Steering Committee

Dr. Sanjay Bajpai

Head, Technology Missions Division (Energy, Water & all Other), Department of Science & Technology, GoI

Dr. Sanjay Bajpai is an experienced Advisor and is currently the head of the Technology Missions Division (Energy, Water & all Other) with Government of India. He has a demonstrated history of working in various Government administration. He is a strong research professional with a Doctor of Philosophy – Ph.D. in Alternative Fuel IC Engines from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. His skills lie in Research and Development (R&D), Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Research, and Technology Transfer.

Abhay Bakre

Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency

Mr. Abhay Bakre is a Post Graduate (M. Tech.) in Elect. Engineering from IIT, Kharagpur. He belongs to the 1988 Batch of Indian Railways Electrical Engineering Services, Ministry of Railways. He has worked in several Railway projects including Delhi Metro & Kolkata Metro extension projects. He is currently the Director-General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). Before BEE, he has also worked as Joint Development Commissioner in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and was a Nodal officer for National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme. He also played an instrumental role in the development and implementation of various programs aimed at petroleum & energy conservation in industry, transport, domestic sector, etc. He has also taken up nationwide mass media campaigns through PCRA and other oil companies to generate awareness among consumers on the adoption of simple fuel-saving measures in day-to-day life. He was the nodal officer for developing INDC for the Railway sector along with a roadmap for Green House Gas reduction in Indian Railways. He also participated in the transport sector events of COP 21 held in Paris and COP 22 held in Morocco.

Dr. Satish Kumar

President & Executive Director AEEE

Dr. Satish Kumar is an international energy efficiency expert and serves as the President and Executive Director of the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). He has also served as a senior energy efficiency advisor or technical expert in energy efficiency to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, NITI Aayog, Energy Efficiency Services Limited, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Bureau of Indian Standards and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Confederation of Energy Efficiency. Prior to AEEE, he was the Vice President and Energy Efficiency Ambassador and led the Energy Management business at the Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd., In his 25+ years of work experience, he has held many leadership positions in business, policy advisory, research and non-profit organisations in the USA, India and Europe and is recognized as a triple-sector leader. He has a Bachelor of Architecture from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, a Ph.D. in Building Science from Carnegie Mellon University and was selected by Schneider Electric for its Business Leadership Executive Program at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flager Business School and received the LEED Fellow status from the US Green Building Council in 2014.

Steve Nadel

Executive Director, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

Mr. Nadel has worked at ACEEE for nearly 30 years and is currently serving as Executive Director of ACEEE Utilities and Buildings programs. Before ACEEE, he planned and evaluated energy efficiency programs for New England Electric, a major electric utility; directed energy programs for the Massachusetts Audubon Society (Massachusetts largest environmental organization); and ran energy programs for a community organization working in the poorest neighbourhoods of New Haven, CT. Mr. Steve Nadel has worked in the energy efficiency field for around 35 years and has over 200 publications on energy-efficiency subjects.

Iain Campbell

Senior Fellow, Rocky Mountain Institute

Before joining RMI, Iain held various positions with Johnson Controls; most notably he was responsible for the Global Energy Solutions and the Global Workplace Solutions businesses within the Building Efficiency division. He also led acquisitions in the areas of building services, lighting, demand response, energy management, and carbon reporting.

He previously served as the President of York International, where he was responsible for the commercial and industrial HVAC and refrigeration businesses covering product development, engineering, manufacturing, sales, and service within the US region.

Upendra Bhat

Chairman AEEE

Mr. Upendra Bhatt leads cKinetics, a leading Sustainability Insight, Innovation & Capital Advisory Firm. He is the Chairperson of the AEEE Executive Council and is also a member of several task forces constituted by industry bodies. In addition to this, he chairs the Sustainable Business Leadership Forum, an Industry practitioners group focused on resource sustainability and ESG issues through multi-stakeholder working groups. He holds a Masters in International Relations from Thunderbird – The American Graduate School of International Management, a Master of Business Administration from NMIMS-Mumbai, (India) and an engineering degree from Delhi College of Engineering (India).

Ravi Purushothaman

President, Danfoss India

Ravi Purushothaman has been closely involved with the industry and active in developing technology road maps, building networks for cold chain alliances and driving skill development in the HVAC & R industry. A strong believer in Industry-University interaction, he has crafted several successful university interaction programs pan India. He is a thought leader in promoting Energy Efficiency, Sustainable technologies, and Green buildings to Engineer Tomorrow’s India.

He also currently heads the CII National Taskforce for Cold Chain Development in India, where he emphasizes the development of the cold chain sector to support the agriculture and horticulture growth in India.

He has more than three decades of experience in building businesses in India, Asia Pacific, and Europe, with more than half of it in Danfoss and before that, in Siemens, in various leadership capacities. He became the President of the Danfoss India Region in 2013 and instrumental in spearheading the ‘Make in India’ initiatives for Danfoss in India.

Dr. Arunabha Ghosh

CEO, Council on Energy, Environment & Water (CEEW)

Dr. Arunabha Ghosh is a public policy professional, adviser, author, columnist, and institution builder. As the founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water, since 2010, he has led CEEW to the top ranks as one of South Asia’s leading policy research institutions. With experience in 44 countries, he previously worked at Princeton, Oxford, UNDP (New York), and WTO (Geneva). In 2018, the UN Secretary-General nominated him to the UN’s Committee for Development Policy. In 2018, the Government of India appointed him as a member of the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority for the National Capital Region. He was also invited by France, as a Personnalité d’Avenir, to advise on the COP21 climate negotiation. He is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, member of WEF’s Global Future Council on Energy, and an Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leader. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford and topped Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.

Nils Borg

Executive Director, European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE)

Nils Borg is the Executive Director of ECEEE. Before ECEEE, he has worked extensively as project manager for technology procurement programs and has a solid experience in developing technical specifications and guidelines for public procurement. Nils Borg’s educational background is in languages, political science, and economic history. He has a background in journalism and science writing and was the editor for the newsletter of the International Association for Energy Efficient Lighting for nine years.

Mijo Vodopic

Senior Program Officer, Climate Solutions, Mac Arthur Foundation

Prior to joining Mac Arthur Foundation, Mijo Vodopic was director of property and asset management at Heartland Housing Incorpo Before joining Mac Arthur Foundation, Mijo Vodopic was the director of property and asset management at Heartland Housing Incorporated, where he managed a portfolio of properties that offered on-site social services and worked to help revitalize severely distressed public housing communities. He has received his Master’s degree in Public Policy Studies from the University of Chicago.