Meet our speakers

Andor Savelkouls is consultant and product owner for the Energy Transition Services group at E&C Consultants. He has responsibility for developing and delivering decarbonization solutions to clients globally.

Andor started his career at industrial gases supplier Air Products in the Netherlands in 2000 as a participant in the company’s Career Development Programme, for which he also relocated to the UK in 2001 as part of his final assignment. In 2002 he started as a project development engineer for the Generated Gases product supply team there. He then moved back to the Netherlands in 2004 to join the Procurement organisation as an energy analyst for the Corporate Energy group.

From 2008 to 2013 he held a variety of positions as energy manager for countries within Europe before being appointed as the head of the energy sourcing team for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In this role, he had direct responsibility for energy procurement and energy project development in these regions and managed the energy sourcing team in providing cost-effective energy supply schemes to the company’s business units. He has also been leading various sustainability programmes for the company, including implementation of the company’s first Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), during this period.

In 2020 he joined Edison Energy as a senior director for the Renewables Advisory group to build and lead the company’s European practice, later established as Altenex Energy, in support of its international growth strategy. His work focused on both the business development and operational aspects of the company’s consulting activities in this region.

Andor holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology  in the Netherlands and an executive MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University in the Netherlands.

Bart Verest has and educational background in International politics & diplomacy and Energy law at Ghent University, Belgium.

He has worked at E&C Consultants for more than 11 years as International energy procurement and sustainability consultant, coordinating European and global accounts. In the meantime he’s lead partner within E&C Consultants, responsible for energy policy and regulatory affairs. In this context, he’s involved in the ongoing regulatory evolution of the renewable and natural gas markets and the establishment of EAC’s for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO’s).

In addition, he is co-founder of Navitas, an energy cooperative based in Belgium.

Benedict graduated as a Master in Philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven. Writing a thesis on the philosophy of Karl Popper applied to the science and politics of climate change sparked his interest in energy transition and energy markets.

He started his career in 2000 in sales at GfE, an energy & environmental consultancy where in 2004 he became the manager of the environmental consultants team.

In 2005 he co-founded E&C and his professional bio as of then obviously highlights the main events in the history of the company. Benedict started as an energy procurement consultant, practising the basics of negotiating contracts, helping clients to hedge and checking invoices. As the team grew, Benedict started to focus more on helping the ever larger clients to develop and implement energy procurement strategies, conceiving and finetuning E&C’s unique risk management approach.

He also became a globetrotter, travelling all over the planet to set up offices, develop business and service clients. After becoming the majority shareholder in E&C in 2019, he focused on making E&C a scale-up company, enthusiastically putting in place teal management principles.

He also translated his experience in energy markets in the making of the ePoint product, acting as a product owner in the first years of the ePoint 3 and eCore data platform project. Together with co-CEO Jens, an inspired management team, the partners and the whole E&C family, Benedict is currently gearing everything up to make the company a leading global energy services business.

The many insights gathered during his unique professional experiences and encounters can also be found in the many blog articles and white papers authored by Benedict.

When he’s not working he is a passionate angler, finding inspiration for energy markets and E&C and personal balance on the banks of small lakes. 

Bruno Alejandro Luis is the DevOps coordinator of E&C, currently living and working from Metz, France. His main task is to coordinate the work between Data Development and Operations teams, ensuring constant, faster releases of new high-quality features for ePoint and other E&C products.

After obtaining his Mechanical Engineer Diploma from Universidad Simón Bolívar (Caracas, Venezuela), Bruno pursued his passion to work in the energy transition and obtained a Master diploma in Energy and Environmental Engineering from Institut Mines Telecom (Nantes, France).

Bruno has worked as an energy engineer in the largest steel company in the world, ArcelorMittal, where he developed energy efficiency/decarbonisation projects and data-related products such as Energy KPI´s and interactive reports for monitoring energy consumption in different industrial production sites.

Bruno speaks 4 languages and has worked in 3 different continents - these experiences provided him with solid multi-cultural awareness, openness to meet new people and understanding of different perspectives of the business environment.

Besides his professional interests, Bruno is a member of the Metz climbing club, loves playing rock music on his guitar and enjoys hike travels around Europe and the world.

 

As the Development Manager for Solar Sister, Catarina works with donors to manage projects at the intersection of energy access, climate justice and women's empowerment. Catarina's passion for off-grid solar solutions began when she joined the sector in 2018 working as an Insights & Advocacy Manager at the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, an organization that acts as a catalyst for the growth of the off-grid solar sector. Catarina also worked as a partnerships manager for the off-grid solar provider Bboxx.

