10 December 2015, Istanbul, “Managing Risks and Grasping Opportunities in the New World of Energy: How?” | Agenda

KeynoteMessage: Honorary Chairman, The Bosphorus Energy Club | A graduate of the Istanbul Technical University with a degree in electrical engineering, Mr. Taner Yıldız was elected a member of parliament representing Kayseri, his home town, in 2002. Mr. Yıldız previously worked for the Kayseri Electricity Generation Company where he became general manager and a board member. After entering parliament, he served as an energy advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and, since May 2009, has been Turkey’s minister of energy and natural resources. In addition to effectively addressing domestic energy challenges and mobilizing critical investments, he has led the crafting and implementation of an intense energy diplomacy strategy involving critical deals and partnerships with Russia, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, China, Japan, the East Mediterranean, the MENA and Gulf regions, and the EU.

Partner, Global Resources Communications Advisory | Stephen has a background encompassing journalism, politics and international consultancy. Following a spell as a producer and reporter focusing on European Union affairs for a leading international news channel, Stephen served as a consultant to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office as part of an international team supporting the Sudan peace negotiations. He also worked as an adviser for two UN agencies – FAO and IFAD – in Rome, building and maintaining relationships with donors for major emergency projects. In 2005 he became head of media for the UK Conservative delegation to the European Parliament, and from there he branched out into his own international consultancy. Stephen now specialises in working directly with globally prominent and ultra-HNW individuals on their political and social activities, and he provides bespoke complementary diplomatic and foreign policy-related services and counsel to governments, companies and individuals. In addition to his native English, Stephen speaks Italian and French, and he is a dual UK-Italian citizen. He was educated at Milton Abbey School, the University of Durham and the University of London. He is married with two sons.

Deputy Minister of Energy, Islamic Republic of Iran |

President, Akfel Mehmet Fatih is the chairman of Akfel Holding which was established in 1995 and is a leading energy trading house and industrial enterprise rendering services in Turkey and surrounding energy markets.  Akfel has the largest non-governmental market share in Turkey, with annual trading volume over 70 TWh, positioned uniquely in South-Eastern Europe gas market as a reliable gas supplier via multiple import channels, through equity partnerships with leading global energy companies. Akfel is the biggest private sector customer of Gazprom in Turkey as well as equity partner of Gazprom and Azerbaijan State Oil Company (Socar) in several companies in Turkey. Akfel also offers integrated energy infrastructure services, including design, engineering, consulting, construction and manufacturing, O&M in Turkey, MENA, Gulf and CIS countries. Committed to development of renewable energy in Turkey and CIS, Akfel generates photovoltaic and hydropower, and engages in regional cross-border power transactions. Mr. Baltacı has been the President of GAZTED (Natural Gas Suppliers Association) since 2011 as well as Chairman of Turkish& Russian Cultural Foundation.                                                 Fatih has graduated from Boğaziçi University with B.S. in mechanical engineering. He is a member of The Bosphorus Energy Club, Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) and Turkish Chamber of Mechanical Engineers.

Chairman, EgeGaz Haydar has a BA in Economics from Princeton University and he is also Vice-Chairman of Çolakoğlu Metalurji and board member at TEB Holding, the holding company of Türk Ekonomi Bankası (TEB).

CEO, Socar Kenan holds MBA degrees both from the Institute of Management, Istanbul University and from the Institute of Social Sciences, Yeditepe University. Kenan is also Board Member of Petkim where he previously acted as the General Manager. His career included MAKO, a joint venture between Koç Holding and Magneti Marelli. He also served as a Member of Audit Committee at the recently privatized Bursagaz. Previously, he was also Board Member of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry between and in Association of Energy Efficiency between, is still a Board Member of International Competitiveness Research Institute and the Chairman of High Advisory Board of Sustainable Development and Green Growth Association.

Former Minister of Environment, Bulgaria

Partner, Hakluyt

Minister of Natural Resources, KRG, Iraq Ashti gained a bachelor’s degree in oil engineering from Baghdad University. Later he was awarded a PhD in Reserve Oil Engineering in Scotland. Ashti held several senior oil executive positions in the private sector. Previously, he was Chairman and CEO of ECL Group and worked as a senior oil engineer for the company Intera in London. He worked as an engineer on the North Sea in Scotland for the British National Oil Company. He was also a senior engineer for an exploration consultancy and he was the proprietor and director of DUK, a limited liability UK engineering and services firm and worked as an engineer in the Iraqi National Oil Company in Basra.

