Keynote Speakers
Luiz Guimarães, Senior Partner, Global Co-Lead, Corporate Sustainability & Climate Change, ERM
Luis is a global citizen committed to accelerating the transition to a low carbon economy. Graduate training in environmental policy and finance. Technical, commercial and operational (P&L) experience in the Americas, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Sahara Africa. Inspired by a net zero path that includes carbon removals and reductions, underpinned by science-based carbon accounting and a just transition. Partners with clients to inform and accelerate their decarbonization journey. Track record with carbon risk management, due diligence, data disclosure readiness (from an assurance perspective), and lender-driven social and environmental impact assessment. Member of ERM’s NA Executive Leadership Team and Global Senior Leadership Team.
Scott Tinker, Director, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin
Scott works to bring industry, government, academia, and nongovernmental organizations together to address major societal challenges in energy, the environment, and the economy. Dr. Tinker is Director of the 250-person Bureau of Economic Geology, the State Geologist of Texas, and a professor holding the Allday Endowed Chair in the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin. With Director Harry Lynch, Tinker coproduced and is featured in the award-winning energy documentary films Switch and Switch On, which have been screened in over 50 countries and used on thousands of campuses worldwide.
Dr. Tinker formed, and serves as Chairman of, the nonprofit Switch Energy Alliance, whose materials appear from schools to board rooms globally. Tinker is the voice of EarthDate, which is featured weekly on over 425 public radio stations in all 50 United States. In his visits to some 60 countries, Scott has given nearly 1000 keynote and invited lectures. In 2022, Dr. Tinker presented a TEDx talk on The Dual Challenge: Energy and Environment. Scott is an angel investor and has helped bring companies from startup to acquisition.
His writing has appeared in publications ranging from Forbes to Scientific American. Dr. Tinker has served as president of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). He is an AGI Campbell Medalist, AAPG Halbouty Medalist, GCAGS Boyd Medalist, American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) Parker Medalist, and a Geological Society of America (GSA) Fellow.
Panelists
Kris Agarwal, Partner, Corporate & Financial Services, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Kris Agarwal is a partner in the Corporate & Financial Services Department and the Private Equity Practice Group. He focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions and corporate finance, and has more than two decades of experience across the full spectrum of private equity advisory work, in both private practice and at top global private equity firms.
Kris has significant experience advising on venture capital and growth/buyout fundraising initiatives, deal structuring, deal execution, and portfolio company oversight related to investments in an array of industries and sectors, including media, energy, technology, cybersecurity and cryptocurrency.
Juan Agudelo, Head of Energy Transition, Welligence
Juan is the Head of the Energy Transition practice at Welligence Energy Analytics, where he leads the Company’s efforts on expanding the GHG emissions solutions and designing the Carbon Capture and Storage offering.
Before joining Welligence, Juan was for 7 years a Director of Consulting at Wood Mackenzie, where he led engagements with energy companies, governments, and financial institutions.
Before consulting, Juan spent 11 years at Ecopetrol where he was most recently Strategy Advisor for the Executive Vice-President of Exploration and Production.
Juan’s areas of expertise include energy transition, valuation of energy assets, energy strategy, fiscal terms advisory, and portfolio management. He holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a Specialization in Finance from Andes University, and a BE in Industrial Engineering from Javeriana University
Brett Blankenship, Head of Fundamental Analytics, JERA Americas
Brett Blankenship is the Head of Fundamental Analytics at JERA Americas. He has spent nearly two decades analyzing gas, power, emissions, and renewables markets. He has a strong background in building models and leveraging large, complex datasets into digestible commercial insights. His prior experience includes Wood Mackenzie and American Electric Power. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
Marco Biersinger, Director, Oil and Gas Corporate Finance, Kroll
Marco Biersinger is a director in Kroll’s Oil and Gas Corporate Finance group, based in Mexico City. He leverages over 10 years of experience in advising multinational clients globally. He focuses on the Energy and Infrastructure sectors and has worked across the hydrocarbon value chain, advising private sector companies and SOEs, as well as renewable energy producers and developers.
Marco has broad expertise in M&A, structured and corporate financing transactions across the capital structure, restructuring and valuation of infrastructure and energy assets. He has also provided business development advisory to corporate clients, strategic advisory to governments and regulators regarding energy sector strategy and has acted as expert witness in international investment arbitration proceedings.
