COPENMIND

Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister of Climate and Energy

Connie Hedegaard plays an important role in relation to Copenhagen’s role as host of United Nations Climate Conference in 2009, COP15. “The climate conference in Bali has ended, and Denmark got what it came to get: a roadmap for the next two years of work in climate diplomacy leading to the 2009 climate conference in Copenhagen, where a new global agreement will be forged”. Connie Hedegaard says. Read more about Connie Hedegaard and COP 15 here

Nicholas Parker, Chairman and Managing partner, Cleantech Group, LLC

Nicholas Parker is Chairman and Managing Partner of the Cleantech Group, LLC which he co-founded. He introduced the “cleantech” concept to the investment and business community in 2002. Previously Nicholas accumulated over 15 years experience starting and investing venture funds worldwide through limited partnerships, family offices, corporate funds and endowments. During this time, he pioneered the first “sustainability” driven private equity funds and participated in one of the first solar IPOs. In the 1990s, he also founded, built and sold an environmental finance firm. He has served as an advisor to multilateral agencies and major corporations.

Masatami Takimoto, Executive VP, Technology Development, Toyota

Masatami Takimoto joined Toyota in 1970 upon completing postgraduate work in mechanical engineering at Kyoto University. Most of his work at Toyota has been in product development, mainly in engine-related technologies. In 1993, Mr. Takimoto became the manager of an engine-design department in Toyota’s development center that handles commercial and sport-utility vehicles. He went on to become the general manager of a planning division there in 1994, and was named to the Board of Directors in 1999. In 2002, he assumed the position of a managing director. Mr. Takimoto has since taken on additional responsibilities in engine engineering, R&D management and, most recently, electric and hybrid vehicle engineering.

Jørgen Ole Haslestad, President and CEO of the Siemens Industry Solutions Division

Haslestad, a native of Norway, studied at the Technical University of Trondheim. He then gathered extensive experience in the offshore industry of the Norwegian oil and gas industry. From 1989 on he acted as managing director of Kongsberg Offshore a.s. From 1994 to 2001, he held several senior management positions within Siemens AG and its subsidiaries in Asia and the US. In 2001 he took over the responsibility as President and CEO of the Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group.

Bracken Darrell, Senior Vice President Operations, Whirlpool Europe

Darrell joins Whirlpool Europe with vast general management and marketing experience in consumer durables, including appliances and consumer packaged goods. He was recently president of Braun, a Procter and Gamble division, based in Germany and previously served as a general manager of General Electric’s major appliance business. He also held positions of increasing responsibility in Procter and Gamble, Pepsi and Arthur Andersen. Darrell holds an MBA from Harvard business school, and is a certified Six Sigma leader.

Claude Fussler, Director for Caring for the Climate Programme, UN Global Compact

Claude Fussler is the Director for Caring for the Climate Programme at the UN Global Compact. Up to 2001 he was a vice president of Dow Chemical where he moved through numerous business assignments in 30 years of career. He was also a director at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and led the business input to the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. Based in Provence, he continues to contribute to local and international sustainability programmes. He has authored and edited several books related to business innovation and sustainable development.

Julia Hamm, Director of Solar Electric Power Association

Julia Hamm is the executive director of the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), a membership organization that facilitates solutions for utility use and integration of solar electric power. SEPA’s membership includes more than 100 utilities, 150 solar companies, and 50 stakeholders. Julia has authored numerous articles on solar trends as well as utility solar programs. Julia is also the chair of the annual Solar Power Conference and Expo, the largest solar event in the US. In 2007, Julia was recognized as one of the top 10 women in Cleantech by the online magazine, www.earth2tech.com

Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency

Professor McGlade is the Executive Director of the European Environment Agency. Prior to this she was Natural Environment Research Council Professorial Fellow in Environmental Informatics in the Mathematics Department of University College London where her main areas of research included spatial data analysis and informatics, expert systems, environmental technologies and the international politics of the environment and natural resources. Professor McGlade has worked extensively in North America, south-east Asia and West Africa; she has published more than 100 research papers, written popular articles, presented and appeared in many radio and television programmes. She has given public lectures worldwide on climate change, energy and sustainable development.

Arab Hoballah, Chief of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch in the Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE), UNEP.

Until 2005 Arab spent 14 years working in the UNEP Regional Seas programme, as the Deputy Coordinator of the Mediterranean Action Plan since 1998. Before 1998 he was also responsible for the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development and was the Deputy Director of the Blue Plan, one of MAP’s Regional Activity Centres and worked for several institutions, including several years with World Bank projects in developing countries. Sustainable development and environment protection depend on production and consumption patterns through individual and collective decision and behaviour. These require the promotion of a culture of change and adequate policy reforms. Important activities concern: the preparation of a 10 year framework of programmes on SCP, the Sustainable Building and Construction Initiative, the International Panel on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and the Partnerships with the Business and Industry Stakeholders;Educated and trained in a multicultural environment in various continents, he qualified in Paris in 1978-79 in Economic Tools and Prospective Analysis (MSc), in 1981 in International Relations (MSc) and in Economic Development (PhD).

Gregory Vogt, Managing Director, International Solid Waste Association

Gregory Vogt is the Managing Director for International Solid Waste Association. ISWA’s mission is to promote sustainable solid waste management worldwide. To this end, Mr. Vogt participates in quorums, scientific panels, training courses and grant projects for the largest global solid waste management associations. Prior to his appointment as the ISWA Managing Director, Mr. Vogt served as vice president with USA-based SCS Engineers, a leading environmental engineering consultancy emphasizing the solid waste management field. With a strong background in solid waste management, waste characterization, and landfill gas, Mr. Vogt specialized in field investigations, air sampling programs, leachate characterization, gas emissions, corrective action technologies, and alternatives analyses for public/private partnerships.

Scott Clavenna, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Greentech Media

Scott Clavenna has been leading high-tech market research firms for over 15 years. In his capacity as a trusted analyst and consultant, Scott has helped dozens of companies enter and succeed in complex and intensely competitive markets worldwide. At Greentech Media he manages the company’s online news, market research and events businesses, providing critical data, analysis and networking to the green technologies industry. Prior to founding Greentech Media, Scott was chief analyst at Heavy Reading, the market research arm of Light Reading, the dominant online media company in the telecommunications market. CMP acquired Light Reading in 2005. Before creating Heavy Reading, Scott founded PointEast Research, providing strategic consulting and market intelligence to a broad mix of startups, venture capitalists and major suppliers in the communications/IT industry.

Niels B. Christiansen, Vice CEO, Danfoss A/S

Niels B. Christiansen, has a broad experience of leading large global high tech companies and understands the challenges they face. Currently, the Vice CEO of Danfoss A/S, www.danfoss.com, he will head the group from 1 October when the current CEO, Jørgen M. Clausen, retires from the position. Danfoss takes the CO2 challenge very seriously and produces a long line of components and solutions that promote energy efficiency. With a long-term perspective in mind the group also puts clean tech research, innovation and product development high on the agenda. Part of this effort is a close ongoing cooperation with several universities and scientific institutions.Niels B. Christiansen joined Danfoss as COO in 2004, and before that he was Executive Vice President at GN Store Nord and President & CEO of GN Netcom. Niels B. Christiansen has an MSc in Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and holds an MBA from INSEAD in France. He began his career at McKinsey & Co., where he worked for four years. After that, he worked for Hilti Corp., Switzerland, for a few years before joining GN Store Nord. Niels B. Christiansen is a member of the Boards of Directors of TrygVesta A/S, Axcel A/S, Bang & Olufsen a/s and William Demant Holding A/S.