Agenda
Agenda
Agenda 2024
07:30 – 08:50
Registration and refreshments
08:00 – 11:00
Geopolitics, macroeconomics and key regulatory policy
08:00 – 08:50
Integration of climate risk into risk frameworks
Breakfast workshop
Capturing climate risk, environmental, social and governance reporting, and good practices for risk managers – incorporating risk assessment into climate models.
Mr. Vincent Kaminski has spent 14 years working in different positions related to quantitative analysis and risk management in the merchant energy industry. The companies he worked for include Citigroup, Sempra Energy Trading, Reliant Energy, Citadel Investment Group, and Enron (from 1992 to 2002) where he was the head of the quantitative modeling group. Prior to starting a career in the energy industry, Mr. Kaminski was a Vice-President in the Research Department, Bond Portfolio Analysis Group, of Salomon Brothers in New York (from 1986 to 1992).
As of September 15, 2006, Mr. Kaminski has accepted an academic position with Rice University in Houston (Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business) where he is teaching MBA level classes on energy markets, energy risk management and valuation of energy derivatives. Mr. Kaminski is also teaching classes in the executive education program at the Jones school.
Mr. Kaminski holds an M.S. degree in international economics, a Ph.D. degree in theoretical economics from the Main School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw, Poland, and an MBA from Fordham University in New York. He is a recipient of the 1999 James H. McGraw award for Energy Risk Management (Energy Risk Manager of the Year). Mr. Kaminski published a number of papers, and contributed to several books, on energy markets. His recent publications in the risk management and commodity options pricing areas include: Managing Energy Price Risk, Risk Books, London 1999, all three subsequent editions, editor and coauthor; The Challenge of Pricing and Risk Managing Electricity Derivatives, in: The US Power Market, Risk Publications, London 1997, author; and Energy Modeling. Advances in the Management of Uncertainty, London 2005, editor and coauthor.
08:50 – 09:00
Welcome address
Glenn Labhart has more than 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of
risk management processes and policies and has been a leader in helping the industry define today’s risk environment and plan for the uncertainties of the future.
He is the first energy-industry chief risk officer to receive the Financial Risk Manager of the Year Award from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (“GARP”). Glenn now serves as the Chairman of the Energy Risk Diploma program for GARP.
In March 2004 Glenn Labhart formed Labhart Risk Advisors Inc., providing expertise in risk management that provides a diverse approach for clients requiring expertise in energy, complex modeling and independent valuation.
Glenn is a frequent lecturer and speaker utilizing his subject matter expertise on a variety of legal matters from his direct experience to provide of industry practices to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, business clients and Dynegy.
From August 1997 to March 2004, Glenn was senior vice president and chief risk officer for Dynegy Inc. During the period at Dynegy, Glenn led the independent valuation of due diligence for all mergers and acquisitions that included European, Australian, Latin American and US based transactions; serving as a Board member for subsidiary companies from Dynegy acquisitions.
Glenn’ s career is supported by a BBA from Abilene Christian University, and the Rice University Executive Management Program, Professional memberships include the United State Energy Economics Association, the International Energy Economics Association, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Master of Energy Business program/University of Tulsa.
09:00 – 09:25
Global energy market outlook and risks: a fundamental assessment
Macroeconomics overview
- Global oil and gas market outlook amid heightened geopolitical tension
- Market risks – what the markets can tell us about geopolitics
- What geopolitics suggests about the markets
Dong Fu is the Senior Economist in Corporate Strategic Planning at the ExxonMobil Corporation. He began his career with ExxonMobil in 2007 in Irving, Texas. Before that, Dong worked in the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1997 to 2007. He previously worked in both public and private sectors in China from 1991 to 1994.
In his current capacity Dong advises the senior management of the corporation on economic, financial and policy related issues. He takes the major responsibility of developing the corporate World Economic Outlook, which serves as the foundation of ExxonMobil's Global Outlook. He also assists other corporate departments and business functions in company plan, business strategy and various analyses.
Dong holds a Ph.D in economics from Southern Methodist University and a B.S from Zhejiang University (China). He also received leadership certifications from Thunderbird and the Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is married with two children and enjoys spending time with family, travelling and reading.