Prior to joining Duff & Phelps, later becoming Kroll, Marco worked at Morgan Stanley Capital Internacional and EY in Germany and Mexico.
Marcella Burke, Partner, Eversheds Sutherland
Marcella Burke of Houston, Texas is Managing Partner of Burke Law Group PLLC, a full-service energy, infrastructure, and environmental commercial law firm. Burke practiced law in AmLaw 100 law firms, where she earned equity partnership, and lead a front-of-market environmental practice. She was appointed by the President to serve in the Environmental Protection Agency as Deputy General Counsel, and in the Department of Interior as Deputy Solicitor for Energy and Natural Resources. Governor Abbott appointed Burke as one of four members of the School Land Board, which manages the sale, leasing and permits of 13 million acres of state lands.
Burke serves in leadership roles with the State Bar of Texas Environmental Division, the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, and the Institute for Energy Law. Additionally, she is the Founder of the Law Mom Endowment at the University of Houston Law Center, and Chickasaw National Family Flourishing Endowment, both of which support women with children in law school. She previously participated in numerous judicial clerkships and externships including in federal district court, the fifth circuit, and the Texas Supreme Court. Burke received a Bachelor of Arts from Texas A&M University and a JD from the University of Houston Law Center, as well as two fellowships in Constitutional Law. She and her husband, Steve, have four young boys.
Ed Crooks, Vice‐chair, Americas, Wood Mackenzie
Ed Crooks joined Wood Mackenzie in 2019 as Vice-Chair, Americas. Based in New York, he covers the full range of commodities, technologies and sectors, with a particular focus on climate policy, economics and the energy transition. He writes Wood Mackenzie's popular Energy Pulse newsletter, analysing the latest developments in the world of energy.
Before Wood Mackenzie, he was an award-winning energy editor for the Financial Times, first in London and then in New York. He joined the FT in 1999 as economics editor. He previously worked as an economics correspondent for BBC News, a reporter for Investor’s Chronicle magazine, and an economic researcher at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He also served on the UK government’s Sustainable Development Commission. Ed has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University.
Hind Farag, Founder, Transform Business Coaching & Consulting
Hind Farag is an energy industry executive coach and leadership consultant, and the founder of Transform Business Coaching and Consulting. She supports the development of senior leaders, facilitates leadership team alignment, and provides strategy recommendations to help navigate ESG, D&I, data analytics and similar disruptions. Hind also partners with seasoned industry professionals on pivoting their careers and businesses for optimizing potential during a historic transformational juncture.
Hind has a track record in launching, developing and leading successful energy analytics, research, and consulting practice areas. She also has the reputation of developing and empowering industry executives and thought leaders. And her subject matter expertise in power & renewables and energy transitions equips her to provide highly relevant consulting and coaching services to energy executives during a pivotal phase for the industry.
Most recently, Ms. Farag was the Head of Global Commodity Analytics at Wood Mackenzie, part of Verisk Analytics, a Fortune 500 company. She was responsible for leading a major reorganization effort involving about 200 employees in 20 teams across more than 10 global locations to prepare WoodMac for capitalizing on the opportunities presented by sustainability/energy transitions dynamics. These teams provided fundamental market analytics for the power and renewables, oil, gas, NGLs, and metals and mining sectors.
Prior to that, Hind worked with the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center as the Energy Transitions Program Director. She also worked with CERA (IHS Markit), Ventyx (an ABB company), and Pace Global Energy Services (a Siemens Business). Ms. Farag and her teams provided key energy industry players with market assessments, asset valuations, regulatory compliance analyses, and fundamental supply, demand and price forecasting. Her subject matter expertise spans the areas of energy demand, industry analytics, power and renewables, energy transitions, and commodity markets.
Hind holds a bachelor degree in Business Administration and an MBA, both from the American University in Cairo.
RoseAnne Franco, Partner, Corporate Sustainability & Climate Change, ERM
RoseAnne Franco is a Partner in the Corporate Sustainability & Climate Change practice at ERM. She is an expert in risk and sustainability advising companies in energy, chemicals and extractives at various stages of their ESG journey.
She has a keen understanding of the changing business context vis-a-vis sustainability and is a respected strategic advisor helping corporates navigate dynamic commercial and risk environments. She has extensive experience in developing strategy, valuing assets and evaluating value creation while at Wood Mackenzie. At ERM, she has focused on how companies will respond to sustainability vis-à-vis climate change, with a focus on reporting and climate disclosure (e.g., TCFD). Most recently, she is advising companies on decarbonization and operationalizing their Net Zero journey.
