Previous Speakers

H.E Magid Al-Emara

Eng Nafeh Abdel Sada

Dr Fatih Birol

Salem Chalabi

Suha Najjar

Dr Christian Bruch

Erik Fernstrom

Rayan Kassis

Rayan Kassis is the Country Director for Iraq at Prime Metro Power Holdings Corporation, where he is leads all aspects of company’s business strategy and operations in Iraq – including the Umm Qasr Power Project, flare gas capture business Prime Power Energy Solutions, and other ongoing ventures that deliver fast, impactful, and economically-sustainable infrastructure projects

With over 20 years in the power generation & transmission infrastructure sector, Mr. Kassis has led the development and negotiation of strategic projects with over 8,000MW secured and in operation globally, with a particular emphasis on Natural Gas, LNG, and Renewable Energy (wind, solar PV, CSP, and hydro). In addition to his corporate roles, Mr. Kassis has launched several successful renewable energy companies, and is the author of industry publications on the economic viability of CSP, desalination, and wind energy in the Middle East.

Joe Anis

Dr Ziad Khalaf

Ahmed Ramadan

Ahmed Ramadan is Chief Executive Officer for Power Generation Engineering & Services Company (PGESCo). He is responsible of creating, planning, implementing and integrating the strategic direction of the organization. This includes managing the company’s overall resources and operation and communication with board of directors, management team and corporate operations. Moreover, establishing policies that promote company culture and vision.

Prior joining PGESCo, Ahmed worked for General Electric (GE) as Vice President Project Development for GE Gas Power in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA), as well as the Chief Executive Officer for North East Africa. His experience in structuring complex deals, identifying funding opportunities and creating technical and financial solutions from the conceptual stage of a project to its completion, in collaboration with key stakeholders such as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms, investors, financiers, consultants and influencers.

During his years of experience, he was deeply involved in the financing of trade and investment flows between the MENAT region and the rest of the globe.

Ahmed has 25 year of experience in senior positions in the banking sector, specializing in Corporate and Investment banking and Asset Based Finance in organizations such as the Commercial International Bank, Citibank and Cisco Capital. He has worked across industries with the private and public sectors to find impactful opportunities for partnerships.

A fluent English and Arabic speaker, he has extensive knowledge of trade and export / project finance techniques and practices, together with an extensive portfolio of banking and institutional relations in the region.

Ahmed has a BA in Economics from the American University in Cairo

Alia Moubayed

Dr Ziad Daoud

Christopher Cantelmi

Niamh McBurney

Niamh McBurney is head of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) practice at Verisk Maplecroft. She oversees analysis for the region, leading coverage of Iraq and several of the Gulf states and the Levant.

Prior to joining Verisk Maplecroft, Niamh led AKE International’s coverage of political, economic and security risks across the MENA region, and provided analysis of the Gulf states, Yemen and Libya at Eurasia Group. She has published in Gulf States Newsletter and the Jamestown Terrorism Monitor. Niamh holds both a BA and MA with Middle East specialisations with a focus on the GCC from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Michael Bueker

Bilal Sugheyer

Peter Martin

Rasheed Al Janabi

Zaid Elyaseri

Dr Mazen Sabah

Jan von Allwörden

Patrick Farkas

Wael Mansour

Adnan Kassab

Hussain Qaragholi

Harry Istepanian

Harry Istepanian is an independent power and water consultant based in Washington DC. He has more than 30 years of experience in large-scale IPP projects in developing countries, including SE Asia and MENA region. He is a former advisor for Kuwait Ministry of Electricity on IPP projects. He has numerous interviews to media outlets, op-eds, peer review articles, conference papers published in international journals and magazines including Brookings Institute, Power Engineering International and the Electricity Journal on Iraq energy economics and policies. He is a senior fellow of Iraq Energy Institute.

Dunia Chalabi

Alice Gower

Mahmoud Hanafy

Tom Poteet

Jean-Louis Marcos

Dr Falah J Alamri

Hassan Allam

Hani Idris

Dr Mashal Al Nawab

Abdurrahman Khalidi

Duha Abdulkareem

Thamer Sakijha

Nasser Saleh

Hesham Sami

Silvia Macri

Ms. Silvia Macri, Principal Researcher, is responsible for renewable power market analysis in Africa and Middle East. Ms. Macri has led the regional renewables research for over 8 years, covering renewable power policy trends, business models, emerging renewable strategies, project activity and competitive landscape, among others. Her research scope includes all renewable power technologies’ options. She’s also contributed to a number of projects led by the IHS Markit Consulting Team looking at renewable energy strategy in long-term national energy planning, renewables commercial due diligence and market entry strategies. She has international experience in analysis and communication, having been based in the Middle East for over five years before her role at IHS Markit. Ms. Macri was an energy researcher and journalist for the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), based in Beirut, Lebanon, and previously a development advisor position at UNDP in Cairo, Egypt.
Ms. Macri holds a BA in International Relations from Bologna University (Italy) and a Master’s degree in Arab Gulf Studies from the University of Exeter (UK). She is Frankfurt School’s Certified Expert in Climate and Renewable Energy Finance (2018). Ms. Macri is based in Paris and speaks Italian, English, Spanish, and French, and has a basic knowledge of Arabic.

Haidar Obaidi

Hisham Dahbour

Bilal Wahab

Musab Al Khateeb

Abbas Kadhim

Thamer Sakijha

Toby Iles

Ali Al-Saffar

Ahmed Mehdi

Peter Harling

Lizzie Porter

Lizzie Porter is a multi-award winning British journalist and Senior Correspondent for Iraq Oil Report. Based between Erbil and Baghdad, she covers the oil and gas industry, politics and security across Iraq.

Before joining Iraq Oil Report, she was a freelance journalist based in Lebanon for over four years, filing stories for the BBC, New Statesman magazine, CNN, The Telegraph and The Times of London. In Iraq, she reported from Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk, Najaf and the Nineweh plains, on issues including infrastructure, reconstruction, and non-state armed groups. She has a first class degree in French literature and language from Oxford University. She speaks fluent English and French and advanced Modern Standard and Levantine dialect Arabic. Her Iraqi is ever-improving.

Robin Mills

Mark Ossel

Ahmed Tabaqchali