09:25 – 09:50
Tackling enforcement risk: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s surveillance focus
Keynote address
Sean K. Collins is the Director of the Division of Analytics and Surveillance (DAS) within the Office of Enforcement (OE) of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Mr. Collins has been with FERC for 15 years. Prior to the formation of DAS, Mr. Collins lead a team within OE that performed detailed market, portfolio, and statistical analysis related to the identification, investigation, and prosecution of market manipulation and other potential violations of federal energy laws. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Collins worked for KPMG, LLP, Marsh Risk Consulting and Arthur Andersen advising the management of electric and natural gas utilities in the areas of trading, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, regulation and compliance, and process improvement. Mr. Collins holds a BA in Economics from Hampden-Sydney College and an MA in Economics from The Pennsylvania State University.
09:50 – 10:30
Navigating global turbulence: chief risk officer insights on economic shifts
Panel discussion
- How organisations have responded to the Inflation Reduction Act, and its notable impacts so far
- Adjustments and innovations impacting trading and risk management in response to the Inflation Reduction Act – how it has affected risk modelling worldwide
- How the geopolitical situation in Russia has affected business operations and risk considerations and balance sheet risk
- The aspects of US regulatory policy that have influenced risk management most
Glenn Labhart has more than 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of
risk management processes and policies and has been a leader in helping the industry define today’s risk environment and plan for the uncertainties of the future.
He is the first energy-industry chief risk officer to receive the Financial Risk Manager of the Year Award from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (“GARP”). Glenn now serves as the Chairman of the Energy Risk Diploma program for GARP.
In March 2004 Glenn Labhart formed Labhart Risk Advisors Inc., providing expertise in risk management that provides a diverse approach for clients requiring expertise in energy, complex modeling and independent valuation.
Glenn is a frequent lecturer and speaker utilizing his subject matter expertise on a variety of legal matters from his direct experience to provide of industry practices to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, business clients and Dynegy.
From August 1997 to March 2004, Glenn was senior vice president and chief risk officer for Dynegy Inc. During the period at Dynegy, Glenn led the independent valuation of due diligence for all mergers and acquisitions that included European, Australian, Latin American and US based transactions; serving as a Board member for subsidiary companies from Dynegy acquisitions.
Glenn’ s career is supported by a BBA from Abilene Christian University, and the Rice University Executive Management Program, Professional memberships include the United State Energy Economics Association, the International Energy Economics Association, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Master of Energy Business program/University of Tulsa.
Nishant Mehra has 15 years of experience in risk management and has broad experience in natural gas, power, and renewable energy credits, including significant experience with complex deal structures. With a commercial mindset and a deep understanding of market operations, risk methodology, and metrics, Nishant has a broad industry background. Prior experience includes working at BP, Sempra, and Noble Americas Energy Solutions.
Spyros Maragos has more than eighteen years' worth of experience as an energy executive. He has held quantitative, structuring, risk management and fundamental analysis positions. He worked in energy marketing, consulting, for an oil major as well as energy hedge funds. Currently, he is Manager, Market Risk Analytics at ExxonMobil.
Spyros has a Ph.D. from M.I.T. where he studied Management, Operations Research and Finance.
