Executive Conference: Natural Gas and Ukraine's Energy Future

Mykola Yanovych Azarov

Prime Minister of Ukraine

Mykola Yanovych Azarov is the Prime Minister of the Ukraine. His career has spanned many positions in the Ukraine government, including as First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and as a Parliament member serving as Head of the Budget Committee, Head of the State Tax Administration and as a member of the Currency and Credit Regulation Council. He began his career in the Moscow region coal enterprises and then worked as Director of the Ukrainian State Scientific Research and Project-Designing Institute of Mining Technology before working for the government.

Prime Minister Azarov graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University with a specialization in geology and geophysics. He received his PhD in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences and was an Honored Professor of the Moscow State University. He has written and co-written over 112 books and studies.

Source: Ukraine Government Web Portal, January 2012

Yuriy Anatoliovych Boyko

Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine

Yuriy Anatoliovych Boyko is the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine. Prior to that, he served as People's Deputy of Ukraine (Party of Regions), Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety and Chairman of the Board of the Closed JSC. He began his career as a foreman at Rubizhansk Chemical Plant, where he worked many years, eventually leaving as director of production and marketing.

Mr. Boyko graduated from the D. Mendeleev Moscow Chemical and Technology Institute as an engineer and chemist-technologist and from the Eastern Ukrainian University as an engineer-economist.

Source: Yuriy Anatoliovych Boyko, December 2011

Christian Bukovics

VP Exploration for Russia, the Caspian region and Ukraine, Shell Oil

Christian Bukovics works for Shell as VP Exploration for Russia, the Caspian region and Ukraine. He joined Shell in 1980 after obtaining a PhD in Physics from the University of Vienna, and worked on a number of oil and gas exploration, appraisal and new business development positions in Norway, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the US and the UK.

In 1999, he transferred to Almaty, Kazakhstan as GM of Shell Temir Petroleum Development, followed by an assignment to Tehran as GM of Shell Technical Services Iran. After a stint as exploration manager for the Atlantic Margin region (in Ireland, UK, Faroe islands and Norway), he moved in 2006 to Moscow to take up his current position.

Source: Shell Oil, January 2012

Cristobal Burgos

Senior Advisor, EU Directorate General for Energy

Cristobal Burgos is an economist with extensive experience in the energy industry. He joined the European Commission in 1987. He has been in charge of several Units in the Direction General responsible for the European energy policy dealing with the internal market, security of supply, and European networks. At present, he serves as an Advisor following international co-operation policies and projects, producer/consumer dialogue, IEA relations, representation activities, and policy development and communication.

Source: Cristobal Burgos, December 2011

Steven R. Mann

Senior Counselor for International Government Relations

Ambassador Steven R. Mann joined Exxon Mobil Corporation in May 2009 as Senior Counselor for International Government Relations after 32 years in the United States Foreign Service. He is currently based in London and travels throughout Europe, Turkey and the former Soviet Union in support of ExxonMobil’s upstream operations.

Ambassador Mann’s diplomatic experience includes a substantial energy focus. In January 2008, he was named the Coordinator for Eurasian Energy Diplomacy. He managed all US. Government diplomatic efforts on Eurasian oil and gas issues and served as the senior US official with ongong responsibility for these matters.  From 2001 to 2005, he was the senior US envoy handling Caspian energy issues and was heavily involved in realizing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline and the successful launch of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line, among a range of other Eurasian energy projects.  He also played an active role in mediating Eurasian conflicts, including intensive negotiations as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman.

In 2003, he served on the staff of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, ending the UN Oil-for-Food Program and transferring its assets and programs to Coalition auspices.

He also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs from 2006 to 2008.  In that capacity, he oversaw the full range of foreign policy matters in the region, including management of US ties with India and Afghanistan-Pakistan issues. 

Ambassador Mann is a Pennsylvanian who joined the Foreign Service in 1976. He began his diplomatic career with postings to Jamaica and Moscow. He opened the first United States Embassies in Mongolia, Micronesia, and Armenia. From 1992 to 1994, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has had a number of Washington assignments, including Country Director for India from 1995 to 1998.  From 1998 to 2001, he served as the United States Ambassador to Turkmenistan.

In 1985-86, he was a Fellow of the Harriman Institute for Advanced Soviet Studies at Columbia University. He is a 1991 Distinguished Graduate of the National War College.

