SEC World Hydrogen Advisory Board

Christian Pho Duc

Chief Technology Officer & Managing Director H2 Projects

Smartenergy

Christian Pho Duc is the CTO & Managing Director H2 & PtL Projects at Smartenergy Group AG and the Vice Chair of the Renewable Hydrogen Workstream at Solar Power Europe. He graduated as a Physicist from Munich and Cambridge University. Christian has accumulated 25 years working experience in Semiconductors (Siemens, IBM, G&D, Infineon Technologies), Renewable Energies & Hydrogen (Solyndra, Nanosolar, Smartenergy) and Electric Mobility (Torqeedo) in various management positions. With his multi-national background he speaks fluently German, English, French, Italian and some Spanish.

Boudewijn Siemons

CEO

Port of Rotterdam

Andrew Beard

Vice President Hydrogen

Shell

Andrew has 17 years’ experience in the Energy industry, covering; Finance, Trading, Supply, Aviation, Digital Transformation and Alternative Energies. He is also a qualified accountant, has a Master’s degree in Logistics, Trade and Finance and a Master’s degree in International Strategy & Diplomacy.

Andrew Horvath

Global Group Chairman

Star Scientific Limited

Andrew Horvath is Global Group Chairman of private research and development company Star Scientific Limited, where he oversees the business strategy and development behind the company’s breakthrough technology, HERO®. Mr Horvath founded Star Scientific in 1998 and his vision has been instrumental in transforming it to an international business. The company and its subsidiaries across Australasia, Europe and the United States are currently undergoing a rapid-scale up across its science, engineering, corporate and finance divisions.

Grace Quan

President & CEO

Hydrogen In Motion Inc. (H2M)

As the CEO of Hydrogen In Motion Inc. (H2M), Grace brings fiduciary accountability to the table with her CPA/CMA and MBA credentials.  Grace has a vast range of financial and managerial experience in private and public sectors from managing a Flying School, to working in a Provincial Minister’s office, to helping to manage the $250 billion dollar budget for the Treasury Board Secretariat of the Government of Canada. 

Grace’s 10 year career in the federal government also includes working in foreign aid at the Canadian International Development Agency and in the Foreign (DFAIT), departments which have been combined to become the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.  This varied experience gives Grace an insider understanding of the functioning of business and government. 

In 2018 Grace Quan, CEO was recognized by BC Business magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential Women In STEM.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis

CEO

Hydrogen Europe

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis was appointed Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe in 2016. Before he was Representative of Infineon Technologies in Brussels and Member of the European Parliament (2004 – 2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy) where he could contribute to lay the cornerstone for the first and the second Joint Undertaking on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. In 2007 he was elected “MEP of the year” by his colleagues of the European Parliament in the category “Research and Innovation”. In 2015 he was appointed ambassador at large for Greece.

Mr Chatzimarkakis was born in Duisburg, Germany. He holds German and Greek nationality, a degree in political science from the University of Bonn.

Max Correa Achurra

Director Latam

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)

Max is currently the Head of the Fuels and New Energy Division at the Ministry of Energy, Chile. His Division is comprised of three Units: Hydrocarbons; Wood Fuels; and New Energy, the later responsibly of promoting the development of a green hydrogen industry in the country.

Before joining the Ministry of Energy, Max served as the Executive Director of the Solar and Energy Innovation Committee at the Chilean Economic Development Agency, Corfo. During his tenure, the Committee's work has been largely focused on increasing international collaboration and on the promotion of green hydrogen and other energy innovations as critical elements of Chile's energy transition.

Max previously worked at Corfo as Deputy Director of Strategy and Sustainability, supporting the Executive Vice President (CEO) in defining and implementing the institutional strategy, and providing prospective and exploratory information to identify upcoming trends. During this period, Max led a team to draft and promote the creation of the largest Technological Institute ever created in Chile - the Clean Technologies Institute - which will have a strong industrial focus on development, scaling and adoption of technological solutions in solar energy, low emissions mining and advanced materials derived from lithium and other minerals. The Institute will receive a public subsidy of up to US$190 million with an additional 30% of the total budget to be financed by the private sector.

Prior to Corfo, Max worked as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Andes Iron, an iron ore mining company that owns two world-class IOCG Ore Deposits along the Andes Coastal Range.

His experience also includes working as an associate to the Energy and Corporate Group of Chile's largest full-service law firm, Carey & Co.

Max is on the Board of Directors of the Chilean Natural Resources Information Centre, CIREN (part of the Ministry of Agriculture) and as City Councilor for the Municipality of Zapallar; a well preserved seaside area in central Chile. He also contributes to several conservation initiatives, most notably to Corporación Bosques de Zapallar (http://bosquesdezapallar.cl/), Chile’s first Land Trust devoted to preserve a unique Mediterranean forest located in the country’s central coast.

Max graduated from Universidad de Chile, Faculty of Law and holds an MPhil in Environmental Policy, Department of Land Economy, from Cambridge University in the UK and undertook a Certificate Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He was awarded with a joint full scholarship by the UK Government's Chevening scheme, the Cambridge Overseas Trust and British Gas Group.