Nigeria Bloczynski, Founder and Principal of Prism Risk Management & Consulting, is an expert and proven leader with comprehensive experience in strategic, corporate, credit, market, and commodity risk management in the energy and financial spaces. A master facilitator, she proactively utilizes business savvy, industry knowledge, and best practices to challenge status quo, drive enterprise risk mitigation, and navigate regulatory and organizational boundaries to achieve strategic goals. Nigeria is recognized as a credible and trusted business partner and advisor, influencing, and fostering relationships with key stakeholders, developing, and executing sweeping changes while consistently delivering impactful solutions. Her career has spanned multiple industries, working for an engineering company in the steel space, electric and gas trading companies, financial services corporations to the largest US regional transmission organization. With over 20 years in the energy industry, Nigeria has had a front seat at the table while the energy industry has continued its explosive transformation. She has worn her risk management “hat” in many ways, developing tools to ensure compliance within identified risk parameters, as well as being a business partner to identify innovative ways of optimizing risks as a competitive advantage. She has specific expertise in complex market and credit risk assessments, energy trading risk management, regulatory compliance, policy development, commercial transactions, and advising on Board level matters, enabling her to bring various points of view to the table when developing a solution. Her attention to detail and effectiveness at understanding the unique underlying challenges of each client, results in scalable solutions that resolve issues relatively quickly, ultimately reducing costs and avoiding negative publicity. Nigeria’s professional experience includes 14 years as Chief Risk Officer and senior management team member with energy companies in the natural gas, renewable and electricity space, most recently with PJM Interconnection, North America’s largest US regional transmission organization. Prior responsibilities include working in various risk management roles at financial institutions. merchant generation and energy trading companies. In addition to her career, Nigeria has served on the Board of an independent non-profit corporation, as an Advisory Board member for an energy risk publication, and an advisory committee member for a joint natural gas and electricity enterprise risk management professional committee. Nigeria is also a frequent speaker on various topics of energy risk and volunteer mentor to many students and young professionals. . Nigeria holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Mathematics from Morgan State University.
10:30 – 11:00
Morning networking break
11:00 – 14:15
Risk management for price volatility, the energy transition, trading strategies and instruments
11:00 – 11:40
Empowering the energy transition, managing new risks and utilising opportunities
Panel discussion
- New risks and opportunities in the ongoing energy transition
- How the energy transition is perceived by stakeholders such as regulators, developers, energy firms, system operators and customers
- The impacts of energy transition on energy market participants’ risk management practices
- What role has the Inflation Reduction Act played?
- Lessons learned from the European and global markets
Earl Burns Jr. is a leading Energy Executive with more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector serving in various operating, financial, trading and supply roles. Burns was previously manager, Americas Distillate Trading in the Commercial organization. Prior to that, he resided in London and held the role of manager, Crude Trading Europe, Africa and Russia for Phillips 66 Limited, where he was responsible for all crude trading and supply activities. He began his career with Mobil Oil Corporation in a variety of positions in the U.S., Africa and Latin America inclusive of financial trading, logistics and sales positions. Previously, Burns served as the crude trading manager for BP in Chicago as well as manager, Global Strategy and Commercial Development (Commercial Marine) at ConocoPhillips. Prior to his time at ConocoPhillips, Burns spent five years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, receiving an honorable discharge as Lieutenant.
Earl is a proud member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC); the most elite organization advancing the cause of Black Executives globally, an active board member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) Energy Oversight Committee, as well as being an incoming (2020) board member and director of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) Alumni Foundation.
Haibin Sun is the Director of Exelon Corporation’s Transmission Strategy Analytics team. He oversees economic studies, technical modeling and reliability planning for Exelon’s transmission investment business and related policy advocacy initiatives.
Prior to his current role, Haibin was the Director & Chief of Staff of Exelon’s Commercial & Industry Power business and, prior to that, the Director of the Quantitative Modeling & Deal Review for company’s commodities business, corporate capital projects and risk management initiatives. Before joining Exelon, Haibin was VP & Head of Constellation’s Risk Analytics team.
Haibin holds a PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering specialized in Economic Decision Analysis and a MS in Financial Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a MEng and a BEng in Electrical Engineering from Southeast University in China.
As Vice President, Michael Enger is responsible for Austin Energy’s physical and financial power portfolio in the ERCOT wholesale electric market, including the Real Time, Day Ahead and Forward market desks. He oversees the origination of the utility’s renewable power purchase agreements and manages the Qualified Scheduling Entity (QSE) operations for Austin Energy’s owned and contracted resources. Enger is also responsible for resource planning at Austin Energy, which includes achieving the climate protection and affordability goals established by the Austin City Council and Austin Energy.
Enger brings a wealth of energy market knowledge to his role. He has more than 20 years of service with Austin Energy, most recently as Director of Energy & Market Operations. He has served as Manager of Market Operations and Risk Management and Interim Manager of Energy Market Analysis, in addition to roles as an energy planner, scheduler and marketer.