Prior to joining ERM, RoseAnne was head of the Oil & Gas portfolio at leading global data analytics firm, Verisk Maplecroft. She is a regular speaker on trends, such as competitiveness, sustainability & climate change at international fora (e.g., IPIECA) and C-suite events.
She holds a BA in Economics and Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
Vera De Brito de Gyarfas, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, NextDecade
Vera de Gyarfas joined NextDecade as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in July 2021 and is responsible for all legal and contractual matters affecting NextDecade. De Gyarfas is a skilled corporate attorney with more than 28 years of experience in the areas of energy and natural resources, LNG, general corporate law, contract negotiations, negotiations with host governments, and mergers & acquisitions . Prior to joining NextDecade, de Gyarfas was a partner in Mayer Brown’s Houston office and a member of the Oil & Gas industry group. Previously, she was a partner at King & Spalding and worked with the firm for a total of eight years in the global transactions practice group. De Gyarfas was also a partner at Travieso, Evans, Arria, Rengel & Paz, a large Venezuelan law firm with a strong focus in general corporate, tax, labor, litigation, administrative, regulatory, alternative dispute resolution, and environmental areas. De Gyarfas was recognized as a 2016 Women in Energy Honoree by Texas Lawyer, is ranked in the Legal 500 2019 Power list as an expert in Mexico’s energy sector, and is ranked in Chambers Global 2020 for Energy and Natural Resources as an expert in the US for Venezuela. She was also recommended in Legal 500 Latin America 2018, and listed as a leading practitioner in the International Who’s Who of Oil and Gas Lawyers 2018. De Gyarfas holds a JD from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela), and a Master of Laws, from University of Houston. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is a frequent author and speaker on energy topics.
Robert Hebner, Director, Center for Electromechanics, The University of Texas at Austin
Bob Hebner is the Director of the Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. The Center develops power and energy technology, and teams with companies to get emerging technology into the market. Important current projects involve transportation electrification, growth of hydrogen in transportation and electric power, nanodielectrics, and grid resiliency.
Before joining the University of Texas, he spent many years at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), culminating his time there acting as Director. Throughout his career, Dr. Hebner has been active technically having authored or coauthored more than two hundred technical papers and reports. He is a life fellow of the IEEE.
Matt Kapinos, Partner, Akin Gump
Matt Kapinos guides energy and infrastructure clients through all phases of drafting and negotiating agreements for the purchase, sale, development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects.
His experience spans a range of energy assets, including, upstream, midstream and downstream assets, renewable and traditional power, oilfield services, liquefied natural gas (LNG), petrochemical and related engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) matters.
Prior to practicing law, Matt spent five years on active duty as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. His service included combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Moji Karimi, Co‐Founder and CEO, CEMVITA Factory
Moji is a carbon-negative entrepreneur, and a technology futurist. His mission is to create a sustainable future where humans have applied technology to balance the rate of climate change. A future where humans live in harmony with nature. As an operator, he has a track record of taking a range of multidisciplinary ideas to market. The fruits of this experience became Cemvita Factory, a company that Moji started with his sister Tara. In his role, Moji serves a team of passionate scientists and engineers on a mission to reimagine the heavy industries for a net-zero economy. This is done by genetic engineering of microbes that enable carbon-negative solutions across oil and gas, chemical, and mining industries.
Carey King, Assistant Director, Research Scientist, UT Energy Institute
Dr. Carey W King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. Carey’s research goals center on rigorous interpretations of the past to determine the most probable future energy pathways. He reaches these goals by bridging the gaps between economic and biophysical (or ecological) worldviews of economic growth and structural change.
Carey is author of the book The Economic Superorganism: Beyond the Competing Narratives on Energy, Growth, and Policy. He has also authored dozens of journal articles and reports spanning topics of electricity and the electric grid, life cycle assessment, water and energy systems, and economics. Carey is a Research Scientist at The University of Texas at Austin and Assistant Director at the Energy Institute.
Josh Loftus, Director, Energy Markets, EY
Josh Loftus is a Director in the EY Energy Markets group, based in Houston Texas. Josh leads account strategy across EY services for Oil & Gas clients and commercialization of EY’s Energy Transition solutions. Josh has more than 20 years infrastructure experience, including product development, gas-to-power, distributed energy networks, financing and capital structuring as well as global oil & gas project development. This broad experience across the infrastructure landscape provides a versatile foundation to help shape the future of the energy industry.