Chief Executive Officer, Akkuyu Nuclear | Fuad is a graduate of the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy and the Business School at the University of Texas, holds degrees of the Japan Center for International Finance and the Joint Vienna Institute of the IMF. In his early career, he held various positions at the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, the State Committee for Economy and Planning and in the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan. Later, he became the Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Azerbaijan and he was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Bank of Azerbaijan before becoming the CEO, First Vice President of IBG NIKoil. In 2003, he was President, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OJSC Bank UralSib. He created United Capital Investment Group and was a member of the Supervisory Board of Silkroutefinancial, London. Later, Fuad became Chairman of the Board of Directors of UralSib Asset Management Company and CEO of OJSC ZNAK and member of the Board of Directors of UralSib Financial Corporation.

NPC International Managing Director & Board Member Issa Mashayekhi has had a long career in Iran’s petrochemical industry and currently serves as Managing Director of National Petrochemical Company International. Previously, he has held senior positions at Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Company, Hormoz Petrochemical Company, Veniran Petrochemical Company, and Mehr Petrochemical Company. Mr. Mashayekhi’s experience in the financial side of the petrochemical industry extends to long-term financing, mergers and acquisitons, risk management, and valuation. He holds a BA from Shahid Chamran University and a Masters in Corporate Finance and Investment from London Metropolitan University.

Director, Trade and Energy Negotiations, Ministery of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Iran

Director, Energy Community Secretariat |

Chairman, Sepil Holding,Turkey | Mehmet has a Civil Engineering degree and an MSc in Coastal and Harbor Engineering from Middle East Technical University. He has a consistent 30-year-record of delivering extraordinary results in growth, revenue, operational performance and profitability in projects with NATO, the US and the Turkish Government, as well as private companies, due to his strong work ethic and superior interpersonal skills. In 2002, he founded Genel Energy which is the first company to be awarded a PSC by the KRG. The company has built an extensive portfolio of exploration and production assets in various regions of Northern Iraq. Genel Energy has acquired participating interests in seven exploration and production blocks. Mehmet was the CEO of his company until the merger of Vallares and Genel Energy International in November 2011. Since 2000, he has also been a shareholder in the Cukurova Holding Group and chairman of INTA Spaceturk.

Deputy Undersecretary, Ministry of Energy and Natural Recources, Turkey | Sefa is the deputy undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in Turkey and previously served as assistant expert in the Directorate General of Agreements, Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade, and as a consultant at the Prime Ministry and the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA). He also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of BOTAS. His past roles include: head of department at the Directorate General of Agreements, undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade, head of department and deputy chairman at the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT), deputy undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Relations, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. A graduate of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University, he completed his post graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in the U.S. Sefa is the deputy undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in Turkey and previously served as assistant expert in the Directorate General of Agreements, Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade, and as a consultant at the Prime Ministry and the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA). He also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of BOTAS. His past roles include: head of department at the Directorate General of Agreements, undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade, head of department and deputy chairman at the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT), deputy undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Relations, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. A graduate of the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University, he completed his post graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