Enger has a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Texas A&M University.
Mr. Jäger currently serves as Head of Industry Solutions Group responsible for ION’s Commodity Management Solutions. In addition to his Product Management responsibilities, he heads up ION’s Berlin office.
Since joining ION/Openlink in 2004, Mr. Jäger has been involved in numerous European and international product implementations, eventually transitioning from consultant to sales support to product management responsibility.
After the ION acquisition of Openlink in 2018, Mr. Jäger took over the role as Head of Industry Solutions Group in the Product Management Team, where he leads a global team of market SMEs overseeing ION’s Energy and Commodities product portfolio.
Mr. Jäger holds a Master of Science in Management from Stevens Institute of Technology and Diplom-Ingenieur (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen) degree from the Technische Universität Berlin.
11:40 – 12:20
The price is right: energy price risk management for producers and consumers of energy
Panel discussion
- Trends and best practices in risk management, and how organisations can remain ahead of the curve to enhance risk mitigation strategies
- How organisations should decide which risks to measure and prioritise within their risk management framework when faced with multiple risks
- What instruments practitioners are using today in liquid and illiquid portfolios
- Measuring the risk of financial transmission rights and congestion revenue rights portfolios
- Does high volatility call for more risk management or less? Deciding how much of your exposure to hedge, and whether to use futures and/or option products. When faced with higher prices, do you hedge more or lock it in?
Nigeria Bloczynski, Founder and Principal of Prism Risk Management & Consulting, is an expert and proven leader with comprehensive experience in strategic, corporate, credit, market, and commodity risk management in the energy and financial spaces. A master facilitator, she proactively utilizes business savvy, industry knowledge, and best practices to challenge status quo, drive enterprise risk mitigation, and navigate regulatory and organizational boundaries to achieve strategic goals. Nigeria is recognized as a credible and trusted business partner and advisor, influencing, and fostering relationships with key stakeholders, developing, and executing sweeping changes while consistently delivering impactful solutions. Her career has spanned multiple industries, working for an engineering company in the steel space, electric and gas trading companies, financial services corporations to the largest US regional transmission organization. With over 20 years in the energy industry, Nigeria has had a front seat at the table while the energy industry has continued its explosive transformation. She has worn her risk management “hat” in many ways, developing tools to ensure compliance within identified risk parameters, as well as being a business partner to identify innovative ways of optimizing risks as a competitive advantage. She has specific expertise in complex market and credit risk assessments, energy trading risk management, regulatory compliance, policy development, commercial transactions, and advising on Board level matters, enabling her to bring various points of view to the table when developing a solution. Her attention to detail and effectiveness at understanding the unique underlying challenges of each client, results in scalable solutions that resolve issues relatively quickly, ultimately reducing costs and avoiding negative publicity. Nigeria’s professional experience includes 14 years as Chief Risk Officer and senior management team member with energy companies in the natural gas, renewable and electricity space, most recently with PJM Interconnection, North America’s largest US regional transmission organization. Prior responsibilities include working in various risk management roles at financial institutions. merchant generation and energy trading companies. In addition to her career, Nigeria has served on the Board of an independent non-profit corporation, as an Advisory Board member for an energy risk publication, and an advisory committee member for a joint natural gas and electricity enterprise risk management professional committee. Nigeria is also a frequent speaker on various topics of energy risk and volunteer mentor to many students and young professionals. . Nigeria holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Mathematics from Morgan State University.
Nitin Kumar is Senior Director, Market Risk at Direct Energy, and is responsible for Market Risk Coverage, Quantitative Risk and Credit Risk Analytics.
Prior to joining Direct Energy in 2014, Nitin had a similar role covering JP Morgan’s physical commodities desk in Houston. Previously, he consulted with Energy Merchant and Trading companies as part of PwC’s Financial Risk Management practice covering asset and derivative valuation, financial due diligence and market, credit and operational risk related issues.
Nitin holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), and a Master of Business Administration from the Washington University in St. Louis.
Ehud I. Ronn is a professor of Finance at the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1983.