Prior to re-joining EY, Josh was President and Chief Development Officer at Mexico Pacific Limited (MPL), a private equity backed LNG developer. Before MPL, Josh spent nearly 12 years at General Electric, including global leader for Gas Processing and Distributed Gas Solutions at GE Oil & Gas and managing director of Energy financing at GE Capital. Josh started his career in product and infrastructure development at Sprint. Josh holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Business Management from the University of Missouri at Columbia and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
Greg Matlock, Americas Energy Transition and Renewable Energy Leader, EY
Greg has significant experience regarding the energy transition for traditional natural resource-based businesses, including carbon capture use and sequestration (and Section 45Q), waste-to-energy, hydrogen (blue, green, and other variants), biomass and biofuels, geothermal, and certain other energy efficient sources.Greg also has significant experience in wind, solar, and energy storage, including structuring investments, tax equity structures, and analyzing after-tax returns.
He has extensive experience in U.S. federal income tax planning and structuring for transactions involving partnerships and corporations, with particular emphasis on energy-related investments and transactions throughout the energy spectrum. He also has material structuring and planning engagements for energy transactions and capital market transactions and capital raise experience throughout the Americas and Globally, including energy structures and investments.
Mr. Matlock is the former Chair of the Houston Bar Association Tax Section, and, prior to re-joining EY, Greg was a Partner at Mayer Brown LLP, where he led the firm’s Energy Transition practice. Greg will be teaching at Energy Taxation and Energy Transition at the University of Houston Law School in the Fall of 2022. He serves as the Chair of the Energy and Natural Resource Committee for the State Bar of Texas Tax Section, as well as Vice Chair of the Leadership Academy.
Greg is a frequent speaker (and writer) on energy and energy tax issues, and he has been published, appeared, or has spoken in the following: P3, Power Magazine, Reuters, Practising Law Institute, Tax Equity Times, Oil & Gas Investor Magazine, Oil & Gas Financial Journal, Oil & Gas Investor Capital Formation Supplement, Houston Chronicle, Financial Times, Houston Business Journal, BNA, Inc. Daily Tax Real Time, Natural Gas Intelligence – The Weekly Gas Market Report, SNL Energy, SNL Energy – Gas Utility Week, Bloomberg BNA MLP, Louisiana Energy Conference, Tax Executives Institute, Capital Link Annual MLP Forum, American Petroleum Institute’s Federal Tax Forum, Energy M&A and Financing Forum, Texas CEO Magazine, Oil and Gas Eurasia, FuelFix, Oil, Gas, and Energy Law Journal, Midstream Business, American Oil & Gas Journal, IPAA and the IPAA Private Capital Conference, and others.
Katie Mehnert, CEO and Founder, ALLY Energy
The modern architect of the energy workforce, Katie Mehnert is the Founder and CEO of ALLY Energy™ the community accelerating connections, jobs, and skills to drive an equitable energy transition. ALLY Energy is an inaugural member of Greentown Labs Houston, the top climate tech incubator in North America.
Ms. Mehnert has held global leadership roles with BP and Shell in safety and environment during periods of financial crisis, spills, divestment, and globalization. Her early career included assignments with Duke Energy, Entergy, and Enron. Her corporate path drove her to entrepreneurship to help energy companies prepare for the looming talent shortage and workforce diversity needs to address energy poverty and climate change.
She was appointed Ambassador to the United States Department of Energy in 2020 during the Trump Administration and has testified before Congress on the clean energy workforce of the future. She was most recently appointed by the Biden Administration to the National Petroleum Council. She’s also an Energy Institute Fellow and an advisor to Clean Energy for America.
Ms. Mehnert is a speaker, author, and trusted source in the energy industry. She has been published in Scientific American, Forbes, The Hill, CNBC, CNN. Her first book, Grow with the Flow, was published in 2020. She most recently co-authored Everyday Superheroes: Women in Energy, a children’s book focused on energy careers. Mrs. Mehnert also has appeared in Hot Money, a documentary produced by Academy Award winning actor, Jeff Bridges and Retired NATO General Wesley Clark on the financial complexities of climate change and finance.
Katie is a four-time World Major marathoner having completed London, Chicago, New York and Berlin. Her husband is Vice President of Legal with Baker Hughes. They live with their 11-year-old daughter, Ally, in Houston.