Chairman, Glencore Xstrata plc | Tony Hayward studied geology at Aston University in Birmingham and completed a PhD at Edinburgh University. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, Aston University, the University of Birmingham and Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University.  He was Group Chief Executive of BP from 2007 to 2010 having joined BP in 1982 as a rig geologist in the North Sea. Following a series of technical and commercial roles in Europe, Asia and South America, he returned to London in 1997 as a member of the Upstream Executive Committee. He became Group Treasurer in 2000, Chief Executive for BP’s upstream activities and member of the Main Board of BP in 2003.  In June 2011 Tony founded Vallares plc, a $2.2bn acquisition company listed on the London Stock Exchange, He became Chief Executive of Genel Energy plc in November 2011 following the merger of Vallares plc and Genel Energy International, the largest oil producer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In August 2015 Tony was appointed Chairman of Genel Energy.  Tony is Chairman of Glencore, a Partner of AEA Investors and Chairman of CompactGTL. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a visiting Professor in the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh, a member of the International Advisory Board of Birmingham University and chairs Aston University Development Board. In addition he is a member of the British Museum’s Chairman’s Advisory Board and a member of the Development Advisory Board of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Former Chairman, IEA Governing Board, and Ambassador of Norway | Arne is an independent adviser on government relations, geopolitics and international energy affairs. He is currently among other things a Partner with Burson Marsteller Norway, an Associate Fellow at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Norway and part-time Professor at the TERI University in New Delhi, India. He was Norway’s Ambassador to Japan (2009-2014), to Austria and the UN Organisations in Vienna (2002-2003), to India (1995-1999) and to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris ( 2000-2002 and 1989-1994). His former international positions include serving as the first Secretary General of the International Energy Forum (IEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2003-2007) and as Chairman of the Governing Board of the IEA (2000-2003). In addition to advising companies, Ambassador Walther is currently also member of the Advisory Board of the Bosphorus Energy Club, member of the International Advisory Panel of the Windsor Energy Group (UK), Senior Adviser with the Global Resources Partnership (UK), as well as member of the International Steering Committee for the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (India).

CEO, Turkish Petroleum | Besim graduated from Istanbul Technical University Petroleum Engineering in 1988. He previously served as Vice President and Deputy President of TPOA. Before becoming Vice President, Besim worked as Log Engineer in TPAO Batman District Management and TPAO Adiyaman District Management, as Well Completion Engineer, Technical Operations Chief and Workover Chief Engineer in TPAO Adiyaman District Management, as Well Completion Services Manager in TPAO Adiyaman District Management, as TPAO Adiyaman District Deputy Manager, also as TPAO Adiyaman District Manager.

TOTH President, World Petroleum Congress | József is executive chairman of the board of Olajterv Oil and Gas Engineering Group. In addition, he is the founding and current chairman of the Hungarian Petroleum Association, and senior vice president of the World Petroleum Council, as well as a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the International Energy Agency. His past roles include vice president of the World Petroleum Council, chief advisor to the chairman and the CEO of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc., managing director of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc., managing director of Mineralimpex Hungarian Trading Company for Oil and Mining Products, vice president of the board of the Hungarian Hydrocarbon Strategic Stockpiling Association, and senior vice president of MOLTRADE Mineralimpex Co Ltd. He studied petroleum refining and petrochemicals at the University of Veszprém, has a master’s degree in chemical engineering, a master’s degree in economics, and a Ph.D. in economics. He is an honorary professor at the University of Veszprém, Hungary.

Former Minister of Finance and Economy, Greece |

CEO, BP Turkey |

Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey | Berris graduated in 1990 from the Faculty of Economics, Middle Eastern Technical University, Turkey and received her Master of Science in Finance at Boston College, USA in 1992 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey in 1994. She served abroad respectively in the Turkish Embassy in London and in the Turkish Embassy in Baku as a Second Secretary, in the Turkish Mission to the UN in New York as a First Secretary and Counsellor and as Consul General of Turkey in Marseille. Previously, Berris worked in the Banks’ Association of Turkey, at the Economic Department.

President, Arar Petroleum | Fatih graduated from Middle East Technical University in 1982. He embarked on his career in 1978 at Raman field and has extensive hands‐on field experience in the upstream sector in countries such as Turkey, Iraq, USA, Albania and Afghanistan. After establishing Amity Oil International Pty.Ltd in 1998 in Turkey, he led the Göçerler and Adatepe gas field discoveries, milestone projects that significantly increased exploration activities in the Turkey. As president of ARAR AŞ ve ALPAY ENERJİ AŞ, established in 2002 and 2010 respectively, he continues his exploration and production activies both in Turkey and abroad. His recent discoveries include Konya/Gülhanım gas field in 2010; Hatay/Hamam gas field in 2011 and Bağ oil field in 2015.