In addition to teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Ronn has held visiting appointments at academic institutions in the U. S., Europe and the Far East. He has published articles on investments, interest rate instruments and energy derivatives in the academic and practitioner literature.
From 1991 to 1993, Dr. Ronn served as Vice President, Trading Research Group at Merrill Lynch & Co. Dr. Ronn was the founding director of the University of Texas Center for Energy Finance from 1997 to 2009. From Jan. 2010 to Feb. 2011, Prof. Ronn was Commodity Market Modeling practice area manager at Morgan Stanley & Co.
In Nov. 2004, Dr. Ronn was selected by Energy Risk to the “Energy Risk Hall of Fame.”
Shikher Bisaria is a Managing Director at Citigroup Energy and heads the East power trading desk. In this role, he and his team are responsible for Citigroup's trading and market making activities in the Eastern US Power and gas markets including PJM, NYISO, IESO, ISONE and MISO. He has over 16 years of experience in the wholesale power and gas markets and has deep knowledge of physical and financial power and gas trading. He graduated with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of business’s MBA program majoring in analytical finance & economics and has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT Kanpur, India. In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, road biking and travelling internationally.
While at Ascend Analytics, Mr. Wrigglesworth has worked with more than fifty companies spanning the power sector, including utilities, CCAs and retail, IPPs, renewable and storage, corporates, banks and insurance - helping them optimize their decision analytics for the energy transition.
12:20 – 13:20
Networking lunch
12:35 – 12:55
Managing volatility and risk in a more connected global energy market in transition
Lunchtime Presentation
Sponsored by:
- Managing price, credit and liquidity risk through cleared futures
- Lessons learned from market volatility including ERCOT August 2023
- Perspectives on future price volatility and increasing demand for power
- Power, natural gas and environmental market's role in energy transition
- Global power market perspectives and updates
Nodal Exchange is a commodities exchange providing participants the ability to trade and central counterparty clear hub, zone and nodal power futures and options contracts in North America achieving over $35 Billion in notional value open interest and 45% market share in monthly futures open interest. The company also offers natural gas, environmental and trucking freight contracts. Nodal Clear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nodal Exchange, is registered as a derivatives clearing organization and acts as the central counterparty clearing house for Nodal Exchange contracts. Nodal Exchange became part of the EEX Group in May 2017. Mr. Cusenza led Nodal Exchange to its commencement of trading in April of 2009 and the market has seen great growth since its launch.
Mr. Cusenza has over thirty years of experience in building and managing businesses. He was co-Founder and co-President of 23andMe, a personal genetics company which Time Magazine identified as “The Best Invention of the Year” and which has now achieved “unicorn” status. He was also the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Alliance Management at Perlegen Sciences. He was part of the Senior Management Team of Capital One Financial during a period of great growth in the 1990s. Prior to Capital One Financial, he was a Vice President and Partner at Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) for nearly a decade focusing on financial services. He also worked for IBM early in his career. Mr. Cusenza holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School and a B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
13:20 – 13:50
Energy Risk USA roundtables and deep-dive discussions
Engage with our speakers and delegates in peer-to-peer sessions
1. Optimising carbon market and emission trading
2. Managing cyber risk
3. Mitigating enterprise risk (led by Nithya Vankatesan)
4. From risk manager to trader and back: trying new things while keeping some old ones (led by Michael Rosenberg)
5. Technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) applications
Nithya Venkatesan is currently the First Vice President, Risk at Navitas Assurance Partners (Navitas). Prior to joining Navitas, Nithya worked as Senior Manager, Risk at Hess Corporation (Hess) globally.
Navitas is a managing general underwriter (MGU) that represents some of the strongest balance sheets in North America; Navitas acts as the leading conduit in between the energy markets, their broker partners and carrier partners.
Nithya has over 20 plus years of risk management experience spanning credit risk, market risk, regulatory reporting and enterprise risk. Also, she has experience with multiple commodities including natural gas, power, crude oil, refined products, natural gas liquids, emissions credits and derivatives products. Prior to Hess, Nithya has held a number risk positions at NRG Energy in various risk roles, Calpine Corporation in credit risk, etc.