Assaad Mohanna, Partner, Sustainable Energies, ERM
Assaad Mohanna is an expert in decarbonization pathways advising companies in the Energy sector on low carbon solutions and decarbonization strategies.
Assaad spent most of his career in upstream oil and gas and has first hand operational experience managing large integrated projects at a global scale. He has expertise in developing strategy, identifying opportunities and creating value into the new energies space, from his work as Sr. Director of Low Carbon Solutions at NOV. At ERM, he has focused on CCUS, Hydrogen and Ammonia strategy, which are some of the decarbonization pathways supported under the newly formed group that he now leads, Sustainable Energies.
Assaad is also passionate about giving back, and is a strong advocate to displaced populations and their rights to access education. With his friends he has founded a pioneering leadership coaching program given to high school student refugees recently settled in the Houston area.
He is a licensed Professional Engineer, is a Mechanical Engineer by training, and holds an MBA from Rice University.
David Mora, VP, Carbon Solutions, NextDecade
David Mora is an energy executive and investor with a differentiated perspective gained through leading diverse teams in operating entities and various investment funds within the energy and infrastructure sectors. He has a proven track record of identifying overlooked opportunities and turning them into tangible value via acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, recapitalization, restructurings and partnerships.
Throughout his career he has enjoyed tackling critical challenges at small companies as much as those presented by large, well established entities. This diverse experience allows him to assess what is required for each new situation rather than trying to replicate what worked the previous time. David is now focused on deploying carbon capture solutions at scale while becoming increasingly convinced that an “all of the above” and very pragmatic approach is required to achieve global net zero ambitions.
Grant Pribilski, Asset Director CCS West, Talos Energy
Grant Pribilski leads Talos Low Carbon Solutions’ Texas assets. There he oversees the commercial, corporate, and development activities related to Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) with a focus on strategic partnerships, portfolio planning and management, project execution and growth opportunities in the emerging blue economy. With the support of his exceptional co-workers, he has played a leading role in Talos Energy’s diversification beyond traditional oil and gas exploration and production into the energy transition space.
Grant graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Business Administration from the McCombs School of Business, the University of Texas at Austin.
Dan Romito, Consulting Partner, Pickering Energy Partners
Dan Romito is a Consulting Partner at Pickering Energy Partners (PEP). His career has predominantly focused on capital markets technology solutions, investor analytics, and ESG implementation. He has advised several hundred private and public companies spanning across regions, market caps, and sectors on how to optimize and implement ESG-related directives within their respective corporate strategies. He has substantial experience helping companies in the Energy, Industrial, Materials, and Utility spaces navigate ESG-focused data providers, frameworks, disclosures, and the corresponding investor landscapes.
His experience and research on the capital markets, particularly ESG, Index/ETF Ownership, and Shareholder Activism, have been featured in a variety of global periodicals, including Harvard Business Review, CNBC, Bloomberg, Global Investor Magazine, and IR Magazine.
He is a Board Member of the Energy ESG Council and is an Adjunct Professor at Marquette University, where he teaches ESG implementation, strategy, and certification.
He holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University.
Alex Rozenfeld, Managing Director and Founder, Climate Impact Capital
Alex Rozenfeld founded Climate Impact Capital, LLC in 2016, filling the market gap for early-stage ClimateTech companies and strategic investors. With 25 years of energy and innovation experience, he has been a leading voice for deep corporate partnerships with start-ups to accelerate climate change solutions.
Alex has been investing since 2001, including hydrogen, fuel cells, Agtech, EV infrastructure, and grid resiliency.
Alex is an active supporter of the energy entrepreneurship community through The Center for Houston’s Future, Advisory Board of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, and Advisory Council for the Houston Advanced Research Center. Notable past roles include President at Shell Technology Ventures, LLC. His work also includes international roles, such as the Advisory Board to the Energy Innovation Initiative at World Economic Forum (WEF).
Under Alex’s leadership, Climate Impact Capital launched Texas Innovates in 2019, a non-profit hardtech incubator working on energy and water challenges, where Alex is President of the BoD.
Alex also co-founded CIC Energy Holdings in 2021 to bring solar microgrids and resiliency to underrepresented communities.
Alex holds BSE magna cum laude and an International Policy certificate from Princeton University, and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
Jeanne‐Mey Sun, Vice President, Sustainability, NRG
Jeanne-Mey Sun serves as Vice President, Sustainability, at NRG Energy, Inc., where she leads the company’s sustainability strategy. Key priorities include working to achieve NRG’s target of having a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050 and advancing sustainability solutions and standards for new and existing NRG customers.
