Karel Havlíček

Minister of Industry and Trade

Mr Havlíček graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague and from the PIBS at the Manchester Metropolitan University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Economics in Prague and was habilitated and obtained the docent academic title at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting.

Since the turn of the millennium, he has been defending the interests of business owners, especially in the position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts of the Czech Republic. As co-owner and CEO of SINDAT Group, he developed this company into a respected investor in small and medium-sized industry and new technologies over the past twenty years.

He has been involved in the academic world for many years and, in recent years, has was associated with the University of Finance and Administration, where he built a faculty of economic studies and prepared a study programme, Economy and Management. He has written several books on the subject of small and medium-sized enterprises and has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles in the Czech Republic and abroad.

He has been a member of a number of advisory bodies of the government and ministries; since 2014 he has been a member of the Government Council for Research, Development and Innovation and since 2018 he has been its Vice-Chairman.

In April 2019, he was nominated by Prime Minister for a post of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Industry and Trade. On 30 April 2019, he was appointed to both positions by President of the Czech Republic. At the same date, he resigned from the statutory and ownership positions in the business sphere and left the management of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Crafts.

Richard Brabec

Minister of the Environment

Richard Brabec was born in Kladno on 5 July 1966. He graduated from Charles University’s Faculty of Nature Science, majoring in deposit geology combined with foreign languages. He worked as the director of the Czech-Moravian Commodity Stock Exchange Kladno, in various positions in the financial section of Unipetrol, as Chief Financial Officer in Spolana Neratovice and as CEO of Lovochemie. Since 2007, he has been dealing with issues relating to European and Czech legislation on the environment, in particular the issue of REACH, the integrated permit system, and emission allowances. Richard Brabec has two sons, and speaks English, French and Russian.

In elections to the Chamber of Deputies in October 2013, he was elected for the Movement ANO 2011; on 29 January 2014 he was appointed as Minister of the Environment by Miloš Zeman, President of the Czech Republic, and on 24 May 2017 he was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister.

NOÉ VAN HULST

Hydrogen Envoy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy in the Netherlands

Noé van Hulst is Hydrogen Envoy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate Policy in the Netherlands. Prior to that, 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 Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1988, lastly as Director-General for Energy. Mr van Hulst has a PhD in economics from the VU Amsterdam.

James Watson

Secretary General Eurogas

Dr Watson is the Secretary General of Eurogas, a role he has held since January 2019. Eurogas is the association representing the European gas wholesale, retail and distribution sectors.

Prior to taking the helm at Eurogas, Dr Watson was the Chief Executive Officer of SolarPower Europe, the European solar industry association. Before joining SolarPower Europe, Dr Watson worked as the Director of Public Affairs for Weber Shandwick, specialising in energy and trade policy. Before coming to Brussels, Dr Watson worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat on a European Commission project on trade and sustainable development based in Ethiopia. Earlier in his career James worked for various UK government bodies in London and worked as a lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Manchester.

He holds a Ph.D in International Trade and Environmental Law from the University of Leeds, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Frank Graf

Head of the Gas Technology divition at DVGW-EBI

Frank Graf graduated in 2001 from the Technical University of Karlsruhe in Process Engineering and received his PhD from the Technical University of Karlsruhe in 2007. Since 2005 he is employed at DVGW-EBI. 2005-2010 he headed the department Gas Technology Consulting. Since 2010 he is responsible for the division Gas Technology. Besides, he is head of the group “Physical-chemical fuel processing technologies” at Engler-Bunte-Institute, KIT. His current R&D work at KIT and DVGW focus on the production and utilization of gases from renewable sources. Important research activities in this field are biogas production and upgrading as well as PtG technologies. Furthermore, he is expert for gas transport and distribution topics like gas quality aspects, injection of renewable gases, odorisation. He is member of various national and international research and standardization committees.

Martin Slabý

Chairman of the Board of the Czech Gas Association
Chairman and CEO of Pražská plynárenská Distribuce, a.s.

Martin Slabý has been serving as the Chairman of the Board of the Czech Gas Association since December 2018.

He is a graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague.

He has held technical and managerial positions at Tractebel and Gas de France (today ENGIE), and served as the investment manager of NET4GAS, the Czech transmission system operator.

Between 2015 and 2018, he was a member of the Coordination Committee and chairman of the Transmission Committee of the International Gas Union. Martin has been the Chairman and CEO of Pražská plynárenská Distribuce, a.s. since 2015.