Nithya is an active Board Member of CCRO (Committee of Chief Risk Officers), Executive Committee member at IECA (International Energy Credit Association) and Co-Director of the GARP (Global Association of Risk Professionals) Houston Chapter.
Michael Rosenberg is a Manager at Active Power Investments LLC where he is in charge of developing and implementing trading strategies in energy markets. Prior to his current position he was a Director of Structuring and Pricing at PacifiCorp where he was responsible for structuring physical and financial products and pricing deals for different commodities and assets. Before that Michael was a Manager, Quantitative Analysis, at PG&E where he was responsible for risk modeling, asset valuation, and risk systems with focus on power market redesign and its impact on risk and pricing. Previously Michael was a Manager, Market Assessment, at ISO New England where his major responsibilities included analysis of market competitiveness, efficiency, and performance. Prior to that Michael served in a variety of positions in TXU Energy Trading with focus on option valuation, commodity and credit risk management for Trading and Retail affiliates. Before joining TXU he served in oil and gas exploration function at ExxonMobil. Michael holds Ph.D. in Physics from The University of Texas at Austin and Graduate Finance Certificate from the Cox Business School, SMU. He published in industrial and academic journals and is a frequent presenter at industry conferences and training events.
13:50 – 14:15
Extreme weather warning: navigating the storm and mitigating physical risk
Presentation
- How extreme weather events have informed strategies for risk management
- What commodity financial markets can tell us about the probabilities of severe weather conditions in upcoming winter seasons
- How risk management teams can prepare for extreme events
- Insurance instruments and products to guarantee the continued operation of the business during extreme events
- Leveraging technology in crisis management: the tools available and how they ensure a swift and adaptive response to unforeseen challenges
Dr. Tuncay Pekin is the Head of Risk Management at MN8 Energy. Dr. Pekin pioneered the application of portfolio risk management in the energy sector during the transition into greener energy. He has around 30 years of international experience in executive leadership, risk and commercial management in multinational corporations including Fortune 100 companies. During this time, he served in risk management committees and managed reporting of company risk profiles to management and the board of directors. He successfully established multiple company-wide risk management frameworks and built risk management teams for both public and private companies in the United States.
Before joining MN8 Energy, Dr. Pekin held positions in companies including Duke Energy, Shell, Dow Chemical and the AES Corporation. His experience covers commodities, power, foreign exchange, interest rates and credit. His areas of expertise include enterprise risk assessment, portfolio risk management and analytics, risk quantification and risk metrics, risk strategy, hedge optimization, large-scale Monte Carlo simulation systems, machine learning and risk management policies.
Dr. Pekin earned his Ph.D. in Management Engineering with a concentration in Mathematical Finance from the Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. He graduated from Bogazici University in Istanbul with a M.A. in Economics and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering.
14:15 – 15:30
Leveraging the power of the latest advances in technology, analytics, data and energy trading and risk management (ETRM)
14:15 – 14:40
Empowering traders and building resilient commodity trading and risk management (CTRM) and ETRM systems in modern markets
Fireside chat
- Are C/ETRM systems meeting the evolving needs and expectations of traders in today's dynamic markets?
- The key components of a resilient ETRM programme – especially considering the intricacies of modern markets
- Strategies to ensure robust data protection and security requirements
- How organisations can utilise analytics within C/ETRM systems to derive meaningful insights for informed decision-making in risk management
Akhil has 20+ years of global experience in oil & gas (downstream, midstream, and retail), power utilities, and agriculture sectors. Akhil is part of Publicis Sapient’s North American Energy, Commodities & Travel Leadership Team responsible for vertical business strategy & client impact. Akhil has led large business strategy and data analytics platform implementation programs for midstream, oil & gas majors and fuel retailers. Akhil brings industry expertise and practices to help build the business use case value framework and the approaches used by industry to implement the right platform to deliver value with speed and quality.
Luke Fangman is an enterprise leader for data, analytics, and AI/ML at Microsoft, where he helps organizations solve their toughest problems using the power of the cloud. He has a wide-ranging experience from field engineering in energy to large scale digital transformation across all industries. He is passionate about AI and data strategy, Future of Energy, Offshore Robotics, and Power BI. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a B.S. in civil engineering from Kansas State University. He is also a certified Power BI Data Analyst and an Azure Data Solution Designer. He enjoys volunteering for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Special Olympics of North Carolina.
