Speakers

Abdulkadir Uraloğlu was born in 1966.
He holds a civil engineering degree from Karadeniz Technical University and commenced his professional journey as a field engineer in the private sector after graduating in 1988. He joined the Directorate General for Highways as a civil engineer in 1989 and held various positions until he was appointed as the Director General of Highways in 2018.
During his tenure, he was involved in the construction, planning and project works of new highways, divided roads, bridges and tunnel projects, which have significantly enhanced the country’s highway network.
In 2023, Mr Uraloğlu was appointed Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.
He is married and has three children.

Agustina Calatayud is Head of Transportation Research at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In addition, she leads the IDB transport portfolio in Colombia. Her work focuses on conducting applied research, structuring projects, and providing technical oversee to improve transport systems in LAC. Before joining IDB in 2010, she worked in the areas of private sector development and transport planning with several international organizations (European Commission, ILO, UN); the public sector (Municipality of Turin, Italy); as well as the private sector. She holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Systems Engineering from Newcastle University, UK, and Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Padua, Italy. Her research on logistics and maritime transportation received international awards from the UK Charter Institute for Transport and Logistics, Emerald Publishing, and the European Logistics Association, and has been published by scientific journals, international organizations and academia.

Alberto Mazzola has been CER Executive Director since January 2021, representing its members towards EU policymakers and advocating rail as the backbone of a competitive and sustainable transport system in Europe. He holds a Master’s in Business Administration and Doctorate cum Laude in Nuclear Engineering from Politecnico Milan. His past roles have included Head of International Government Affairs for Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS), cabinet member of Italy’s State Holding Minister, adviser to the Romanian Minister of Industry and contributing to the worldwide business section of Leonardo Finmeccanica. Alberto Mazzola is also active in the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) since 2015.

Alvydas Naujėkas, CEO of Dancer Bus, is a trailblazer in the electric city transportation sector. With over 25 years of executive experience and a pioneering spirit, Alvydas leads the charge in navigating the complexities of the market with unwavering expertise. He envisions a future where electric buses replace diesel ones, driven not only by sustainability but also by enhanced comfort and economic benefits.

Alvydas is a staunch advocate for decentralising energy systems and advancing electricity storage solutions, making him a driving force in shaping the future of urban mobility.

As the founder of the Wind and Solar Powered Transport Alliance (ViSATA) and former president of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association, Alvydas is committed to driving innovation and sustainability in the transportation industry.

Ángel Cárdenas Sosa is Chief Manager of Urban Development and Creative Economies at CAF. In this unit, he leads a portfolio of more than USD 8 billion in urban operations focused on the sectors of mobility, water and sanitation, citizen security, creative economies, among others in the 20 member countries of the Institution. Cárdenas Sosa has more than 20 years of experience in multilateral banking holding roles such as Secretary General, Auditor General, Director of Infrastructure and Energy projects, among others.

Ángel Cárdenas Sosa is an economist, administrator and has master’s degrees in Public Management, Territorial Planning and Environmental Management, in Business Administration and is a PhD candidate in Political Science, is an Eisenhower Fellowship (fellow) where he studied public policy issues in the field of planning and development of infrastructures and their impacts on the governance and development of countries. He has also been an undergraduate and postgraduate professor at universities in Argentina, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Atsushi Uehara was appointed in June 2023 as the Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). He has held various positions since joining the Ministry of Transport (presently MLIT) in 1987, including as Director-General of the Railway Bureau and Vice Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard. He has over 35 years of experience in various transport sectors, including aviation and maritime, having also worked at the Embassy of Japan in Thailand as First Secretary.

Azeb T. Legese is an expert in urban design and a researcher on sustainable mobility. She conducted various studies on walkability, inclusive transportation, sidewalk design for non-motorised transport (NMT), mobility behaviour and real-life experiments and the impact of active mobility on the health and sustainability of cities. She took post-graduate training on Sustainable Mobility, Spatial Planning, and Urban Africa-Scenario thinking in the Context of Rapid Urbanisation.

Currently, Azeb is a Research Associate and a PhD candidate at the Department of Cycling and Sustainable Mobility, University of Kassel, Germany. Azeb has international research experiences in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, and Germany. These engagements have given her the best practical experience in urban design and mobility systems.