He holds an A.B. degree from Oberlin College and M.A. degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities.  His languages are Russian and German. His home is in Chevy Chase, Maryland and he is an enthusiastic lacrosse and soccer dad.

Source: Steven R. Mann, December 2011

Alastair McBain

Chief Executive Officer, Arawak Energy

Mr. McBain is a graduate of Oxford University and has over 32 years’ experience in the oil industry. He spent the first 17 years of his career with Shell in numerous senior international postings including assignments in Singapore, Dubai, China and Venezuela. Prior to leaving Shell, he worked in their natural gas business with specific responsibility for the development of LNG projects. He joined the Vitol group in 1995 to head up the growth of the group's portfolio of upstream assets and became CEO of Arawak Energy in September 2002. Arawak is an established and trusted operator of onshore fields in Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and is wholly owned by the Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent energy trading company.

Source: Alastair McBain, December 2011

Bertrand Pallieres

CEO, Cadogon Petroleum plc

Mr des Pallières is currently Chief Executive of Cadogan Petroleum plc and Executive Officer of SPQR Capital LLP, an alternative asset management and private equity boutique he founded in 2007 and which is the largest investor in Cadogan. SPQR Capital LLP is authorised and regulated as an investment manager and adviser by the UK Financial Services Authority.

Before this, Mr des Pallières had a 16 years experience as a top investment banking leader at JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.
From 2005 to 2007 he was Global Head of Principal Finance at Deutsche Bank and a member of the Global Market Leadership Group. He was in charge of investing Deutsche Bank's own funds behind investment opportunities.

From 1992 to 2005, Mr des Pallières spent 14 years at JPMorgan and was one of the key individuals behind JPMorgan leadership in Global Markets, particularly derivatives trading. Mr des Pallières also led the bank's efforts in complex advice and transactions for sovereign entities around the world.  By 2005, Mr des Pallières was Global Head of Structured Credit, member of the 4-strong Market Management Committee for Europe, Middle East and Africa and in charge of sales and derivatives structuring for Interest Rates, Credit, Equities and Commodities. These businesses generated around $2.5 billion of annual trading profits for JPMorgan.
The Structured Credit Business at JPMorgan under Bertrand des Pallières was recognized as the market leader and won awards for several consecutive years (2001-2006) in Derivatives and Structured Credit, including CDO House of the year and Structured Finance Deal of the Year.

Mr des Pallières' recent investments include those made in the Orco Property Group which is listed on Euronext in Paris and on the Prague, Warsaw and Budapest Stock Exchanges, Cadogan Petroleum Plc which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Versatile Systems Inc., listed on the Toronto and London Stock Exchanges. He is also an activist distressed investor in debt issued by the Greek telecommunications company, WIND Hellas.

Mr des Pallières sits on the Board of Directors of Cadogan Petroleum Plc, Versatile Systems Inc. and Equus Total Return Inc. which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Source: Cadogon Petroleum plc, January 2012

Edward Rendell

Former Governor of Pennsylvania

NBC News Political Analyst Ed Rendell has a proven track record of getting big things done. As Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 - 2011, Rendell served two terms as chief executive of the nation's 6th-most-populous state and oversaw a $28.3 billion budget.

Committed to make government more responsible to the public and more responsive to the public's needs, Governor Rendell cut wasteful spending and improved efficiency to save more than $1 billion, and pursued a legislative agenda that included commonsense political reforms to put progress ahead of partisanship. Under Governor Rendell's leadership, Pennsylvania's economy rebounded sharply.

When he became Governor, the commonwealth faced a projected budget deficit of $2.4 billion. As one of his first acts, Governor Rendell cut government spending to close that deficit and implemented programs and policies to apply business principles of productivity and cost-savings to the operation of state government. As Mayor of Philadelphia from 1992-1999, he led what The New York Times called "the most stunning turnaround in recent urban history."

His accomplishments as Mayor include:

• Balancing the city's budget and generating five consecutive budget surpluses
• Reducing business and wage taxes for four consecutive years
• Implementing new revenue-generating initiatives
• Dramatically improving services city-wide

Before serving as Mayor, Rendell was elected district attorney of the City of Philadelphia for two terms from 1978 through 1985. Rendell also served as general chair of the Democratic National Committee during the 2000 Presidential election, and teaches government and politics courses at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also an NBC News political analyst, providing his trademark straightforward and colorful analysis on both NBC News and its sister cable channel, MSNBC.