Catarina holds a BSc (Hons) in International Business Management from the University of Surrey, UK, including a semester abroad at the University of Queensland, Australia. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey.

Dan started Shulman Advisory 5 years ago after nearly 15 years of experience with the Japanese energy market in a wide variety of roles, most of which have heavily focused on market penetration, business development, regulatory analysis, and business strategy. He has consulted for an array of foreign entrants to the Japanese energy market from more than a dozen countries, as well as major Japanese organizations including TEPCO, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Japanese from Tufts University and has lived in Japan on and off for 25 years, which has given him a deep cultural understanding of the country and its people and proficiency in the language.

Prior to forming Shulman Advisory, he served as an executive for a US investor-backed electricity retail company. In this capacity, he ran the company's operations in Japan, including bids to supply power to both low and high-voltage power consumers. In this role and in previous consultancy work, Dan has participated in numerous contract negotiations for wholesale electricity supply in Japan.

He currently works with his bilingual dream team at Shulman Advisory, with a special focus on regulatory and quantitative analysis in support of the development of post-FIT, market-exposed renewables; grid infrastructure upgrades; and the development of new products and services in the power trading space. Recent notable work includes site appraisal and acquisition advice for a large BESS project, the introduction of Israeli technology to a large Japanese renewables developer, and assisting foreign power traders entering the complex Japanese electricity market.

In his free time, Dan enjoys searching down excellent craft beers, cigars and vintage watches, and his team occasionally catches him with a joystick and throttle on his desk flight simming. With his vast knowledge and experience in the Japanese energy market, Dan is a valuable contact for anyone interested in this exciting market.

Derek Hyland is the Global Director of Energy Procurement and Risk Management at Ball Corporation, the world’s leading aluminium packaging company. With leadership responsibilities spanning North America, EMEA, and South America; Derek spearheads Ball Corporation's ambitious goal to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2030, led by SBTI.

He leads a comprehensive strategy that encompasses various solutions such as virtual Power Purchase Agreements (vPPAs), near-site/on-site generation projects, and Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs).

With over 17 years of experience in the energy sector, Derek began his career with French energy company EDF before transitioning to an energy consultant role. Prior to joining Ball Corporation, he worked for another leading aluminium packaging company. Notably, Derek also spent a year teaching English in South Korea.

Passionate about sustainability, Derek believes in the transformative power of renewables. His expertise in commodity risk management and successful execution of utility-scale vPPAs in North America and Europe demonstrate his commitment to driving positive environmental impact while ensuring strategic business success.

Emma Nocquet-Wass is an Energy Consultant specialized in Regulatory and Decarbonization and based in Paris, France.

Armed with a diverse educational background which brought her to study in France and in Germany, she completed her Humanities studies in Classe Préparatoire before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in environmental governance from Sciences Po Bordeaux.

During these years, she was an active member of associations focusing on sustainability and entrepreneurship, where she had the opportunity to strengthen her knowledge and to participate to podcasts and to the organization of conferences.

At E&C, Emma’s key areas of focus, alongside the French and Belgian markets, are the evolution of regulatory frameworks and decarbonization tools. She shares her interest in the energy transition and the challenges faced by businesses through articles and workshops related to these topics. Bridging policies and practice, she will bring to GEC a cross-disciplinary expertise and will enthusiastically answer questions on energy procurement.

Francesca Barbagini has been a coordinating consultant for international customers at E&C since January 2023. She supports multinational companies in defining a tailor-made energy procurement and risk management strategy. She also coordinates the international E&C team of country experts to achieve defined milestones and deliverables.

During her twelve years’ experience in the energy markets, she has gained a deep expertise in optimizing several aspects of the business, such as portfolio management of utility-scale production plants, strategy and margin definition in energy retail and development of specific hedging strategies and energy trading processes. Over the years, she has supported several start-ups and large corporations in setting-up their internal structure and strategies from scratch and improving their performance and optimizing their turnover. During her career, she has developed a 360 degree know-how in this business that includes strategy, regulation, operational, market research, business development and financial understanding.

Francesca holds an industrial doctorate in materials engineering and a master in chemical engineering. She counts on a 12 year background as Senior Researcher in micro-electronics and nanotechnology applied to semiconductor industries. She ran several international research programmes together with some of the leading semiconductor companies worldwide (Intel, Samsung, OSRAM, to name a few), achieving important results in application to transistors, LED technologies and nanomaterials. She has presented her work in more than fifty conferences worldwide and is the author of 27 publications.

Gerard Reid, as the Co-Founder and Partner of Alexa Capital, is a leading authority on the changes going on across the worlds of energy and mobility.

