Speakers

Zuzana Princova
Associate, Gas Strategies Consulting 

Zuzana Princova has been an Associate with Gas Strategies Consulting for the last 15 years, with particular expertise in the gas industries and players in Central European countries. She provides Gas Strategies information on supply and demand in these countries, and with her insight into the geopolitics of these countries is able to provide analysis and scenarios for industry entrants and investors. Her particular interest is in working as strategic advisor with international gas companies who are attempting to participate in gas industry privatisations, gas exports / imports. She has advised major energy companies and other key institutions on a range of strategic, regulatory and contractual issues.

Prior to Gas Strategies she held a number of senior positions in WEFA, EIU and Price Waterhouse. She regularly contributes to Gas Matters and has been organising and chairing the CEGC since its inception.
 

James Ball
President Director, Gas Strategies Consulting

James Ball is an internationally respected commentator, analyst and advisor on natural gas policy and strategy who has specialised in the commercial aspects of natural gas since 1984.  He is the President Director Gas Strategies Consulting.He is heavily involved in confidential brainstorming with major oil and gas companies on their policy alternatives and market environment. 

He has worked particularly on LNG strategies for both established majors and aspirants in the Atlantic and Pacific areas.  In the past ten years he has also been active in advising LNG and gas project lenders for such diverse projects as Sakhalin Energy; RasGas I, II and II; Qatargas II; Egypt LNG I; Atlantic LNG Train 4, Cross Island Pipeline and the Blue Stream Project.  He has acted as an expert in gas markets and agreements in dispute resolution in proceedings in Europe and Australia.  He has advised companies and governments all over the world on commercial terms, market issues and strategy and in February 2005, he was made a Companion of the Institute of Gas Engineers & Managers an honour bestowed on “distinguished persons” in the gas industry.

Jonathan Stern is Director of Gas Research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies;  Honorary Professor at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law & Policy, University of Dundee; and Visiting Professor at Imperial College’s Centre for Environmental Policy in London. Over the past two decades Professor Stern has become an internationally known speaker and author on natural gas and security issues in Europe, the former Soviet Union and Asia. 

He is the author of several books and many shorter works on energy and natural gas issues in: the UK, Europe (western and eastern), the former Soviet Union and Asia. His book on The Future of Russian Gas and Gazprom was published by Oxford University Press in 2005. The second edition of his edited volume: Natural Gas in Asia: the challenges of growth in China, India, Japan and Korea was published by Oxford University Press in July 2008. He has most recently authored a chapter entitled: “Russian Gas: difficult years ahead”, in ed. Simon Pirani, Russian and CIS Gas Markets and their Impact on Europe, Oxford University Press, February 2009.

He is the author of a number of shorter papers on Russian, CIS and European gas supplies and security which can be found on the OIES website, most recently:

The Russo-Ukrainian Gas Dispute of January 2009: a comprehensive assessment  Simon Pirani, Jonathan Stern, Katya Yamfimava, February 2009. http://www.oxfordenergy.org/pdfs/NG27.pdf

Martin Herrmann
Chairman of the Board, CEO, RWE Transgas, a.s.

Martin Herrmann acquired comprehensive banking training at Dresdner Bank during 1986 to 1988, and in 1993 graduated from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster in economics. 

In the same year, he began working for Commerzbank, for which he acted from 1994 onward as the CEE Relations Manager in Prague, and later as the Head of Investment Banking. From 2000 to 2002, he worked for Commerzbank in Frankfurt am Main.

He has been involved with the RWE Group since May 2002, when he became a member of the board and CFO of RWE Transgas. He was elected Deputy Chairman of the Board on October 13, 2004. Since April 1, 2007, Martin Herrmann is Chairman of the Board and CEO of RWE Transgas.
 

Peter Žiga
State Secretary, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

Peter Ziga was born in July 1972 in Kosice and is now married with 2 children. He was educated at Srobarova 46 Grammar School in Kosice and then went on to study Business Economics at the University of Economy in Bratislava. During this period (1990 – 1995) he undertook training for students from Eastern Europe under the patronage of Union Bank of Switzerland in St Gallen.

His professional profile and practice started in 1991 and is made up of the following roles: Delegate for MAPAM,  Ltd., Kosice in Düsseldorf, Germany (1991 – 1993);  Delegate for Building & Commercial Society Kresa Ltd., Magdeburg, Germany (1994 – 1996); Representative & Director of Taper Ltd., Kosice (1995 – 1997); Senior Adviser for Vice-president VUB Bank, PR Director in VUB Bank, a.s. Bratislava (1997 – 1998); Representative & Director of Taper, Ltd., Kosice (1998 – 2006); Senior Adviser for General Director of SARIO (2003 – 2004).