Bing-yu Chiu, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) in Tokyo, Japan. His research seeks to understand the relationship between transportation infrastructure investments, economic development, travel behaviour, and sustainability. Prior to joining JTTRI, he worked in Taiwan as a planning and infrastructure consultant, a legislative assistant contributing to legal amendment efforts for urban regeneration and affordable housing, a mayoral aide providing advice on public transit improvements as well as a columnist. He also interned at ICLEI and IGES, two environmental non-governmental organisations in South Korea and Japan, where he was involved in a car-free neighbourhood project and co-benefits policy research. He is a (co-)author of two books in English and Chinese. One of his books collects international best practice case studies of sustainable urbanism in the hope of inspiring the Taiwanese audience. The other, Going Green: Experiencing the Ecomobile Lifestyle, was an English-language publication which he co-authored with Germany-based Konrad Otto-Zimmermann to document the car-free neighbourhood project EcoMobility World Festival 2017 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, where he was advised by Prof. Erick Guerra.

Chiara Corazza, President of CCC, is the Private Sector Representative for France within G20 EMPOWER, appointed by President Emmanuel Macron, and a member of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council. She has been CEO of the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society (2017-2021). She is the author of the report “Women at the Heart of the Economy”. She was entrusted by the French Government, after the 2019 G7 Summit, to propose critical recommendations for the representation of girls and women in STEM and in the jobs of the future.

She was the Managing Director of the Greater Paris Investment Agency (2002-2016), which was created to attract global investments to the Paris Region. As Director of International Affairs of Greater Paris (1985-2002), she created the Metropolis and implemented cooperation between Paris and 20 global capitals.

Chiara is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee for France and of the Arab International Women’s Forum. She was nominated as the French Foreign Trade Advisor in 2019 and has been an independent board member of RATP and APRIL.

She was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by Christine Lagarde (2009) and Ufficiale della Stella d’Italia by President Sergio Mattarella (2015).

Chiara is an Affiliated Professor at ESCP Business School.

Christelle Al Haddad is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Chair of Transportation Systems Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, where she leads the “Human Factors” research group. She holds a PhD in Transportation Engineering (2022) from TUM, where she also earned her MSc in Transportation Systems (2018). Previously, she had completed her BEng in Civil Engineering (2015) from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Her research focuses on understanding and modelling human factors in transportation, including but not limited to road safety, emerging transportation modes (such as urban air mobility and hyperloop), and shared mobility in general. Her interests also span across understanding gender aspects of mobility and ethical concerns in relation to technological advances and smart city concepts. She is currently guest editing a special issue on gender in transport at the Journal of Transport Geography. Her research has been disseminated in national and international conferences, and in peer-reviewed publications that have attracted over 620 citations in about four years (H-index: 11).

Cristina is the Director of Global Electric Mobility for WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She works to manage and expand WRI’s portfolio of work on zero-emission fleets for public transportation, freight and two-and-three wheelers globally.

Cristina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and a Master’s degree in Transportation Systems from the same university. She also holds a Project Management Specialisation at UFRGS.

Damian Bown is CEO at Trafi. He draws on his experience in innovation (working with some of the most successful transport apps) and operation (he launched and ran a bus company) to assist cities in procuring and implementing MaaS schemes.

Before joining Trafi, Damian was Business Development Director at Citymapper, a popular city navigation app. Prior to that, he was the UK Sales Director at Trapeze, a leading supplier of scheduling and tracking software for large transport operators and cities.

In 2000, Damian founded Kizoom, which went on to build the world’s first phone-based transport journey planner. He sold Kizoom to Trapeze in 2010. Damian has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from City University in London and an MBA from INSEAD, France.

Emma is a global executive focused on transformation in the energy sector in a time of unprecedented change. She has been at bp for 27 years, working in both the Upstream and Downstream businesses and became Executive Vice President, Customers & Products from July 2020. Customers & products comprises all of bp’s customer-facing businesses such as Airbp, bp Pulse, Castrol, biofuels growth, all convenience and service stations across the globe and is home to more than 25,000 employees. Emma has held a variety of senior roles, including regional president for Western Africa, Chief Financial Officer for Asia Pacific and head of business development for global upstream gas. In Downstream, she held roles in retail, commercial fuels and planning. Emma studied Economics and Business at Trinity College Dublin before completing a Master’s in Management at ESCP Europe, graduating in 1995. She was a member of the Board of Directors for BP Pension Trustees Limited for 4 years until August 2020. Emma is a Fellow of the Energy Institute.  

Felipe Bedoya-Maya is a PhD candidate in Applied Economics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Previously, he served as an economist in the Inter-American Development Bank Transport Division and as a researcher at the Center for Economic and Financial Research at Universidad EAFIT. His research integrates applied econometrics, spatial analysis, and network science to advance sustainable and resilient development within the transportation sector. His work has been featured in multiple scientific journals, including Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, and Transport Policy. He earned his Master’s degree in Economics from Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia.

Francisco Laverón is Head of Energy Prospective and Policy in the Innovation and Sustainability Division of Iberdrola, a multinational electricity utility with headquarters in Spain that is now a global leader in renewables and smart grids, and has brought the energy transition forward two decades to combat climate change and provide a clean, reliable, and smart business model.

