Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Division.

He has Master’s degree in Business Administration from New York University Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Boston College.

Rachel Kyte CEO of Sustainable Energy for All and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All

Rachel Kyte is Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All. She is a leading advocate for sustainable development, and drives SEforALL’s work to mobilize action towards its 2030 goals on universal energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy. As SRSG, she is the UN point person for the global goal on sustainable energy.

Until December 2015 Rachel Kyte served as World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, leading integration of climate across the Bank Group’s work as well as support for an ambitious agreement at the 21st Convention of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 21). She was previously World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development and was the International Finance Corporation Vice President for Business Advisory Services.

A recipient of numerous awards for leadership for climate action and sustainable development, she is a Professor of practice in sustainable development at Tufts’ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.