Joint BIEE & UKERC Webinar: Post-election panel discussion on energy policy

Volker Beckers graduated from Cologne University in Economics and Business. After an initial career in the IT industry working in different sectors, he spent more than 25 years as a senior executive within the energy industry. Volker now works for a portfolio of companies of different sizes as non-Executive Director/Chair and his professional expertise spans across all sectors – private, public and academia.

Volker was Group CEO, RWE Npower plc until the end of 2012 and prior to this, its Group CFO from 2003 to 2009. He has worked with a variety of trade and industry bodies, including the CBI President’s Committee, on the Board of the German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce, and since 1999 as Deputy Chair of the Executive Commercial Management Committee at the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and was also member of the Executive Committee of UKBCSE (now Energy UK). He held a number of non-Executive directorships including HM Revenue & Customs where he chaired the Scrutiny Committee.

Volker sat on the Advisory Board of the EU Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at King’s College and was Chair of the Advisory Board with Erasmus Centre for Future Energy Business (ECFEB), a specialist research center at Rotterdam School of Management. He was appointed in 2019 as Chairman of the Advisory Group of ewi – the Energy Institute of the University of Cologne. In 2014 he joined the Board of Trustees of Forum for the Future. He is also a member of The Worshipful Company of Fuellers and a Fellow of the Energy Institute (FEI).

Prof. Robert Gross joined UKERC as Director in March 2020.

Prior to this role Rob was Director of the Centre for Energy Policy and Technology (ICEPT) at Imperial College London. He was also the Policy Director of Imperial’s Energy Futures Lab and a Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre.

Professor Gross has been involved with UKERC since its inception, leading the Technology and Policy Analysis theme and has published extensively on energy policy and technology.  He has wide-ranging research management expertise and has made a substantive contribution to UK energy policy development, acting as advisor to Select Committees, preparing reports and chairing committees for Government departments and non-departmental public bodies, and as a consultant. He was seconded to the Cabinet Office in the early 2000s and contributed to the Blair Government Energy Review.

Rob has extensive teaching experience at masters and PhD level. He has been an invited speaker at a wide range of conferences and forums in the UK and overseas and makes regular contributions to the popular debate surrounding energy, in the mainstream press, online and in TV and radio appearances. In 2014 Gross was Chair of the Council of the British Institute of Energy Economics.

Robert has a PhD in Energy and Environment Policy and Technology and an MSc in Environmental Technology, both from Imperial College.

Mallika is Shell’s Chief Economist. She advises on economic, energy and climate policies to shape Shell’s long-term scenarios. She leads strategic engagements on energy transitions with national and city governments across the world, notably a multi-year collaboration with the Chinese government. Mallika also helps shape Shell’s policy and advocacy on the energy transition to support the company’s decarbonisation strategy. She sits on a range of external advisory boards.

Before joining Shell, she was Deputy Director at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, responsible for evidence and analysis across the environment, food and green economy portfolio. She has held senior positions in the UK government, including at the Cabinet Office as Head of Policy Analysis for the 2009 G20 London Summit. Before that, Mallika worked in senior economics and policy roles in the USA.

Mallika holds PhD and MS degrees in Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, and a BA from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, India.

Mike is Chief Economist at National Grid ESO, soon to be the National Energy System Operator. He is also Chair of BIEE. Previously, Mike was Director in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice and Chief Economist and Director of Analysis at the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent statutory climate adviser. Mike led the CCC analytical team in developing the CCC’s advice on Net Zero, the Sixth Carbon Budget, the actions and policies required to deliver it, and the framework for tracking and monitoring progress. He also oversaw the CCC’s adaptation analysis.

Having spent his career telling stories with evidence, Mike is a firm believer in the power of analysis to make the world a better place.