Andreas Rau

CEO, NET4GAS, s.r.o.

Andreas Rau has graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Ruhr University in Bochum, and in European Studies from RWTH in Aachen.

His career began in 1997 with Ruhrgas AG Technical System Design in Essen. After holding various positions in technical and commercial natural gas transmission management at E.ON Ruhrgas AG, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of eustream, a.s. in Bratislava in 2006; he later took over there as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. By the end of 2011, he had transformed eustream into a separate and independent operator of a network of transit gas pipelines; in terms of the gas transmission volume, it is one of the largest TSOs in the EU. In early 2010, Andreas Rau was appointed to the Board of Directors of SPP, a.s. in Bratislava, where he was responsible for gas supply & sales, gas trading, electricity sales, and portfolio optimisation until early 2013.

He has been the CEO at NET4GAS since December 2013.

Radek Benčík

COO, NET4GAS, s.r.o.

Radek Benčík has graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Brno University of Technology and in 2005 acquired his MBA at Nottingham Trent University.

From 2008, he worked at Alstom, s.r.o. in the position of Director and Chief Executive Officer for Thermal Services in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, while holding a management role for Central Europe and the republics of the former Soviet Union. In this position he implemented emission reduction projects at power stations and CHP plants, e.g. for ČEZ Group in Prunéřov and for the Žilinská teplárenská district heating company in Slovakia. Before that, he served as the Chairman and CEO of ŠKODA Praha, a.s., while also holding the post of Director at ŠKODA Praha Invest, s.r.o. From 2001 he worked in the management of ŠKODA JS, subsequently as the company’s Chairman and CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors of the OMZ Nuclear Division international group.

He has been the COO at NET4GAS since 2011.

Tomáš Malatinský

President, Slovak Gas and Oil Association

Majoring in geodesy and cartography, he graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava and started his career as a land surveyor at Stavoprojekt Bratislava. His career in the energy sector was launched when he joined Elektrovod Bratislava in 1986, and continued upon transferring to ELCON Prague (1998–1999), employment with VÚJE Trnava (1999–2000) and service as Chairman and CEO of Elektrovod Bratislava (2000–2012). Between 2012 and 2014, he served as the Slovak Minister of Economy. In 2017, he returned to the position as the CEO at SAG Elektrovod Bratislava, and currently also works as an adviser to the Board of Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, a.s.

He is also active in non-governmental organisations. For 12 years (from 2000 to 2012), he held various positions: as the Vice-President of the Union of Employers in the Energy Sector, chairing it since 2003, since 2004 (but for the period from 2013 to 2015) he has been the President of the Federation of Employers’ Associations of the Slovak Republic, and since 2015 the President of the Slovak Gas and Oil Association.

Vladimír Dlouhý

President, Czech Chamber of Commerce

Vladimír Dlouhý has graduated from the Prague University of Economics and completed a postgraduate mathematical statistics and probability programme at Charles University in Prague; he is a former Minister of Economy of the Czechoslovak Federal Republic and a former Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.

He currently works on the International Advisory Board of Goldman Sachs and serves as the President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce; he is a member of the international advisory board of Meridiam Infrastructure (France) and a professor at Charles University in Prague.

His past engagements include, for example, the following: Adviser to ABB, a Director at KSK Power Ventures (India), the Deputy Chairman of The European Group of The Trilateral Commission, President of the International Chamber of Commerce, and member of the Czech Republic’s National Government Economic Council (NERV).

Tomáš Drápela

Chairman, Association for District Heating of the Czech Republic

Following graduation, Tomáš spent two years as an independent researcher at VŠST in Liberec (College of Mechanical and Textile Engineering). He worked as a programmer-analyst in various commercial companies from 1988 to 1995.

In 1996, he took the position as an independent economist at Plzeňská teplárenská, a.s., initially, from 1997, working as the CFO and then since 2002 as the CEO. At Plzeňská teplárenská, a.s. he also served on the Board of Directors since 2002 and between 2014 and 2018 as its Chairman.

Tomáš is the Chairman of the Executive Board of the Association for District Heating of the Czech Republic, member of the CR National Committee of the WEC/CME, and member of the Board of Directors of ČSZE – Czech Association of Energy Sector Employers.

Josef Chuchlík

Chairman, DS Holding a.s.