14:40 – 15:10
Impactful AI: transforming risk assessments for robust business decisions
Case studies
Focusing on the practical applications of AI.
- How AI is utilised in the energy industry and will improve efficiency and enhance profit
- How to use AI to process growing volumes of data and capture the value of big datasets
- Embedding an AI strategy into your digital transformation – aligning the use of AI with a holistic digital strategy
- Examples of successful application of AI to risk management problems
15:10 – 15:30
Afternoon networking break
15:30 – 17:00
Powering the future of the US
15:30 – 16:10
Raising capital and funding liquidity
Panel discussion
- Risks and rewards associated with investing in renewable energy projects in the current environment
- Today’s cost of capital today
- Practical ways of creating revenue streams and optimising capital
- Utilising capital sources and allocation strategies for new and existing businesses: how to work on the price arrangement and capital allocation
Glenn Labhart has more than 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of
risk management processes and policies and has been a leader in helping the industry define today’s risk environment and plan for the uncertainties of the future.
He is the first energy-industry chief risk officer to receive the Financial Risk Manager of the Year Award from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (“GARP”). Glenn now serves as the Chairman of the Energy Risk Diploma program for GARP.
In March 2004 Glenn Labhart formed Labhart Risk Advisors Inc., providing expertise in risk management that provides a diverse approach for clients requiring expertise in energy, complex modeling and independent valuation.
Glenn is a frequent lecturer and speaker utilizing his subject matter expertise on a variety of legal matters from his direct experience to provide of industry practices to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, business clients and Dynegy.
From August 1997 to March 2004, Glenn was senior vice president and chief risk officer for Dynegy Inc. During the period at Dynegy, Glenn led the independent valuation of due diligence for all mergers and acquisitions that included European, Australian, Latin American and US based transactions; serving as a Board member for subsidiary companies from Dynegy acquisitions.
Glenn’ s career is supported by a BBA from Abilene Christian University, and the Rice University Executive Management Program, Professional memberships include the United State Energy Economics Association, the International Energy Economics Association, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Master of Energy Business program/University of Tulsa.
Ms Metcalf is a founding member and Managing Partner for EnCap’s Energy Transition Fund. The EETF partnership was formed in early 2019. The fund has made over $2.5B in equity commitments in energy transition portfolio companies over the last five years.
Before joining EnCap, Ms. Metcalf was a senior executive at Pattern Development, a renewable energy and transmission development firm, from 2010 through 2019. While at Pattern, she was responsible for the company’s power marketing, origination and A&D efforts. During her tenure at Pattern Development, the management team successfully developed over 4000MW of wind and solar assets across a global footprint and raised over $8 billion in capital.
Prior to her position at Pattern Development, Ms. Metcalf held senior roles at Barclays Bank and Fortis Bank where she was responsible for power marketing and origination efforts for the banks. She held those roles from 2007 to 2010. From 2003 to 2007, Ms. Metcalf was a senior originator for Florida Power & Light’s unregulated business, where she was responsible for U.S. power market transactions. From 2002 to 2003, Ms. Metcalf was a founding member of Zilkha Renewable Energy which subsequently became Horizon Wind. Ms. Metcalf began her career in 1995 at Enron North America where she held various roles in power trading, power marketing and finance. Ms. Metcalf served as a First Lieutenant in the US Army from 1988 to 1991. She has held board positions at various companies including Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for Triple Oak Power and Jupiter Power, and member of the Board for Broad Reach Power. Arbor Renewable Gas and Linea Energy and a member of the board at Broad Reach Power, Parliament Solar and Solar Proponent.
Ms. Metcalf’s Current Board Positions
Solar Proponent – Board Member
Arbor Renewable Gas – Chairwoman of the Board
Linea Energy – Chairwoman of the Board
Parliament Solar – Chairwoman of the Board
Ms Metcalf holds a BS in Finance from Arizona State University and an MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. Additionally, she is a CFA charterholder.
