James Bowen

James Bowen is a facilities manager in Google's European headquarters based in Dublin. James has been with Google for the past three years and has been working on many environmental and energy initiatives there. Google has been taking every step it can to implement innovative and responsible environmental practices across the company to reduce its carbon footprint, ensure efficient computing and help its employees be green.

Dominic Costello

Dominic Costello is an Electronics Engineer and Managing Director of Wind Energy Direct. Wind Energy Direct specialises in installing wind turbines on the sites of large energy users for on-site consumption via a build, own and operate model. Formerly the Managing Director of ITS, Dominic also holds an MBA from the University of Limerick.

Mark Coyle

Mark Coyle is the Corporate Development Director of Utilisoft Ltd, a leading software solutions provider working in partnership with the partners and over 75 clients. Utilisoft focuses on enabling best practice in market and business interaction to the energy and utilities sector. Their solutions are used in the Single Electricity Market by multiple clients. Mark is currently leading a number of initiatives in smart energy, next generation energy supply, trading intelligence and service based interaction for energy markets. He formerly worked for National Grid in the UK and Logica where he led their energy strategy & trading practice before joining Utilisoft in 2007.

Des Crowther

Des Crowther is Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management. Des has over twenty years experience in the financial services sector in Ireland. He has worked in various management roles at ICS Building Society (a subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland Group) and was Operations Manager with Scottish Legal Life Assurance Society, responsible for the Irish operations. Prior to his present appointment he spent five years as Director of the Irish Association of Pension Funds. Des is an MBA graduate, Chartered Secretary and, a qualified accountant.

Martin Howley

Martin Howley manages Sustainable Energy Ireland’s Energy Policy Statistical Support Unit. Based in Cork, the Unit has a lead role in developing and maintaining comprehensive national and sectoral statistics for energy production, transformation and end use, including energy prices. He has worked for 30 years in various energy related roles in the antecedents of SEI from IIRS through Eolas, Forbairt, Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Energy Centre.

Con Leddy

Con Leddy is an Associate Director and leader of PM Group’s Sustainable Energy Engineering team. He has 20 years experience in the design of mechanical services for the biopharmaceutical, electronics and medical technology sectors in Ireland and internationally. Most recently he was project leader of the SEI EED Special Working Group to develop an Energy Efficient Design Methodology guideline.

Cathy Mannion

Cathy Mannion is Director of the Electricity Networks and Retail Division at the Commission for Energy Regulation. This division oversees the economic regulation and development of the electricity networks (transmission and distribution) as well as approving charges for access to the networks and resolving disputes in the area of network connections. She also has responsibility for licensing electricity suppliers and regulating the end user prices charged by the public electricity supplier to end customers.

Ross McCracken

Ross McCracken, editor of Energy Economist, joined Platts in 1999 to run the European and West African crude desk, working subsequently on both upstream and mid-stream publications and helping to develop Platts crude pricing methodology. He was previously an analyst with political and economic consultancy Oxford Analytica, and has worked in Poland and China. He holds a master's degree in European studies from the London School of Economics.

Walt Patterson

Walt Patterson is a fellow of the Energy, Environment and Development Programme at Chatham House, as well as a visiting fellow of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex. He is also on the editorial board of European Energy Review. His current project for Chatham House and University of Sussex is called ‘Managing Energy: for climate and security’. His previous publications are Transforming Electricity and Keeping the Lights on: Towards Sustainable Electricity.

Gary Ryan

Gary Ryan is Director of Sales and Marketing for energia, the Viridian Group’s energy supply business operating in the competitive markets in Ireland. Gary has been with energia since its formation and has led it to become the largest independent energy supply company in Ireland. He has been involved in the energy sector for over 11 years and previously held positions with PwC and the Tedcastle Group. Gary is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MBA from the Smurfit Business School.

David Strahan

David Strahan is a Chartered Accountant and joined Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd in 2003, after working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He was appointed to the Board of Phoenix Supply Ltd in December 2006 and has ultimate responsibility for all gas supply operations across the island of Ireland. In addition, he is also a director of Phoenix Energy Ltd, a recently established Southern Irish company that was formed to supply natural gas in the Republic of Ireland. David also sits on a number of governmental advisory bodies.