Education
1983–1986 Secondary Agricultural Vocational School in Hořice – Mechanic-Repairer, specialisation in agricultural and forestry machines and equipment
Graduated with a vocational certificate
1987–1988 Secondary Agricultural Vocational School in Chvaletice – Mechanisation in Agriculture and Forestry
Graduated with a School Leaving Certificate

Practical experience and business activities
1992 Established the Autodoprava Chuchlík road haulage business
2002 Co-owner of DS Transport Beton Gabriel, s.r.o.
Transport of concrete, concrete agitation trucks, the Lánov centre
2004 Established DS Logistic, s.r.o.
The company sells transport services, stone and gravel aggregates and diesel; it has a construction division, and provides earth-moving work, local transport, and servicing of heavy machinery.
2010 Majority member of DS Agro Libštát, s.r.o.
Primary production in agriculture on 900 hectares
2010 Majority member of DS Agro Energie, s.r.o.
Biogas plant, agricultural operation, 3x340 kW
2013 Majority member of DS Agro Košťálov, s.r.o.
Primary production in agriculture on 700 hectares
2013 Established DS Holding, a.s.
Road haulage and asset management. The Libštát, Kundratice, and Jablonné centres
2015 Majority shareholder in Agro Kunčice, a.s.
Sale of motor fuels, storage of loose materials, letting of real estate
2015 Owner of Autodoprava Pýcha, s.r.o.
Road haulage, the Střednice centre
2017 Majority member of HNH, s.r.o.
Construction activities, sale of building materials
2018 I own or co-own ten companies. I have more than 200 employees and the annual turnover totals more than CZK 1 billion.

Martin Stýblo

Company Director & Member, SIMONE Research Group, s.r.o.

Born in Prague in 1970. Having graduated from the Czech Technical University’s Faculty of Nuclear Physics and Engineering and spent a short time time in academia, he switched over to the computational analysis of the gas transmission system; since 1999 works in SIMONE Research Group, focusing on the development of the computational core, implementation projects, and training. Martin has authored several publications and contributions to specialist conferences.

Filip Dostál

Head of Business Development, innogy Česká republika a.s.

Filip Dostál has graduated from the University of Economics in Prague. During his professional career, he has held a number of financial and operating managerial positions in a number of international companies. He is currently the Head of Business Development at innogy Česká republika a.s.

Matěj Hrubý

Analyst, EGÚ Brno, a.s.

Graduated from Masaryk University’s Faculty of Social Studies majoring in international relations and energy security. Since 2017 employed at EGÚ Brno, a.s., a consultancy, focusing on issues of system electricity and gas industries and specialising in forecasts of electricity and gas demand and green energy sources.

Luděk Mádle

Head of the Competences Section, APT, spol. s r.o.

In 1978, graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, at which he taught as a lecturer until 1994. Then he joined Potrubí a.s., where he contributed to the management of the projects for the construction of several sections of the Transit Gas Pipeline in the Czech Republic and a pipeline in India. Following a short spell at SVÚM, a.s., between 2002 and 2010 headed the Prague site of DOM-ZO 13, s.r.o. and also worked as an auditor of quality management systems and a welding inspector. Since 2011, he has been with APT, spol. s r.o., currently heading the Competences Section. APT is engaged in research and development related to industrial gas bottling for almost all major European industrial gas operators. He also has experience in the building of CNG and LNG fuelling stations and currently focuses on the development of the hydrogen infrastructure for hydrogen powered vehicles.

Luděk Mádle has authored several publications and textbooks, and also contributions to the trade press and conferences. He is also a TA ČR evaluator for research projects. He has spent 12 years as the Czech Republic’s representative in IIW’s Sc XI-E sub-commission (pipelines).

Jan Borcovan

Company Director, Line Control s.r.o.

Since 2016
Line Control s.r.o., company director
We provide comprehensive advice on and deliver and service equipment for detecting water and gas leakages and services such as utility network location and sewerage network inspection, and supply software tool for effective process management in companies that manage distribution systems.
2015–2016
DISA s.r.o., head of the detection division
Fully-fledged management of one of the four business divisions in the company with 35 employees. Determined the business plan and the ways to implement it, reported directly to the company’s directors and members.
2009–2014
Masaryk University, Faculty of Economics and Administration, majored in Finance
University education, master’s degree
2009–2000
Masarykovo gymnázium (Masaryk Grammar School) Příbor
Eight years at the grammar school

Tomáš Špaček

On the Board of Directors, EGÚ Brno, a.s.

