Our 2024 Speakers

Steve is Boeing’s Regional Director of UK, Middle East and International Defence Sustainability. In this role he supports Boeing’s customers achieve their net zero goals. Prior to this role, Steve was Boeing’s NATO Director and UK Head of Government Affairs. Steve joined Boeing from Rolls-Royce, and the Ministry of Defence. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and has lived and worked in Belgium, India, the USA and China

Valentin Batteiger coordinates the research on future aviation fuels at Bauhaus Luftfahrt, a think tank with a long-term focus on future mobility and future air travel. His current research interest is on various alternative fuel pathways that potentially enable large-scale renewable fuel supply for aviation. He co-authored a frequently cited background paper on the perspective of power-to-liquid pathways for aviation (http://bit.ly/2cowOyf). On the biofuel side, he coordinates the EU Horizon Europe project CIRCULAIR that develops technologies to convert agricultural residues into jet fuel via a coupled advanced biofuel and power-to-liquid pathway (www.project-circulair.eu). Valentin represents Bauhaus Luftfahrt in the aireg initiative (aireg – Aviation Initiative for Renewable Energy in Germany e.V., https://aireg.de) and serves in the Technical Advisory Board of the Aviation Climate Taskforce (https://aviationclimatetaskforce.org/).

Director of Government Affairs at easyJet, leading on developing easyJet’s public policy positions and objectives. Involved in sustainability issues in the EU and the UK, and represents easyJet on a range of associations in support of easyJet’s net zero objectives.

Andriy, Tractebel’s Business Developer for hydrogen, e-fuels and decarbonization, is passionate about overcoming the challenges of the energy transition. His focus is bringing to life large-scale hydrogen and decarbonization projects. Started his career as a nuclear engineer and completed his PhD studies, worked on a variety of international projects as both an analyst and a technical coordinator. In 2013, he joined Tractebel as a senior expert. He later joined the commercial team for energy projects, covering gas and LNG, offshore wind and, more recently, hydrogen and power-to-X activities.

Phil began his career in television where he spent five years as a reporter with Sky based across the North of England and Scotland before moving into the world of aviation to take on the role of Media & Public Affairs Manager at Newcastle Airport. After spending three years at the north-east airport, Phil then moved to Leeds Bradford Airport firstly in the role of Aviation Development & Corporate Affairs Manager, before progressing to become the airport’s Head of External Affairs. Phil led the airport’s public affairs strategy, including lobbying on aviation strategy and capacity and was heavily involved in the airport’s aeronautical and commercial operation, aimed to put customer experience at the heart of the business strategy while boosting the airport’s international connectivity. He joined Teesside International Airport as Commercial Director in 2019 before taking on the role of Managing Director in 2020. He is responsible for overseeing Teesside International and its current transformation to ensure the airport is ready for the increase in passenger numbers resulting from securing new domestic and holiday services. He is also driving forward the redevelopment of the airport masterplan utilising its land and assets, including its new cargo handling facility, the creation of a £200million business park and plans for the airport to be net zero by 2035.

CEO in Nordic Electrofuel since February 2016. Have successfully developed the company and funded it with seed capital. Have negotiated and secured important contracts together with his team, which includes off-take, utilities, CO2 supply, long term renewable Power, Oxygen deliveries / distribution. Have built up the organization with a very high qualified management team. Brought the company through Basic Engineering and ready for construction. Secured a maximum grant award of €40 million from the EU Innovation Fund in July 2023, were the company also scored highest of all Mid-sized projects achieving 82.5 out of 90 points. Background and synopsis: Corporate and investment finance professional with 31 years of Investment banking experience. Very extensive experience from fundraising and M & A Activity. Leading and participating in huge amount of Placements. Previously top rated and high profiled Investment analyst both domestically and internationally. Has shown high entrepreneurship through founding and developing an Investment Bank from 2 to 50 employees and going from NOK0 to NOK80 in Revenues in five years. Co-founder of two investments banks and CEO of both. Have advised many companies which under his guidance have grown to large companies. Have in all jobs been a significant contributor for the Companies where he worked. Co-Founder and previous board member of Norge Mining and CEO of Norwegian subsidiary Norge Mineraler a company which has reported one of largest mineral discoveries in the world in the recent years.

Since September 2022, Michiel has been serving as the Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President of AFKL Cargo, and he is also the Strategic Sustainability Lead for Cargo. He joined AFKL 2019 as Management Trainee. During this period, Michiel worked on several assignments. At Inflight Services, he conducted research on the knowledge level of crew and passengers about sustainability. After that, he laid the foundation for the AFKL Cargo SAF program. He then served as a team manager in the cargo operation and gained commercial experience at KLM Netherlands. Ultimately, he became program manager of The Sustainable Flight Challenge for KLM.