Director – General, UK Trade and Investment, Turkey, Central Asia and Caucasus, United Kingdom |

Global Energy Utilities Mining Leader, PwC Europe | Norbert holds a degree in Economics (1983) and received a doctorate in Economics in 1989. He was qualified as German Tax Advisor (1992) and as German Certified Public Accountant (1994). Specific industry competencies: Energy, power & utilities. Advice to power & utilities companies on financial performance and reporting, including value and sustainability reporting, acquisitions and due diligence, investments and divestments, compliance, risk management and controls. Born in 1960, Norbert is married, has two children and is based in Dusseldorf/Germany. He has more than 27 years of experience with PwC, half of that time focused solely on the Power & Utilities industry. Norbert has worked for a variety of clients within the Power & Utilities sector and has been involved in providing professional services relating to general industry and operational issues. Norbert leads PwC's Global Consumer and Industrial Products & Services group since 2012 and he is the Global Energy, Utilities & Mining leader for PwC's worldwide operations since 2013. He also is the leader of the Energy industry team in Germany. Norbert has been the Global Relationship Partner on RWE AG, Essen, and E.ON SE, Düsseldorf. Norbert is the PwC representative at the World Energy Council, the Energy Council of Wirtschaftsrat Deutschland and the Deutsches Nationales Komitee des Weltenergierates (DNK). Norbert is holding a seminar on Financial Accounting in the Masters course for Economics at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.

Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Turkey and Central Asia, Iran | Patrick was appointed as the CEO of Rolls-Royce in Turkey in April 2012. In his role, he is responsible for the total regional business performance of Rolls-Royce’s four sectors: civil aerospace, defense, marine, and energy, including its nuclear business. Prior to this assignment, he was the CEO for Vietnam and established a permanent Rolls-Royce presence in that emerging economy. He was also a Regional Director for North America in Rolls-Royce’s marine business segment, where he was instrumental in the rapid growth of the North American subsidiary and established Rolls-Royce as a leading provider of power systems in the US. He has been with Rolls-Royce for 11 years, preceded by a 22 year career with the US Navy. He holds two Masters in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in Paris.

Head of Natural Gas, Gunvor International |

After graduation from University in Newbury College in Boston in 1992, Ruya moved back to Turkey and started working in her father's textile factories. Starting from the lowest ranks gradually moved up to productions supervisors. Due to increasing business volume, she left her father's company and joined Bayegan Group in 2002, as sourcing coordinator since then. She was voted as one of the 50 most powerful people in a survey done by Refining & Petrochemicals magazine in December 2010.

Managing Partner, KPMG, Azerbaijan | Vugar is ACCA qualified and has a PhD in International Civil Law from Baku State University. He started his career at another of the big four firms in Azerbaijan in 1996 and he held the role of an Audit Partner and the Leader of Financial Services for Azerbaijan and Georgia with PwC. In his lengthy career with PwC, Vugar has been both in Audit and Advisory roles and has worked in Baku, Moscow and Istanbul offices. Starting 2008, Vugar was leading the financial services practices in the Caucasus region. His experience lies both in the IFRS transition, risk management, performance improvement, organizational restructuring, corporate finance and capital markets related services for commercial banks and central banks of the region.

A graduate of the Istanbul Technical University with a degree in electrical engineering, Mr. Taner Yıldız was elected a member of parliament representing Kayseri, his home town, in 2002. Mr. Yıldız previously worked for the Kayseri Electricity Generation Company where he became general manager and a board member. After entering parliament, he served as an energy advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and, since May 2009, has been Turkey’s minister of energy and natural resources. In addition to effectively addressing domestic energy challenges and mobilizing critical investments, he has led the crafting and implementation of an intense energy diplomacy strategy involving critical deals and partnerships with Russia, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, China, Japan, the East Mediterranean, the MENA and Gulf regions, and the EU.

Chairman, Özgül Holding | Ömer is a mechanical engineer specializing in energy machinery with a double major in ship machinery. He has a doctorate degree in fluid dynamics. He started his career at STFA, a construction and shipbuilding company. In 1985, Ömer stepped over to shipbuilding industry as a shipyard owner. He has also been acting as a special advisor to Borusan Holding and a Board Member of Turkish Wind Energy Association. He also acted as a Board Member for several reputable energy companies.