Alicia Eastman

Co-Founder & President

InterContinental Energy

Alicia has led investment and strategy in global markets for nearly 25 years, managing private equity funds, market entry and finance for multinational companies and institutional investors across Australasia including the Middle East. She has focused on infrastructure, renewable energy, specialty chemicals/pharma, telecommunications, and technology. Before co-founding InterContinental Energy in 2014, she was a founding partner of Asia Pacific Capital Fund II and the Mongolia Opportunities Fund as well as MAP Capital, an industrial investment advisor in the Persian Gulf. Previously, Alicia led international strategy and acquisitions at Elan Biopharmaceuticals and was Vice President of Prudential Asia Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund. She was a founding principal at NetFuel Ventures (acquired by a University of Chicago affiliate) and has held international strategy and investment positions at Gemini, Lend Lease, and AirTouch International (Vodafone). Alicia holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Noé van Hulst

Vice-Chair

IPHE

Noé van Hulst is Vice-Chair of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE), hydrogen advisor to IEA & Gasunie and a Senior Fellow at Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP). Prior to that, Mr van Hulst was the Hydrogen Envoy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy in the Netherlands. Mr van Hulst was the Dutch Ambassador to the OECD from September 2013 to September 2018 and Chairman of the IEA Governing Board. From 2003 to 2007, he worked at the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris as Director of Long-Term Co-operation and Policy Analysis. He then became Secretary-General of the International Energy Forum (IEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2008 to 2011. He was Director of the Energy Academy Europe in 2012-2013. Before that, Mr van Hulst worked at the Free University in Amsterdam, the Social and Economic Council (SER) in The Hague and the Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1988, lastly as Director-General for Energy.

Elaine Wong

Co-Founder & Partner

H+ Partners

Ms. Wong is a co-Founder and Partner of H+ Partners.

H+ Partners, invests in companies that actively contribute to decarbonization or are developing new technologies to do the same. The H+ team has extensive investment experience in the decarbonization and hydrogen ecosystems across Asia, Europe, and the US. 

Ms. Wong has over 20 years of private equity experience. In addition to founding H+ Partners, Ms. Wong also co-founded HAO Capital, a China-focused growth equity fund. As a private equity investor, she has helped build, fund, and take companies public in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Frankfurt, London, and New York.

She currently is the Lead Independent Director for Hyzon Motors, is a Board member of Protium Green Solutions, and serves on the Advisory Board for Enapter AG.

Ms. Wong graduated from MIT with a B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering and has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Ms. Wong is an active member of her community. She has served on the global MIT Alumni Association Board of Directors and is currently on the MIT Task Force 2021 and Beyond Alumni Advisory Committee.

David Burns

Vice President of Clean Energy

Linde

Dr. David Burns is Vice President of Clean Energy at Linde. Prior to this, Dr. Burns served as Vice President for Hydrogen and Syngas Global Business Development.

Dr. Burns joined Linde (formerly Praxair) in 2005 and, since then, has made significant contributions to the development of new business in the hydrogen and energy industries globally. Prior to Linde, Dr. Burns worked at Dow Chemical, where he held several business management roles.

Dr. Burns has a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Leeds in the UK and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Najla Al Jamali

Chief Executive Alternative Energy

OQ

Over the past 23 years, Najla has worked in various onshore and offshore upstream Oil and Gas
operational roles as well as managerial and consultancy positions in Africa, Europe and the Middle East
at globally recognised companies including Vale, Schlumberger Business Consulting, IHS Energy, Shell
and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). She possesses strong analytical and leadership skills with
track record in deriving and implementing strategies as well as business turnaround solutions.
Najla joined Oman Oil Company in 2013 and contributed her extensive experience in helping shape the
company’s strategic direction to fulfill the company’s objectives of maximizing value for Oman from its
resources. In 2016, Najla was appointed as Acting Executive Managing Director of Takamul Investment
Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oman Oil Company, which manages a number Oman Oil
Company’s Oman based investments. In 2020, Najla helped set up OQ’s Alternative Energy team and
was instrumental in transitioning it to a business line. She continues to be part of Alternative Energy
Business Line and is responsible for all Green Molecules Ventures. Under her leadership, OQAE has
announced 4 Green Hydrogen ventures in Oman so far with world renowned partners. These projects
should cumulatively contribute over 30 GW of renewable power to produce green hydrogen.
Najla has been a Board of Directors member of numerous companies under the OQ Group as well as
externally. She is currently the deputy chairperson for HSBC Oman. Najla holds a Bachelor of Science
degree with honours in Mathematics with Applied Mathematics/Mathematical Physics from Imperial
College, London. She also attained a Master of Science degree in Financial Management from the
University of London and participated in Schlumberger’s leadership programme at INSEAD, in France.

Dr Fiona Simon

CEO

Australian Hydrogen Council (AHC)

Dr Fiona Simon is the CEO of the Australian Hydrogen Council (AHC), the peak body for the Australian hydrogen industry.
AHC connects the hydrogen industry and its stakeholders in building a secure, clean and resilient energy future based on hydrogen. AHC’s members are from a range of sectors, including energy, transport, consulting, banking and technology.
Prior to joining the Australian Hydrogen Council, Fiona worked for close to 20 years in energy policy and regulation, specialising in energy retail competition and consumer protection matters.
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has published a well-regarded academic book on retail energy regulation in Australia.