Jonathan is based in the English countryside and currently works as the Fuel Consultant for Star Alliance Services GmbH, as well as running his own consultancy company, Penthurst Ltd. Jonathan joined Star Alliance in June 2017, and works on behalf of 26 airlines globally on joint initiatives including any SAF and fossil fuel purchasing requests or other fuel related issues. Jonathan previously worked for Virgin Atlantic for 26 years from 1990 until September 2016 and worked in Treasury and Fuel Procurement. In addition to his treasury duties and managing their global fuel exposure throughout this time he helped Virgin operate the first commercial biofuel test flight in 2008. Jonathan Chaired the IATA Commercial Fuel Working Group for five years, organising these meetings and steering the group through some troubling times. He also represented all the visiting airlines on the Hong Kong Management Association for eight years where he worked on the industries behalf to improve fuel services at the new airport in the most cost-effective manner. On his home front he has always been very active in regard to the supply and storage of aviation fuel into the UK airports and continues to participate in fuel related working groups at Heathrow.

Thomas Fowler is Director of Sustainability & Finance for Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline. Thomas is a qualified ACCA accountant Thomas has been working with Ryanair for 20 years, having joined in June 2003. He has held a number of roles in finance – with a particular focus on fuel purchasing, fuel hedging and fuel efficiency. With his appointment as Director of Sustainability, Thomas is responsible for developing and leading Ryanair’s environmental strategy and its implementation of its pathway to Net Zero.

Daniel leads IATA's Fuel team, focusing on efficiency and reliability of fuel supply – including the ramp up of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) – and advocating for a competitive market and fair access to infrastructure. After being part of the fuel team at LAN (now LATAM) in 2005-2007, he led fuel, safety, MRO and procurement projects at ALTA. Before joining IATA in 2018, he served as Co-Lead in ICAO’s group developing the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for fuel monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures for CORSIA.

Sarah Wilkin is founder & CEO of FGA, a Booking.com grantee in 2018 when herself and Professor Shiju Raveendran at University of Amsterdam, chemical engineer and catalyst specialist, gained a sustainable travel grant to work on the R&D of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) which was a milestone for SAF awareness, being the first time the tech had been given attention outside of the aviation industry. Previously she worked in digital, advertising and market research before switching careers in 2018, and brought this knowledge to sustainable aviation developments to push innovation and carbon reduction in the area as well as bring a new perspective. Sarah went on to introduce and pioneer the concept of turning SAF into a credit/unit in 2019 for access for and cost sharing with the business travel sector, gaining approval from global certification body Gold Standard. She also supported Amex Global Business Travel to bring their work to market and this spurred a host of work on the access of SAF for business travellers through a ‘unit/credit’ which has lead to other mechanisms being developed by industry SAF leaders as well as the Book & Claim approach. Sarah is now developing work with the business travel and sports sectors through FGA Futures & FGA Sports to speed up the acceleration of the energy transition in travel through consultancy, education, and development of new businesses models. This year she is a judge for the Business Travel Sustainability Awards and FGA is launching their membership, sponsored by aviation insurers Convex.

Amy Hebert is the CEO and founder of Arcadia eFuels, a company with the mission to combat climate change by producing sustainable fuels with a net-zero carbon footprint. In a project full of firsts, Amy and the Arcadia team have worked to create a first-of-its-kind commercial efuels that is becoming a reality with their first location set to be built in Vordingborg, Denmark. Amy brings more than 25 years of global industry experience and 12 years of executive leadership positions in the refining, chemical and polymer markets. She has experience in all aspects of business management including developing and executing long term business strategy while managing overall financial wellbeing; experience with JV’s, new plant construction, and plant expansions from idea, through design and startup. Most recently she held the position as Deputy CEO/Chief Commercial Officer for Haldor Topsoe, and previously Vice President Europe with Celanese and Global Vice President Catalysts with Albemarle. She holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Amy is also a supervisory board member, nomination and audit committee member of IMCD.

Cedric Caudron is Vertimass COO for the EMEA region since January 2024. He was previously Vice President of Newbury Holding, an affiliate of UGI International, LLC, representing UGI as a shareholder and industrial partner of Vertimass. Within UGI International, he serves as Director of Innovation, Research and Development Director, focusing on the energy transition and the development of new renewable businesses. Cedric has over 19 years of experience in the energy sector as a manager and business developer, as well as in project execution, participation in process improvement, integration of new businesses, or due diligence for investments. Cedric holds a master’s degree in Mechanical and Production Engineering from the Ecole Nationale supérieure des Mines d’Alès (IMT Mines Alès – France).