Mr Ziga speaks German, English and Russian and his party affiliation is: SMER - SD

Simon Pirani
Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Gas Programme, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Simon Pirani is Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Gas Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. He is editor of Russian and CIS Gas Markets and Their Impact on Europe, published this year by Oxford University Press, and the author of an extended research paper, Ukraine’s Gas Sector (OIES, 2007). He has written about the economy, and energy issues, in Russia and Ukraine for many years as a journalist. 

Heiko Lohmann
Independent Consultant

Heiko obtained a degree in economics at the University of Mannheim in 1987, and went on to complete a phD in economics from the University of Freiburg in 1991. He became a consultant for KPMG Unternehmensberatung at that point, and then between 1993 and 1996 he carried out post doc post doc studies at the Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Wirtschaftssystemen, Jena.

In 1996 he became a consultant at LBD Unternehmensberatungsgesellschaft mbH in Berlin, where worked on gas procurement strategies for gas distribution companies (Stadtwerke), gas procurement negotiations for big gas customers, gas Market entry strategies for foreign gas companies and studies on gas market development. Between 2001 and 2003 Heiko was a correspondent for Heren Reports, responsible for the German language publication erdGAShandel. Since then, he has been a free lance journalist for several German and English gas publications and consultant for the monthly publication Gasmarkt Deutschland, published in German and English. In September 2006 Heiko’s book, The German path to natural gas liberalisation was published at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies.

Yvgeny started his career at the First Ukrainian International Bank, in Kharkiv where he was an account manager, and later the Chief of the account manager department (1994 – 1995). Between 1995 and 1997, he joined the Research Triangle Institute (North Carolina) where he was a financial expert on budgeting in the Eastern Ukrainian cities (Kharhiv, Poltava, Summy and Lugansk).

Yvgeney joined Poltava Petroleum Company in the Ukraine in 1997 firstly as a Senior Economist, and then in 1999 joined the financial and commercial division, where he was made Director in 2003. 

Yvgeny studied at Kharkiv State University between 1990 and 1995, where he completed a diploma in Banking and Financial Management as well as a diploma from the school of foreign languages (English). During this time he also attended a summer school in Economic Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. 

Between 1995 and 1997, Yvgeny attended the Economics Institute in Boulder, Colorado, as well as the Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he completed a Masters in Economics. He also has his ACCA which was achieved between 1997 and 2000.

 Oleksandr Todiichuk
President , Kyiv International Energy Club “Q-Club”

Oleksandr has been deeply engaged in Ukraine’s state energy strategy programs, state energy security projects and intergovernmental relations on energy issues. He served as an advisor to the State Secretary of the President of Ukraine from 2005 until 2006 and to the Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine on European Integration issues from 2006 until 2008. In the same time-period Oleksandr Todiichuk held the position of the Coordinator on issues of realization of MoU EU-Ukraine in energy sector (INOGATE). Previously, he worked as the Special plenipotentiary of Ukraine on the issues of Euro-Asian oil Transportation Corridor, and was a Chairman of the Board “Ukrtransnafta” (Ukrainian Oil Transportation Company) OJSC. Oleksandr Todiichuk’s interviews, articles and comments devoted to key issues in the energy field are extensively published in Ukrainian, Polish, American, Russian and Western European media. He is a frequent guest and speaker in international economic, scientific and technical conferences. Since 2007 Oleksandr Todiichuk is a Lundin Chair Professor in the field of energy and energy efficiency at the International Management Institute-Kyiv (IMI-Kyiv). 

Laszlo Varro
Senior Vice President for Strategy Development,  MOL Group

Laszlo Varro has been appointed as Senior Vice President for Strategy Development of MOL Group in June 2008. Previously, as the Chief Economist of MOL Plc his role was to oversee energy economics in MOL and provide a professional support for executive decisions on a wide range of issues in macroeconomics and energy economics. Before joining MOL in March 2005, he was the Director of Price and Economic Analysis of the Hungarian Energy Office, the national regulator. His main projects there included introducing competition in electricity and developing a support scheme for renewable energy. He also served in the Board of Supervision of the Nuclear Waste Management Corporation. Previously he also worked at the Department of Economics and Research of the National Bank of Hungary. 

Laszlo Varro earned a graduate Diploma in Economics at the University of Cambridge, UK after finishing his undergraduate studies at the Budapest University of Economics and the Colorado State University.

Miroslav Kulla, MBA
Executive Director, RWE Gas Slovensko

Miroslav Kulla studied at the Faculty of Management at Comenius University in Bratislava. Afterwards he finished his university studies with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Paris Business School in France.

