It’s no secret the energy landscape continues to evolve.
Nurturing this sector on its growth journey is a select group of industry leaders who are driving significant transformations — within their own companies and beyond.
These influencers are at the forefront of shaping the future of energy, guiding their organisations toward sustainability, innovation and cleaner energy sources. And they’re not just energy industry leaders, either. Energy is being shaped by players across technology and manufacturing to name a few, driving energy efficiency and conservation.
Our top 10 — made up of influencers across academia, activism and industry analysis — shines a spotlight on those making an impact on energy, sustainability and climate change.
10. Sumant Sinha
Occupation: Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew
Location Delhi, India
Businessman Sumant is a key figure in India’s renewable energy sector. At the helm of one of India’s leading energy companies, ReNew, he is at the forefront of the country’s renewable energy movement and is recognised around the world for aiding this expansion. As well as this, he is applauded globally as a leading entrepreneur and advocate for sustainable development and solutions to climate change.
“There are many ways of contributing to society and I am more than happy doing what I am doing,” he said on his personal website.
9. Chris Womack
Occupation: Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Southern Company
Location: Georgia, USA
A figure helping transform the US’ energy system by calling for innovation across the utility sector amid an ‘incredible demand’ for energy, Chris is calling for greater investments in energy efficiency and new ways to generate electricity.
As Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Southern Company, Chris leverages his position as a Southern Company veteran of more than 35 years to assert influence over policy and change, as well as being an advocate for more Black CEOs in the US and beyond.
8. Francesco Starace
Occupation: Partner at EQT and Chair of the SBTi
Location: Rome, Italy
Francesco is the former CEO and General Manager of Enel, an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas for whom he worked for almost 25 years. During his tenure, he played an instrumental part in driving Enel’s efforts to phase out fossil-fueled energy production and invested in digital technologies.
Now a Partner at investment organisation EQT, he leverages his deep experience and expertise in energy and transition related industries to his work as a dedicated advisor across investment activity, portfolio companies and strategic initiatives.
Along with this, Francesco is the Chair of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), helping organisations reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to lessen the worst effects of climate change.
7. Jesper Brodin
Occupation: CEO of Ingka Group (IKEA)
Location: Leiden, the Netherlands
A business leader and sustainability advocate, Jesper has been a force in efforts to reduce energy consumption in manufacturing which, as a result, will radically reduce global carbon emissions. He is leading IKEA’s energy initiatives and is focusing on the brand becoming climate positive by 2030, including significant investments in wind and solar energy.
Speaking earlier this year when recognised as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people, Jesper said: “Sustainability is a part of our DNA and the work started many, many years ago. Today we celebrate the fact that it is good business to be a good business. Time is ticking and we are in a hurry to reverse the tides of climate change.”
6. Lynn J. Good
Occupation: Chair, President and CEO of Duke Energy
Location: North Carolina, USA
Under Lynn’s leadership, Duke Energy supports social justice and clean energy. This was particularly evident during the pandemic, where the company provided free power to those impacted by Covid. Duke Energy’s “long-term strategy to deliver an outstanding customer experience” by investing in the energy grid, cleaner energy and natural gas infrastructure “continues to guide us,” Lynn said at the time.
“As we look ahead, our transition to lower-carbon generating resources is important to our customers,” she added.
In support of this, Duke Energy’s Asheville combined-cycle natural gas plant, for example, adds more than 8,100MW of wind, solar and biomass to its portfolio. Duke Energy, under Lynn’s guidance, plans to double that amount by 2025.
Lynn has been President and CEO of Duke since 2013 and her leadership has seen substantial economic benefits created for communities, trailblazing the way to providing cleaner and smarter energy to meet the demands of a more digital-powered future.
5. Anders Opedal
Occupation: President and CEO of Equinor
Location: Stavanger, Norway
Equinor, one of the leading suppliers of energy to Europe and the largest oil and gas operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), is focused on responsible exploration, production and development of oil and gas resources, as well as renewable energy solutions.
“Equinor aims to be a leading player in the energy transition,” President and CEO Anders said. “This also means that we will shoulder our share of the responsibility for making Norway, as an energy nation, a hub for the rest of Europe.”
Anders uses his platform to engage with topics close to his heart across the energy industry, including how technology is an accelerator to drive the transition to a low carbon future and how diversity and inclusion are key elements to deliver progress.
4. Ben van Beurden
Occupation: Senior Advisor to KKR
Location: Berkshire, UK
Ben is a Dutch businessman who joined Shell in 1983. He was the CEO of Shell from 2014 to 2022 and, during his tenure, was instrumental in pushing the company towards a greater emphasis on renewable energy and carbon neutrality by 2050. He led Shell’s drive towards biofuels, hydrogen and renewables, setting Shell’s first climate targets.
Now working with American global investment firm KKR, Ben works on green investments as a Senior Advisor. KKR’s head of North American infrastructure Brandon Freiman said Ben “really led Shell’s work during his tenure as CEO on transitioning it across oil and gas, renewables, sustainable aviation and transportation”.
3. Vicki Hollub
Occupation: President and CEO of Occidental Petroleum
Location: Texas, USA
The first woman to serve as CEO of a major oil company, Vicki has been billed as ‘Big Oil's Big Dealmaker’ by Bloomberg.
Her career with Occidental Petroleum — also known as Oxy — stretches back more than 35 years and, outside of this, she has positioned herself as a leading force of the US’ energy sector thanks to her variety of other energy responsibilities, including serving on the board of the American Petroleum Institute, being the Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Oil and Gas Community and as a member of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
With Vicki at the helm, Oxy became the first US oil and gas major to announce its strategy to reach net zero across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. She believes oil has a low carbon future and is noted for her leadership in integrating carbon management into Oxy’s business model, especially through direct air capture technology.
2. Darren Woods
Occupation: Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil
Location: Texas, USA
Darren has been the Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil, one of the largest energy companies in the world and the biggest in the USA, since 2017. He joined ExxonMobil — the largest existing direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil — in 1992 and had 24 years of company service before being promoted to the role of CEO.
Darren is a key player in the global energy landscape by leading ExxonMobil’s efforts in carbon capture and storage as well as other energy transition strategies. This is also one of the key ways he asserts his influence across the industry — he is quick to halt misperceptions in the energy transition and highlights the importance of taking on adversity, as well as why strategy needs the courage of conviction.
1. Patrick Pouyanné
Occupation: Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies
Location: Paris, France
With sustainable development at the heart of TotalEnergies’ strategy, Patrick is driving the transformation by shaping it into a broad energy company, focusing heavily on renewable energy and sustainability. Patrick has been in TotalEnergies’ top job since 2015 and, as France’s legacy oil and gas company celebrates its centenary in 2024, is laser-focused on future-proofing not just TotalEnergies but the energy industry around it.
Under Patrick’s instruction, TotalEnergies invested more than US$16bn to improve its operations in 2023, more than a third of which is solely dedicated to low carbon energies with a primary focus on electricity and renewables.
“The strength of our results is a matter of pride for us, as it enables TotalEnergies to mobilise the resources necessary to fulfil our ambitions and to concretely implement our roadmap,” he said.
**************
Make sure you check out the latest edition of Energy Digital Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Sustainability LIVE 2024
**************
Energy Digital is a BizClik brand.