Jazib Hasan is a Managing Director at EIG Global Partners, a global leader in private investments in energy and energy-related infrastructure. Mr. Hasan’s primary focus is on Power Generation, Renewables and Energy Transition Infrastructure assets, as well as responsibilities for EIG’s Direct Lending investments across conventional and renewable energy/infrastructure. Mr. Hasan has over 25 years of investment, trading and origination experience at private equity, hedge fund, bank and corporate platforms.
Mr. Hasan was most recently Head of Investments at Modern Energy, a diversified energy transition B-Corp, focused on providing affordable, sustainable energy solutions. Mr. Hasan was Citibank’s Head of Commodities Structured Finance and Credit Solutions, and before that Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Head of Energy Asset Finance Solutions. Prior to BAML, Mr. Hasan was responsible for structured transactions at Shell Energy. Mr. Hasan spent 10 years at Deutsche Bank, in New York and Houston, where he was the founding member of the principal finance and structured credit businesses, including market-leading infrastructure and energy lending businesses. Mr. Hasan’s early career was as a trader at hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.
Mr. Hasan holds a MBA (Honors) from The Wharton School, and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Economics (Honors) from Stanford University.
Alexander Pliskin
Executive director- head of energy and utilities - global trade & working capital finance NA
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Alexander Pliskin has been with JPMorgan Chase within the global trade organization since January 2020, as head of energy and utilities, trade and working capital finance.
Alex rejoined JP Morgan from BP Energy, where he spent four years as a director in both credit and structured trade finance. Prior to this he worked in the commodity division of the corporate and investment bank division at JP Morgan Chase where he served as a vice president and regional director in managing the firm’s commodity credit risk. Alex has over 25 years of experience in energy risk management supporting major energy and commodity risk management initiatives at RBS Sempra Commodities, Bank of America, and ANZ Investment Bank to name a few.
Alex graduated with a degree in economics and music/violin performance from Geneseo State University and has a Master’s in business administration from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College in New York with a concentration in finance.
16:10 – 16:40
Houston's hydrogen horizon: navigating new frontiers and establishing a hydrogen hub
Panel discussion
- The potential of the hydrogen economy in Houston – what is in place now?
- Identifying sources of supply, defining blue and green hydrogen. How restrictive will incentives be?
- Qualifying and navigating tax issues
- Increasing demand to match supply
- What is the right model?
- What type of transportation will be successful?
- Examining hydrogen facilities: creating a value chain, production storage and consumption
16:40 – 17:00
Regulatory expectations for energy and trading companies in North America
Fireside chat
- Regulatory changes trading companies can anticipate in the foreseeable future
- How these alterations may influence trading strategies and compliance frameworks
- The Inflation Reduction Act one year on: the state of play and what to expect next
17:00 – 17:10
Closing remarks
Glenn Labhart has more than 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of
risk management processes and policies and has been a leader in helping the industry define today’s risk environment and plan for the uncertainties of the future.
He is the first energy-industry chief risk officer to receive the Financial Risk Manager of the Year Award from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (“GARP”). Glenn now serves as the Chairman of the Energy Risk Diploma program for GARP.
In March 2004 Glenn Labhart formed Labhart Risk Advisors Inc., providing expertise in risk management that provides a diverse approach for clients requiring expertise in energy, complex modeling and independent valuation.
Glenn is a frequent lecturer and speaker utilizing his subject matter expertise on a variety of legal matters from his direct experience to provide of industry practices to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, business clients and Dynegy.
From August 1997 to March 2004, Glenn was senior vice president and chief risk officer for Dynegy Inc. During the period at Dynegy, Glenn led the independent valuation of due diligence for all mergers and acquisitions that included European, Australian, Latin American and US based transactions; serving as a Board member for subsidiary companies from Dynegy acquisitions.
Glenn’ s career is supported by a BBA from Abilene Christian University, and the Rice University Executive Management Program, Professional memberships include the United State Energy Economics Association, the International Energy Economics Association, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Master of Energy Business program/University of Tulsa.
17:10 – 18:30