Tomáš has graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Brno University of Technology, majoring in Biomedical and Environmental Engineering. He has been with EGÚ Brno, a.s. since 2009. In 2011 and 2012, he administered an expert group for the implementation of smart metering in the electricity and gas industries. He specialises in long-term energy prospects for the electricity and gas industries with an emphasis on gas. He is a member of the Association of Energy Managers, the Slovak Gas and Oil Association, and the Czech Gas Association. Since June 2018, he has been serving on the EGÚ Brno Board of Directors.

Michal Nykl

Key Account Manager, appointed coordinator of fleet sales at ŠKODA AUTO ČR

Michal graduated from Metropolitan University Prague, majoring in Regional Studies and International Business. He has been with ŠKODA AUTO a.s. since 2016, working in fleet sales where he is also in charge of the strategy and development of alternative powertrains in the Czech market. Before joining ŠKODA AUTO ČR, he worked in the automotive sector in international trade and retail.

Michal Kocůrek

Analyst, EGÚ Brno, a.s.

In 2009, Michal graduated from the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in Brno. Five years later he completed an International Energy master’s course at Sciences Po in Paris. In the meantime, he worked as a security policy analyst and later as an energy policy analyst. Since 2016, he has been with EGÚ Brno focusing on the European and Czech gas sectors and examining the prospects for gas supply from the perspective of gas sources, gas infrastructure, gas market working, and gas demand. He represents EGÚ Brno in the NAP SG group for sector coupling and P2G.

Zbyněk Pokorný

Head of Sales, innogy Gas storage, s.r.o.

Zbyněk Pokorný has graduated from the Faculty of International Relations of the University of Economics in Prague. After graduation, he worked in logistics and consultancy before he succumbed to the magic of the gas industry in 2005 and joined RWE Transgas, a.s. In 2007, he transferred to the new company RWE/innogy Gas storage, s.r.o., where he currently has the position as the Head of Sales.

Martin Schwarz

Company Director, EBW Solution, s.r.o.

Martin has graduated from the University of Economics in Prague. He heads the Biomethane Section of the Czech Biomass Association and the Legislation Section of the Czech Biogas Association.

Martin launched his career in the energy sector, including the gas industry, in 2015 through an acquisition of an equity stake in a group of companies that own and operate a plant called Energetické centrum recyklace bioodpadů (a biological waste-to-energy plant) in Rapotín; since 2019, one of its parts has been a biomethane producing plant connected to the Czech gas system. Martin is on the Board of Directors and focuses on the company’s development and strategy.

He also carries on business in marketing and IT, having started before the above activities.

Martin is a member of a number of Czech and international professional organisations, platforms, advisory bodies and working groups that focus on biogas, biomethane, biologically degradable waste, renewable energy, clean mobility, and circular economy.

Gert Müller-Syring

Head of Gas Grids and Gas Facilities, DBI Gas- und Umwelttechnik GmbH

Regarding emissions from the gas infrastructure Gert Müller-Syring was/is involved in the following activities:

Since 2003 development/use of new-generation permeation cells for measuring emissions from gas pipes
2012 Improvement of the emission estimation of gas distribution for the German Federal Ministry of Economics
2014 Estimation of methane emissions from the gas transmission import routes (e.g. from Russia) and the German gas grid for German Federal Environment Ministry
2014/15 Assessment of emission data quality of the National Inventory Report (NIR) for German Federal Environment Agency (UBA)
2016 Carbon Footprint of Natural Gas “Critical Evaluation of Default Values for the Natural Gas Supply Chain of GHG emissions”
"Development of an Accurate and Consistent Method for Methane Emission Estimation from the Gas Distribution Grid" (GERG-Joint-Industry-Project)
2017/18 “Transition paths for green house gas neutrality of the gas grids and underground storages” and “Identification and assessment of regulatory measures aiming to integrate renewable gases into the energy system”

Rossella Mimmi

Natural Gas Industry Leader, Emerson Automation Solutions

Rossella Mimmi is a Nuclear Engineer who joined Emerson Process Management in 2001 in the Regulator Technologies business, associated with the Natural Gas pipeline industry segment.

Based in Italy, she is currently working as Natural Gas Industry Leader, responsible for the Midstream market for the Pressure Management group. Main responsibilities consist in enhancing and implementing industry marketing activities to increase customer recognition and consideration of the overall group capabilities, as well as, identifying growth opportunities.

Tadeáš Rusnok

Member of DTSW e.V.

Graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of VSB in Ostrava. Since 1989, he has lived in Berlin, Germany. He is a long-standing member of DTSW e.V., serving as its Board Chairman until the end of 2018. DTSW is a German-Czech and German-Slovak economic association focused on cooperation between Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Tadeáš Rusnok has been involved in the German energy transformation (Energiewende) for a long time, with a focus on energy efficiency in companies and in the building industry (buildings that produce more energy than they consume), Smart City, hydrogen technologies, Industry 4.0, and coal extraction phase-out in Germany and the Czech Republic.

ERIK KOLSTØ

Head of Commercial Management, NET4GAS, s.r.o.

Erik Kolstø has been working for more than 15 years in the gas and power industry in the Central and Eastern European region (Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine).

He has been involved in many different areas of the gas industry. In the past he has been responsible for the entry into the Slovak end user market of a new market entrant, the wholesale activities of a market incumbent in the Czech wholesale market, and for negotiating and closing of large-scale triple digit million $/€ gas supply transactions in Central and Eastern Europe.

Erik Kolstø is currently in charge of the Commercial department at NET4GAS, the Czech Transmission Operator. His department is responsible for marketing of gas transportation capacity products and negotiating commercial and technical agreements with other Transmission, Distribution and Storage System Operators.

Erik Kolstø is a member of the Board of the Czech Gas Association and a member of the Gas Transmission Europe (GTE) EXCOM in Brussels.

Khurram Gaba

Policy Planning Executive, ExxonMobil

Khurram Gaba is Policy Planning Executive for ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company. His responsibilities include fuels policy planning for Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

Khurram has over 30 years of experience in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals Industry. He joined Halliburton in 1983, engaged in North Sea oil and gas field development. In 1990 he joined Exxon, supporting European oil refining operations. Subsequently, he has held technical, managerial, leadership and advisory positions with ExxonMobil, in Research & Engineering, Safety & Operations Integrity, and in Oil Refining and Chemicals Manufacturing. This has involved several international assignments, in support of ExxonMobil’s global operations. In 2014 he assumed his current role in Strategy and Planning, based in Brussels.

Khurram is a graduate of Oxford University, where he gained a MA degree in Engineering Science. He also holds an MSc degree in Fluid and Structural Mechanics from Imperial College, London.

Daniel Pexidr

Managing Director, on the Board of Directors, EP Commodities

Daniel has graduated from the Czech Technical University in Prague and the University of Economics in Prague.

In 2002, he joined the sales department of RWE Transgas. Between 2006 and 2014 he was a trader at ČEZ.

Since 2014, he has served as the Managing Director at EP Commodities.

Petra Grigelová

Head of the Regulation Section, Energy Regulatory Office

Petra has graduated from VSB – Technical University of Ostrava. After graduation, she took an MBA programme at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK in cooperation with VSB-TU of Ostrava.

Her professional career in energy in various positions is more than 17 years long. Since 2012, she has been with the Energy Regulatory Office, initially as Head of the Gas Department, and since February 2019 as Head of the Regulation Section. She is responsible for coordinating the development of the regulatory framework in the electricity, gas and heat supply industries, for setting the principles of regulation and the rules and principles for the working of the electricity and gas markets, and for pricing in regulated prices of the electricity, gas and heat supply industries, and support for renewables. Her competences also include the development of the secondary legislation for which the ERO is responsible.

Petra is a long-standing member of the Czech Gas Association, IGU, and various working groups/task forces of the EC, ACER, CEER and OECD.

Jakub Šrom

Head, Energy Markets Department, OTE, a.s.

A graduate of the Electricity Industry Department of the Czech Technical University’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Jakub is currently a doctoral student.

Between 2009 and 2016, he worked as a technical consultant and designer at AF-Consult, focusing on the electrical and I&C equipment for power stations and certification of Ancillary Services.

He has been with OTE, a.s., since 2016. Since 2017, he has held the position as Head of the Energy Markets Department, and so is mainly responsible for the organisation and operation of organised spot electricity and gas markets.

Jiří Mlynář

Energy Purchase Head, E.ON Energie, a.s.

Jiří Mlynář heads Energy Purchase at E.ON Energie, a.s. He is responsible for procuring and trading in electricity, natural gas, and guarantees of origin, for optimising and securing the energy portfolio, and for preparing demand and production predictions.

He has long-standing experience in trading at commodity and financial markets. He has been in the energy sector since 2007, involved in natural gas wholesale activities in the Czech Republic and later also in Slovakia within the RWE Group, and he has also worked as an energy consultant in EY’s corporate advisory services with chief responsibility for electricity and natural gas wholesale trade in Central Europe.