Susan van Dyk is an expert in the field of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and biofuels with 15 years experience. As a consultant, she helps companies, governments and international organisations to develop and implement sustainable biofuel solutions. Susan’s expertise includes an in-depth understanding of the technologies for SAF production, their potential and challenges, and research and commercialisation trends. She is also experienced in feedstocks and pretreatment processes, co-processing of biobased feedstocks in petroleum refineries, refinery integration, policy, and sustainability. She is the author and co-author of numerous influential reports focusing on the application of biofuels and SAF in transportation sectors. These reports were commissioned by organisations such as the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 39, the International Renewable Energy Agency, Natural Resources Canada, and Transport Canada. She has also published many highly-cited academic papers. She has worked on several SAF projects funded by Boeing, Suncor, Noram Engineering, the Parkland refinery and other companies, and she acts as a reviewer for the US Department of Energy. Susan holds a Doctorate in Biochemistry and a Master's degree in law. She works as a consultant and is also a Research Associate at the University of British Columbia.

Laurent is Deputy Managing Director of Airlines for Europe (A4E) where he oversees sustainability policy. A4E is Europe’s largest airline association, based in Brussels. With a modern fleet of over 3,200 aircraft, A4E airlines carried 75% of Europe’s passengers market last year. As an initiator of the European aviation Destination 2050 roadmap, A4E and its members committed to support the European Green Deal and achieve Net Zero carbon emissions for their operations by 2050. Since 2016 Laurent leads A4E’s members’ work on industry decarbonisation, including carbon markets and sustainable aviation fuels. For over 14 years, he has worked with blue chip companies, trade associations, governments and NGOs in the fields of transport, energy and climate change. He holds a master’s degree in political economy from the London School of Economics (LSE), and a BA in international relations from the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL). Laurent speaks English, French, Spanish and is improving his Icelandic.

Mishal Al Mutlaq is the Chief Investment Officer at Alfanar’s project development and EPC division. As the CIO, Mishal is instrumental in the coordination with banks and co-investors, where he oversees team promoting projects and secures the funding for these projects. Till date, he concluded deals worth over $4.08Billion as non-recourse financing. The division projects include renewable electricity generation such as Solar and Wind, advanced sustainable aviation fuel, wastewater recycling, smart cities including smart meters as well as power with carbon capture & storage. The geographic span of these projects includes Saudi Arabi, Egypt, India, Spain and the United Kingdom. He also serves as a Director of Alfanar Energy, UK and Alfanar Energia Espana, Spain while also leading the IPP team – renewable division of Alfanar and is part of the investment board which allocates corporate level capital. Mishal started his career with Alfanar in 2013 as an Investment Manager handling the corporate investments worldwide. Earlier, he was Head of Periam Investor Group, where he was involved in the strategic review and the eventual sale of Enernoc, the largest demand and frequency response provider in the United States of America at the time. Mishal is also the promoter for Alfaco Partners Limited, which is an FCA regulated (as an Appointed Representative) entity based in the United Kingdom. Prior to joining Alfanar Mishal was part of the investment team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management in Saudi Arabia, which ran flagship funds investing in domestic public equities market. Mishal holds a B.Sc. in Financial Services with a minor in Business Law from Bryant University. Mishal has passed CFA level I & II and the General Securities Qualification (CME-1).

Ausilio is a partner at ERM in the Sustainable Energy Solutions team where he leads the low carbon fuels and sustainable chemicals sector. He was previously founder and director of sustainable energy strategy advisory firm E4tech. He is a leading expert in low carbon fuels with over 25 years’ experience, and works with a broad range of clients on projects covering technical and commercial due diligence, business and policy strategies, and project and supply chain formation. He participates in advisory panels for a range of organisations, including the UK Department for Transport Advanced Fuels Fund, the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), the IEA and the Climate Bonds Initiative.

• André is Nuseed’s EU representative, based in Brussels. With more than 15 years of experience, he drives the company’s EU policy advocacy strategy, steering Nuseed Bioenergy Platform and Carinata Programme development in Europe. • Prior to joining Nuseed, André spent +7 years at the EBB-European Biodiesel Board, the association representing European biodiesel & HVO producers. As Head of EU Policy, André led the EBB’s advocacy work, developing common policy positions and working on joint positions with external stakeholders and coalitions. He also represented the industry in EU expert groups and conferences. He focused on the implementation of the post-2020 EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), the Fit-For-55 package (RED III, aviation, maritime, etc.), multiple European Green Deal proposals and trade matters. • Before the EBB, André spent +4 years as a consultant at a public affairs agency in Brussels, advising clients in the energy, environment, and transport sectors, with a strong focus on biofuels issues. Prior to moving to Brussels, André worked for various law firms in Portugal focused on public law and policy.