During his stay in France he also worked as a financial analyst for the companies Hewlett Packard and Valeo Distribution. Miroslav then joined the company Slovak Telekom where he held various positions in the field of risk management, taxes, controlling and management of reorganization and process redesign projects. He has been with the RWE Group since 2005 when he became Head of the Corporate Development Department in Východoslovenská energetika a.s. (VSE). Currently, he holds the position of the Director of the Sales Division in VSE and is the Managing Director of RWE Gas Slovensko s.r.o.

Falko Thormeier
Head of Gas Sales, Central Europe, VNG

Falko was born in Zwenkau, Saxony, Germany in 1976. He studied Business Economics at the Universität Leipzig, Germany between 1996 and 2002 and followed this with a degree Diplom-Kaufmann in 2003. He started working for VNG in 2002, firstly in International Coordination as a Project Manager Slovak Republic and then he became Gas Sales Manager for International Sales in 2004. Since 2007 Falko has been Head of Gas Sales Central Europe for Gas Sales International.

Mr Thormeier has the following Mandates and Memberships:

Supervisory Board member of VNG Energie Czech a.s., Prague, Czech Republic ; Supervisory Board member of Energie Bohemia a.s., Prague, Czech Republic ; Supervisory Board member of H – therma, a.s., Hradek nad Nisou, Czech Republic ; Supervisory Board member of NYSAGAZ Sp. z o.o., Zgorzelec, Republic of Poland

Sergei Komlev
Head of Directorate, Gazprom Export

Sergei Komlev is Head of Directorate in Gazprom Export, trade arm of the Russia’s major gas company Gazprom. Mr. Komlev is in charge of contract structuring and corporate price policy formation.

In his previous experience in the consulting and equity research business he worked on a variety of energy assignments encompassing natural gas, electricity, oil, and financing matters both in the Russian market and internationally. 

Mr. Komlev has a PhD from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations in Moscow. 

Prior to joining Gazprom Export he worked as director of the Moscow office of international energy consultant Pace Global Energy Services.

Formerly, he was an Area Expert with the Economist Intelligence Unit and a Senior Analyst with the brokerage company United Financial Group.  

Ján Horník

Head of Dispatch and Optimization Department, Eustream

Ján was born on 5th March, 1970 in Trencin. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Machinery in Bratislava. I have been working for Eustream (before SPP) since 1996. From 2004 to 2007 he was in charge of System Planning Department and since 2008 Ján has been Head of Dispatch and Optimization Department.

Ms Margareta Djordjevic is working in the international relations unit of the Directorate-General responsible for Energy and Transport in the European Commission, where she is dealing foremost with relations with Ukraine and other Eastern Neighbourhood countries. She was involved in the preparation and execution of the international monitoring mission to relevant locations in Ukraine and the Russian Federation that took place in the first quarter of this year.

Aleksandar Kovacevic
Independent Consultant

Mr Kovacevic started his professional engagement with the Federal Productivity Institute of Former Yugoslavia in 1986 and continued to assist well known energy strategist Stjepan Han for a number of years. He graduated in energy economics at the Belgrade University. Have been providing consultancy services to the National bank, Federal Planning Institute, Federal Chamber of Commerce and commercial clients. Affiliated with the PlanEcon international consultancy during 1989 – 1992 being engaged in a number of energy market research projects. Research publication on international investments in Yugoslavia (1987 – 1989) was a basis for new FDI law adopted in 1988 that opened Yugoslav economy for further foreign investments. He published a book "Proniari - The Liquidity Distribution in Socialist Economies" in 1991 that was followed by more than 40 papers and lectures published in domestic and international conferences or publications focused on financial management, policy development, infrastructure development, transition economy, energy strategies, natural gas and electricity markets as well as energy related transport infrastructure and spatial planning. Have received Innovation Award at Power Gen 2002. Have provided consultancy services to the Russian and other international clients from 1992 till 1999. During 1999 – 2003 provided advice, coordination and project management service to the UN OCHA, the World Bank, SECO, and the UNDP in rapid reconstruction of the energy sector in Serbia & Montenegro and Macedonia including massive international assistance, policy advice, donor’s conferences preparation, institutional development and capacity building. Have provided energy policy development methodology at South East Europe Energy forum (Sofia 2003) working with IEA. Mr. Kovacevic is a principal author of the UNDP publication “Stuck in the Past – Energy, Environment and Poverty in Serbia and Montenegro” (UNDP 2004), “The Potential Contribution of Natural Gas to Sustainable Development in South Eastern Europe” research paper for the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (2007) and one of two principal author of the IEA publication “Energy in the Western Balkans” (2008) analysing energy policies of Western Balkans countries.