Jiří has graduated from Charles University in Prague, majoring in economics.

Martin Vrtiška

Sales Director, Energy financial group a.s.

Martin has graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. Integrating environmental protection and economics has been his lifelong passion. He currently serves as the Sales Director of Energy financial group a.s., an investment holding company (EFG).

Several years ago, Martin refocused professionally on biodegradable waste-to-energy in biogas and biomethane production. Progressively, he has developed both commercial and technological expertise in biogas upgrade to biomethane. Under his guidance, EFG is implementing the first biomethane production project in the Czech Republic at the biogas plant in Rapotín.

Jan Bezděkovský

Special Envoy of Transport Minister for Clean Mobility, Policy Section, Ministry of Transport

Jan graduated from Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, majoring in Western European Studies, in 2002. He joined the Ministry of Transport in 2004. Between 2007 and 2011, he headed the EU Agenda Unit and later served as deputy head of the International and EU Affairs Department. Since 2012, he has been in the Policy Section as a specialist for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy, energy in transport, and clean mobility. Since February 2019 Jan serves as the Special Envoy of Transport Minister for Clean Mobility.

Igor Chemišinec

Member of the Board, OTE a.s.

Igor graduated from the Czech Technical University’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering, at the electricity industry department, in 2002. In 2005, he completed his doctoral course at the same department by a successful dissertation thesis. In 2010, he graduated from the Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme at the Czech Management Institute in Prague. At the Czech Technical University’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Prague, he serves as the vice-chairman of the council for the electricity industry field of study. Between 2000 and 2005, he worked at ČEZ, a.s. in unit operation scheduling and the optimisation of the portfolio of generating units. At OTE, a.s. he worked in the operation support department from 1 September 2005 and as a senior manager responsible for the strategy of supply and demand balancing from 1 October 2006 to 30 June 2011. He joined the Board of Directors on 1 June 2011. As part of international cooperation, Igor is an active member of the steering committees of several projects focused on the integration of the day-ahead and intra-day electricity markets.

Barbara Jinks

Director Government Relations Gas Infrastructure Europe AISBL

Barbara Jinks is Director Government Relations with the Gas Infrastructure Europe (the voice for midstream gas infrastructure in LNG, transmission and storage in Europe). GIE advocates for the continued use of gases and the gas infrastructure in facilitating the storage and transportation of renewable and decarbonised gases; these plus natural gas are essential for Europe to meet its climate targets. As an engineer and environmentalist with over 30 years in the energy industry around the world, Barbara understands the issues associated with this challenge and the pathways that can be taken for the gas industry including hydrogen and biomethane. Barbara leads global research teams with the IGU in Energy for All and Energy Systems Efficiency.

Jan Valenta

Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Czech Gas Association Director, GasNet s.r.o.

Jan Valenta has graduated from Charles University’s Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, where he also spent some time as a lecturer. He has also worked at the DCIT consultancy and at PA Consulting Group.

In 2002, Jan joined the RWE group, later transformed into innogy, where he has held a number of managerial positions.

Jan has been a Director of GasNet s.r.o. since 2015.

Václav Chrz

Technology Development Manager, Chart Ferox, a.s.

Václav Chrz graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in 1963, completed his dissertation in 1977, and has 55 years of practical experience in the development of cryogenic equipment and managerial positions at Chart Ferox, a.s. He is now in the position as manager of the development of technologies, in particular LNG. He served as the President of Commission A2 of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) between 2003 and 2011, and a delegate of the Czech Gas Association and the Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing to international standardisation organisations and professional associations. He also teaches in the European Cryogenics Course and in national LNG courses.

Andrea Stegher

Member of the IGU Executive Committee / Europe Regional Coordinator, IGU / Senior Vice President Marketing Global Solutions, Snam S.p.A.

Andrea has 20+ years’ experience and has matured a wide range of competencies across the gas value chain.
Since the early 2000s he was involved in the gas liberalization process, with a focus on regulatory, commercial and development issues in Stogit, the largest European underground gas storage company.
He was also a founder and VP of Gas Storage Europe from 2005 to 2011 and a Member of the Board of Gas Infrastructures Europe from 2008 to 2011.
In 2010 he joined Snam as EVP for Development, Commercial & Regulatory Relations, promoting – among other things – relevant infrastructure projects for better interconnecting the Italian gas markets and fostering commercial balancing platforms.
From 2013 he headed Snam Business Development contributing to the company M&A growth in UK, France, Austria and in the Southern Gas Corridor (TAP) as well as developing Snam CNG and biomethane businesses.
In 2016–17 he acted as Snam Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Advocacy, being the promoter of the Gas for Climate 2050 Initiative and contributing to the development of the 2030 Italian Energy Strategy.
Since June 2015 he is an Executive Committee member of the International Gas Union (IGU) and since 2018 IGU Europe Regional Coordinator. He also sits in GasNaturally Steering Committee representing IGU.