Rahul Malik currently lead the Biofuels and E-Fuel Consulting Study at S&P Global for EMEA Region, as a principal consultant in Oil, Midstream and Downstream department. Being part of S&P Commodity Insights division, Rahul Malik involves in consulting assignments in the Energy sector primarily focusing on due diligence, corporate strategy development and decision making, investment analysis, Decarbonization strategy and market fundamentals analysis. Also, He had years of technology and technical consulting experience in Refining and Petro chemicals downstream Industry with Axens (IFP Group Technologies) & UOP (A Honeywell Company) Technology companies, with an experience of leading downstream projects in 16 different countries. He is a Petroleum engineer by background with an additional master’s degree in Energy Management.

Helena conducted research on SAF implementation strategies at airports. She specialized in investigating what role airports could play in the context of SAF, which is being developed in a white paper. She has extensive theoretical and practical knowledge on sustainable innovation and sustainable development. She collaborated in the implementation of a CO2 modelling tool for a company to monitor and reduce their footprint in their operations. She has supported an EU 'bridge' project for Horizon 2020, specifically aiding in research for users of smart grids. Additionally, she has experience in sustainability consultancy on industry and buildings sector and is currently working in the aviation sector on sustainability matters.

Nadine Braun is a Environmental Policy Advisor specializing in Sustainability and Environmental Law. She is a lawyer and political scientist, holding a Master's degree in European Integration with a focus on bioeconomy and environment. Additionally, Nadine is undertaking a VUB Programme specialization focused on ways of Greening the EU Economy. Prior to joining AIRE, she worked in the EU Parliament and international law firms in the fields of corporate and competition law. At AIRE, Nadine's role includes leading on environmental policy issues such as Refuel EU Aviation, EU ETS, and CORSIA, as well as representing and informing its member airlines of all regulatory developments concerning environmental issues.

Tim Moerenhout has been working in various environmental and sustainability roles in consulting companies for more than 15 years. After his graduation as an environmental engineer, he initially worked for an environmental consultancy group and moved on to a consulting service company in real estate where he worked as an environmental and sustainability manager. Since 2024 he joined Brussels Airport as a sustainability manger and is mainly working on the European Stargate project, where his focus lays on Sustainable Aviation Fuels and circular economy.

Tom has extensive expertise in airport development, infrastructure, terminal planning, landside access, master planning, cargo and strategy. As part of the NACO leadership team, Tom is responsible for NACO’s Aviation Strategy and also manages delivery of NACO’s strategic business objectives. In addition, Tom leads the Smart Aviation team which is dedicated to the innovation and development of new global services and market development. The Smart Aviation team offers expertise in Sustainability (climate resilience and alternative fuels), Business Advisory (C-Suite economic and business consultancy), Digital Advisory (Data lifecycle management and adaptable digital infrastructure design), Customer Experience (retail and non-aero revenues) and ATM Global Advisory (ATM interoperability, remote towers and AI/ML human centric solutions). As a previous Board Director at Schiphol Airport, Tom was responsible for creating and leading the Spatial and Programme Development Department of Terminal Buildings, Landside Accessibility, Real-estate, Airside and Baggage Programmes. He was member of the Schiphol Capital Lifecycle Board and delivered the Schiphol VQP. In Belgium, Tom delivered the Brussels Airport Masterplan and has represented Brussels Airport at various Regional and Federal Government policy & stakeholder forums as well as sitting on the IMEC I-Start Investment Jury for digital and innovation start-ups.

Ella the Managing Director of To70 Belgium and has a MSc. Degree in Aerospace engineering from Technical University in Delft with over 15 years of project management and commercial experience in the aviation and energy sectors. In addition to her role as Managing Director, she has worked as a project manager on various projects in the field of environment and sustainability, noise pollution, safety and aviation policy. She is on the Management Board of the EU Green deal STARTGATE project where she is leading the work package in which initiatives tested at Brussels Airport are replicated in fellow airports, Budapest, Toulouse, and Athens. Contributing to a sustainable future for aviation and helping the customer with their challenges is what she is truly passionate about. Ella has moderated several panel discussions and has strong communication skills, and a pragmatic and customer-focused attitude.