Source: Edward Rendell, December 2011

Edward Stelmach

Former Premier of Alberta

Edward Michael Stelmach was elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party on December 2, 2006 and was sworn in as Alberta’s 13th Premier on December 14, 2006.

On March 3, 2008, he won an overwhelming mandate, the largest ever for a first time Premier, in a provincial general election increasing the number of Progressive Conservative Members in the Legislative Assembly to 72 out of 83.

Premier Stelmach has a long record of public and community service. He served as a school trustee; chair of the Vegreville health unit board and a member of the Archer Memorial Hospital and Lamont Auxiliary Hospital and Nursing Home boards. He also served as a councilor and reeve for Lamont County.

Mr. Stelmach entered provincial politics in 1993 and was elected MLA in the Vegreville-Viking constituency. He was elected to his fifth term as an MLA on March 3, 2008, serving the people of the renamed Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville Constituency. Before becoming Premier, he held four cabinet posts as Minister of Agriculture, Infrastructure, Transportation, and International and Intergovernmental Relations.

As Premier, Mr. Stelmach committed to leading Alberta through the global recession and positioning the province for a strong economic recovery by responsibly managing government spending; using the province’s savings to protect public programs and services; investing in infrastructure and ensuring that Alberta’s industries are competitive and continue to attract investment.

While Premier, more than 60,000 low-income Albertans were taken off the provincial tax rolls, and tax cuts totaling $1 billion were implemented through cancellation of health care premiums and increased personal income tax exemptions. Premier Stelmach’s government embarked on ambitious plans to put Alberta in the best financial position of all provinces, with the best performing health system in Canada, and the most innovative and competitive economy, with the most advanced infrastructure in North America.

He also championed policies that support safe communities and balance economic development with the need to preserve Alberta’s unique environmental heritage. Under his leadership, Alberta was the first jurisdiction in North America to limit carbon dioxide emissions through legislation and place a levy on carbon produced by industry. He vowed to make Alberta a world leader in the development of clean energy technologies, such as carbon capture and storage.

In addition, under Premier Stelmach’s leadership the Government of Alberta provided funding to help develop over 11,600 affordable housing units, exceeding the commitment made in 2007 to provide funding to support the development of 11,000 units by 2012. More than 22,000 lower-income Albertans now have a safe and affordable place to call home and more than 9,000 full- and part-time jobs were created as a result of this investment.

Premier Stelmach and his wife Marie continue to live on the homestead founded by his grandparents in 1898. They have four grown children and five grandchildren.

Source: Edward Stelmach, December 2011

Daniel Yergin

Executive Vice President, IHS CERA Chairman

Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, is a Pulitzer-Prize winning author and leading authority on energy, international politics and economics and is a recipient of the United States Energy Award for “lifelong achievements in energy and the promotion of international understanding.”

His latest book The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, has been hailed as “a fascinating saga” about the “quest for sustainable resources of energy” and “the book you must read to understand the future of our economy and our way of life.”

The Quest is the follow-up to Dr. Yergin’s previous book, The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power, which received the Pulitzer Prize and became a number one New York Times best seller that has been translated into 17 languages.

Other significant works by Dr. Yergin include Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy; Russia 2010; Energy Future; and Shattered Peace. Dr. Yergin has also written for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, International Herald Tribune, and many other publications. He is also CNBC’s Global Energy Expert.

Both The Prize and Commanding Heights were made into award winning documentaries. The eight-hour miniseries The Prize was aired on PBS, BBC, and NHK and viewed by 20 million viewers in the United States alone. The 6-hour documentary of, Commanding Heights that Dr. Yergin produced received three Emmy nominations, the CINE Golden Eagle award, and the New York Festivals Gold World Medal for best documentary.

Dr. Yergin serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and chaired the U.S. Department of Energy’s Task Force on Strategic Energy Research and Development. He is a Trustee of the Brookings Institution, on the Board of the New America Foundation, and on the advisory boards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Initiative and the Institute for 21st Century Energy. 

Dr. Yergin holds a BA from Yale University, where he founded The New Journal, and a PhD from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He has taught at the Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

For additional information, visit the Daniel Yergin press page.