Andrea holds a BSc in Economics (1995) and a Master in Energy Economics and Management (1996) at the Scuola Superiore Enrico Mattei of Eni.

SŁAWOMIR SIERADZKI

Gas Market Development Division Director, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.

Sławomir Sieradzki is Director of the Gas Market Development Division at GAZ-SYSTEM – the Polish Gas Transmission System Operator. He has been actively involved in the energy sector since 2006, starting his career at the Oil and Gas Department of the Polish Ministry of Economy.

Sławomir Sieradzki joined the GAZ-SYSTEM Group in 2011, first as a chief specialist at Polskie LNG (GAZ-SYSTEM’s SPV). In 2016 he joined GAZ-SYSTEM as Deputy Director of Development Division. He built his expertise working for the construction of the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie as well as in the supervisory boards of various companies of the PGNiG S.A Group.

In 2018 he was appointed Director of the Gas Market Development Division, with the key responsibilities comprising: development of the national gas transmission system and new cross-border interconnections with Lithuania, Slovakia, Denmark, Czech Republic and Ukraine; customer relations; international and institutional cooperation and representation in sector organizations at the European and international level; national and European gas regulatory framework; business development of the company’s LNG and underground gas storage facilities.

Sławomir Sieradzki is a graduate of the International Management Faculty at the Cracow University of Economics and postgraduate studies on financial management at the Kozminski University.

From 2016 to 2019 he was a member of GLE Executive Committee and the chair of the GLE Advocacy Group within the Gas Infrastructure Europe.

Martin Glas

Project coordinator HYPOS:H2-Netz, Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Gas mbH

since 07/2017
project coordinator “HYPOS:H2-grid” Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Gas mbH
structural unit “project preparation gas”;
H2-grid: development of an innovative concept for the connection of the planned “Hydrogen Village”/industrial location and the distribution network including required safety technology for the supply of individual consumers
09/2016–06/2017
clerk “strategic gas grid planning” Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Gas mbH
structural unit “operational asset management gas”;
i.e. conduct of strategic gas grid planning, grid calculation, development of concepts
10/2016–02/2017
project coordinator “gas house connection combination” Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Gas mbH
structural unit “planning and construction gas”;
coordination of projects on the theme of “HEK-Klinger”
11/2014–08/2016
trainee programme Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Gas mbH
structural unit “operational asset management gas”;
i.e. conduct of strategic gas grid planning, grid calculation, development of concepts
12/2014
Master of Engineering degree HTWK (Leipzig University of Applied Sciences)
10/2012–10/2014
Master's programme energy and environmental engineeringHTWK (Leipzig University of Applied Sciences)
master thesis at Mitteldeutsche Netzgesellschaft Gas mbH:
“Conduct of an strategic gas grid planning for the high pressure gas grid of MITNETZ GAS”
10/2012
Bachelor of Engineering degreeHTWK (Leipzig University of Applied Sciences)
10/2009–09/2012
Bachelor’s programme energy and environmental engineering HTWK (Leipzig University of Applied Sciences)
bachelor thesis at the German biomass research centre Leipzig “Experimental determination of control parameters on a laboratory combustion apparatus”

Josef Jeleček

CEO and Chairman of the Board

Josef has graduated from VUT Brno, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Thermal and Nuclear Machines and Equipment. In 1991, he founded TEDOM s.r.o. To this day, he has been at the helm of the company as the Chairman and CEO of TEDOM a.s. The core business of TEDOM a.s. includes: development, manufacture and sale of cogeneration units with reciprocating gas IC engines, thermal and electrical energy generation, and manufacture of IC engines. TEDOM is a member of the COGEN CZECH association, the Czech Gas Association, and other organisations. TEDOM exports to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, and America and to Australia

Between 2002 and 2018, Josef served as the Chairman of COGEN Czech, an association for combined heat and power generation, and has been on the Board of this association since 2018. Since 2009 he has been on the CGA Board. Since 2018 he has been a member of the Board of Svaz moderní energetiky (SME) (Modern Energy Association).