Prior to joining NRG, Jeanne-Mey was Executive, Energy Transition and Clean Energy Solutions at Baker Hughes Company, the global energy technology company. At Baker Hughes, she led the development and operationalization of the company’s energy transition strategy which included writing the company’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, building a portfolio of low carbon solutions, and working with key customers on joint carbon footprint reduction efforts. Other leadership roles at Baker Hughes included leading strategic growth initiatives and corporate strategy. Prior to Baker Hughes, Jeanne-Mey was Vice President, Strategy at Sysco Corporation, the global foodservice marketer, distributor, and supply chain company, and Principal at global management consultancy A.T. Kearney, where she served clients in multiple industries including consumer products, retail, and automotive.
Dr. Sun earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, an M.A. in European Economic Studies from the College of Europe in Brugge, Belgium, and a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from the University of Toronto.
Jeanne-Mey is active in the Houston, innovation, and clean-tech ecosystem communities. She is a member of the Greater Houston Partnership and its Energy Advisory and Executive Women’s Partnership committees. She has consulted for the Center for Houston’s Future and is active in its low carbon energy initiatives. She is a member of the Carbon Leadership Council of the Carbon-to-Value Initiative, serves on the Rice University Carbon Hub Advisory Panel and the Rice University Clean Energy Accelerator Advisory Board, is a member of the Rice University Baker Institute working group on carbon capture and hydrogen in the Texas industrial sector, has served as an advisor on the Rice Alliance Energy Advisory Board, has mentored energy-focused start-ups at Rice’s OwlSpark start-up accelerator, and serves as a judge in the annual Rice Business Plan Competition. She has been recognized as a “Climate and Sustainability Champion”, by ALLY Energy and as a “Trailblazer” by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce for industry, career, and community leadership.
Hill Vaden, Executive Director, Product and Operations, Global Energy to Finance, S&P Global
Hill Vaden is Executive Director of Product and Operations within S&P Global Commodity Insights Investing in Energy team. He is responsible for directing business operations and leading go-to-market initiatives for Commodity Insights energy solutions that serve the global financial sector.
Hill joined IHS Markit (now S&P Global) in 2012 and has led research-product strategy and operations within the energy division’s upstream and gas-and-power business lines.
Prior to joining IHS Markit, Hill spent more than five years at Wood Mackenzie where he served as Senior Analyst with the North American Upstream Research team. There, he worked with energy and financial clients on projects that included asset valuation, oil-and-gas production forecasting, and corporate analysis.
From 2006-07, Hill covered the domestic U.S. natural gas industry with SNL Energy (now S&P Global Market Intelligence).
Hill holds an MBA from Rice University, and B.A. from the University of the South – Sewanee.
Melany Vargas, Head of Hydrogen Consulting, Wood Mackenzie
Melany leads the Global Hydrogen Consulting Practice at Wood Mackenzie. She has supported a number of established energy companies and new developers as they grow their footprint in or enter low-carbon H2 markets, including developing market entry strategies, screening for regions and opportunities, developing analysis and reports for policy and regulatory advocacy, and performing commercial due diligence and capital raise efforts across the hydrogen value chain. She has also supported the development of Wood Mackenzie’s proprietary hydrogen modelling capabilities across low-carbon hydrogen supply, demand and technoeconomic analysis.
Melany has extensive experience solving strategic problems for clients across the energy value chain, including oilfield service companies, E&Ps, IOCs, gas and NGL infrastructure and logistics, chemicals, utilities and mining. Since 2015, she has focused her career on applying her deep expertise in fossil fuel value chains to solving Energy Transition issues, and supporting clients as they evaluate the technologies needed to achieve decarbonization targets.
Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, Melany worked in Accenture’s Energy Strategy practice in Houston. In 2016, she was selected to serve as the project manager and lead author for the World Energy Council’s World Energy Scenarios 2060 (published in 2016), a process that involved engagement with senior executives and policy stakeholders across all regions and parts of the energy value chain and evaluated a broad spectrum of potentially disruptive technologies. She is also currently working on a hydrogen study for the DOE on behalf of the National Petroleum Council, leading the Task Group on Integrative Economics and partnering with MIT on the modeling efforts required for all chapters of the study.
Melany holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs with a specialty in Energy Management and Policy. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Maryland.