Gerard leverages his extensive experience, insights and network across the energy and transport world to help companies position themselves for capital.

He is an avid blogger and author with a following of more than 150k across several platforms and he is the co-host to “Redefining Energy” podcast. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum Future Energy Council.

He has spent over fifteen years working in investment banking (equity research, fund management and corporate finance) with a focus on both the energy transition and the digital energy revolution the sector is going through. Before founding Alexa Capital, he was Managing Director and Head of European Cleantech Research at Jefferies & Co.

He was born and raised in Dublin and received a Bachelor of Business Studies and Master of Arts as well as a Higher Diploma in Education from Trinity College Dublin. Currently, he works in London and lives outside Berlin in a small village. He is a senior fellow with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment.

Jens Lievens is since 2024 co-CEO at E&C Consultants. While he defines the general strategy of the company together with Benedict, he supervises the daily operations with a focus on business development.

After securing a bachelor's degree in French and English in 2006, Jens pursued his childhood dream into the professional handball arena, playing in Germany, France, and as the captain of the Belgian National Team. Returning to Belgium in 2015, Jens seamlessly transitioned his knowledge of languages and competitive spirit into a role as international business developer at E&C.

In 2019 Jens became COO, joining forces with Benedict to steer E&C Consultants into an era of exciting expansion and innovation.

Jens is passionate about translating E&C’s visionary insights into clear and compelling presentations and messages. Whether he's addressing internal teams, a client's boardroom or a conference, Jens has become a sought-after speaker, leaving everyone both enlightened and uplifted.

When he's not shaping the future of E&C, Jens finds joy in spending quality time with his family. He also hits the gym a few times a week, embodying the same energy that he brings to the business arena.

With a Bachelor of Science degree under her arm, Kathleen Peters started her journey at E&C Consultants 7 years ago. Primarily focusing on the Dutch and German markets, she extended her portfolio to the UK and Ireland clients after only one year as a result of her impressive performance. Over these 7 years, Kathleen has made impressive strides in the roles and tasks she has undertaken. Starting as a country consultant, Kathleen stepped up to coordinate international clients before expanding and intensifying her expertise in green energy. She led the first PPA tender for Germany, and, since 2023, has embraced a full-time focus on energy transition at E&C.

This interest in sustainability is reflected in the part Kathleen plays in the execution of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility, an area in which Kathleen is constantly innovating to introduce initiatives aimed, on a smaller scale, at reducing our negative impact on the planet.

German native, Kathleen lives in The Netherlands, where she enjoys spending her time hiking.

Merlijn Mertens is a forward-thinking Energy Trader with an excellent understanding on how to mitigate energy procurement risks.

Pioneering as Energy Trader at E&C Consultants in May 2020, he has spearheaded this team's evolution from a solo venture to a robust unit of six professionals, adept at navigating volatile energy markets. As the Product Owner of the Mathlab team, he steers initiatives in risk management on diversified energy portfolios as well as provides clients with tools and essential market insights to make informed investment decisions and optimize the operation of (on-site) energy assets to maximise financial profits — all this while not losing sight of the central goals of the energy procurement strategy. 

Merlijn holds an International Doctoral Degree in Nuclear Fusion Science and Engineering (Magna Cum Laude), as well as a European Master’s Degree in Nuclear Fusion and Engineering Physics (Summa Cum Laude).  These degrees were attained in a collaboration between the Ghent University (Belgium), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, as well as Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain), showcasing his affection for international collaboration — a defining characteristic of E&C Consultants. In this sense, Merlijn recently supported the North American branch of E&C while staying for a year in Vancouver, Canada.

Ondrej Zicha, a Business Economy graduate from the Masaryk University, CZ, is the Lead Partner at E&C Consultants.

Since 2014, Ondrej has been working at E&C as an Energy Procurement Consultant. As an expert on Central European markets, he was supporting clients in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Romania, gradually moving to the role of coordinating consultant for biggest international companies.

Ondrej is also responsible for creating long term energy procurement strategies for big international corporations and mentoring other consultants in this field.

Reinout Goudeseune is the Global Category Manager for Utilities at Bekaert. In addition to his role in energy procurement, Reinout has recently assumed the position of Decarbonization Lead at Bekaert.

As a passionate advocate for sustainability, he is at the forefront of initiatives aimed at reducing carbon footprints to meet the company’s SBTi targets and fosters environmental responsibility within the organization.

Within his current role, Reinout is responsible for the overall energy procurement of Bekaert, including risk management and sourcing of renewable energy. His achievements include coordinating multiple (V)PPAs (Virtual Power Purchase Agreements) and driving the implementation of onsite solar projects in Belgium, Spain and Italy.