Hana Šťovíčková

Head of Strategy, GasNet, s.r.o.

Hana has graduated from the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics in Prague.

At the beginning of her career, she worked as a tax specialist at Glaverbel (today AGC). She has been in the Czech gas industry for more than 20 years and has held several managerial positions there. Initially, she focused on purely financial issues, and gradually added the engineering and strategic aspects.

Hana currently holds a position as Head of Distribution System Strategy.

Petr Binhack

Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission

Petr has completed an International Relations postgraduate course at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences. Having gained practical experience in the private sector, the non-profit sector, and in the academia, in 2011 he joined the Section for European Affairs of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic in the position as coordinator of the European climate and energy policy. From 2014, he worked at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union as the energy attaché, representing the Czech Republic at the technical level in negotiations on European legislative and non-legislative proposals. In September 2019, Petr was seconded to the European Commission, DG ENER, Wholesale Markets; Electricity & Gas (ENER.B.2), where he is focusing on the horizontal issues of sector coupling, natural gas market transparency and the implementation of capacity mechanisms.

Eduard Muřický

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Industry and Trade

Eduard was born in Prague on 14 April 1968. He is married and has a daughter and a son. In 1987, he graduated from the Jan Kepler Grammar School in Prague, specialising in economics. After graduation from the Faculty of International Relations of the University of Economics in Prague, Eduard worked at the Ministry of Economy in its Agency for the Development of SME until 1994. He then moved to the private sector to hold managerial and executive positions, mainly in trade. Initially, at Mediatel, where he progressively held the positions as assistant marketing manager, product manager, marketing director and the company’s Chief Commercial Officer. In 2007, he joined JPS as a product manager. In 2008, he was named head of the Strategies and Trends Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2012 named head of the Industry Section there, and on 1 October 2014 he was named Deputy Minister responsible for heading the Industry Section. In his position as Deputy Minister, he is currently heading the Industry, Raw Materials and Construction Industry Section.

Petr Novotný

Project Manager at Institut cirkulární ekonomiky,
Energy and Sustainable Development,
RENARDS dotační, s.r.o.

Petr Novotný has graduated from Masaryk University’s Faculty of Economics and Administration, majoring in Financial Business and Corporate Economics. He has spent one year at University of Huddersfield in the UK, graduating with a bachelor’s degree, and also half a year at University of Jyväskylä in Finland under the ERASMUS programme, where he first came across the technology for biogas upgrade to biomethane. After graduation, he joined Ernst & Young in financial audit and then moved to RENARDS dotační, where he has been working to this day; he is in charge of the management of subsidies for projects in the areas of energy savings and renewable and modern energy. Petr also closely cooperates with the Institute of Circular Economy, with the help of which he has carried out a pilot project of biogas use for BioCNG production from waste sludge, intended as a fuel for municipal buses in Brno. For this project, Petr has won the Energy Oscar in the E.ON Energy Globe award contest in the Company category.

Robert Kadnar

Director, DANUBE LNG

WORK EXPERIENCE
2013–present
CEO, Danube LNG, European economic interest grouping, Business or sector R&D – LNG Value chain.
2009–present
CEO, ISTER TRANS, Inc., Business or sector General goods transport. The ISTER TRANS is a member and founder of Danube LNG, EEIG. Danube LNG was established for the business purpose developing project in range of LNG exploitation, distribution and storage. From 2013 were processed several projects: LNG Masterplan for Rhine Main Danube – 13 separate projects based on inland water transport, FuelCNG – pilot deployment of chain of 17 LNG and L2CNG stations on the main highway corridors in Slovakia, construction of liquefaction unit.
2002–2009
Member of board of trustees 2002–2006, CEO 2007–2009, DPB, Inc., Business or sector Public transport
Managing of 2nd largest public transport company of Slovakia, 3.000 employees Reorganization, reducing of lost, new strategy. Launching of developing projects in range: retail sale, process management and maintenance of buses. Development project in range of natural gas exploitation in transport.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
1989–1994
Slovak technical university, Faculty of mechanical engineering, Master degree in field Information and automation systems
2017
Danube university Krems, Faculty of economy and globalization, Master degree Executive master of business administration, Master these: “Evaluation of alternative gas supply to the Central Europe using LNG”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Certifications
Slovak state certificate for operating of CNG and LNG facilities and gas trading