Francisco is an Industrial Organization Engineer (Polytechnic University of Madrid) with a specialization in Economics of the Power Sector (Carlos III University of Madrid). He has more than 25 years of experience in regulatory affairs, energy policy and sectorial prospective analysis.

In his current position, Francisco assesses long term trends in the energy transition to identify the best business models and technologies that will shape the future of the sector, focusing on renewable energies and electrification as key tools to decarbonize the energy sector.

He is Iberdrola’s representative in initiatives such as the Corporate Partnership Board of the International Transport Forum, the Energy Transitions Commission, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, EV100 and SteelZero of The Climate Group, and the First Movers Coalition. He also serves as liaison with other international organizations such as the International Energy Agency.

Mr Davenne graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications d’Evry in 1988 and from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in 1999. Throughout his career, he has consistently promoted interdisciplinarity as a key factor for success. Having gained experience in international satellite telecommunications, he initially held various roles in the housing sector, making use of his strong financial and legal skills. He was involved in policy and regulation of the sector and managed key operational programmes, most notably for the city of Paris.

After three years with the French Ministry of Transport, working on railway safety and regulation, with an emphasis on European regulations, he was elected in 2012 as Secretary General of OTIF, the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail. From early 2013 to the end of 2018, he promoted interdisciplinarity and partnership building in order to expand and develop the uniform regulations for international carriage by rail.

Dr. Gianluca Ambrosetti is the CEO and Co-founder of Synhelion. Synhelion is a Swiss clean energy company that uses solar energy to produce carbon-neutral solar fuel to decarbonize transportation. The fuels produced by Synhelion – such as solar kerosene, gasoline, or diesel – can directly replace fossil fuels as they are fully compatible with existing global infrastructure. With its solar fuel technology, Synhelion offers a sustainable and economically viable alternative to fossil fuels and unlocks a clean future of transportation. 

Gianluca has a PhD in Physics and Nanotechnology from EPFL Lausanne. Before founding Synhelion, he held various leadership positions in the concentrated solar power and photovoltaics industry. His achievements include several patents and scientific publications, and he is the recipient of the EPFL Prix Prof. René Wasserman 2011. Gianluca is a passionate jazz soprano saxophone player and performs regularly at concerts and jazz festivals. 

Harald Seidel joined DAF in 2001 and has held various positions with increasing responsibility within DAF’s finance and control organisation.

In 2017, he was promoted to the position of Director of Finance and member of the DAF Board of Management, followed by his promotion to DAF President in 2022.

Harald Seidel obtained a master’s degree in Econometrics from Tilburg University and a postgraduate controller’s degree from the University of Amsterdam.

After graduating as an engineer in agriculture at the Comprehensive University of Kassel and as an environmental scientist at the Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Hartmut Höppner started his career as a research assistant at the UNEP/UNESCO/BMU International Postgraduate Training Programme on Environmental Management at the Technical University of Dresden.

From 2000 to 2021, he worked at the German Bundestag before serving in various positions as Managing Director and Spokesman of the Rhineland-Palatinate FDP, Deputy Spokesman of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Government and high political coordinator on ministerial level.

Since 2022, Hartmut Höppner has been State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.

Henrik Gudmundsson, Ph.D., is Senior Consultant in the Mobility Program of CONCITO – Denmark’s green think tank. Henrik is an expert in sustainable low carbon transport planning and assessment. Before joining CONCITO in 2016, he worked 10 years as Senior Researcher in transport policy analysis at the Technical University of Denmark. He has also served as transport specialist in three agencies of the Danish Ministry of Environment. Henrik has had leading positions in several European and international research projects and working groups. He has published academically on sustainability indicators, mobility, urban logistics, and transport policy. He is a former member and co-chair in the Sustainability Committee of the US Transportation Research Board and a former member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Transport Analysis Agency in Sweden.

Jacob Bangsgaard is Secretary General Mobility at the FIA. He came to the FIA from SAE Europe, where he held the position of Executive Director for Policy and Research. Mr Bangsgaard was for five years the CEO of ERTICO. Prior to that, he was Director General of FIA Region I, and he worked for the FIA Foundation in London as Director of International Relations. Mr Bangsgaard has held Board positions at the MaaS Alliance, INATBA, Euro NCAP, and eSafetyAware.

Jean-Luc Chapoton is Group International Business Development Director at RATP Dev, a world leader in urban and regional mobility. He is in charge of development, industrial partnerships, and international institutional relations. Since 2015, he has been involved in the different regions where RATP Dev is looking for new business opportunities: Latin America, Nordics, Europe, Canada, South Africa, and Asia Pacific.

After several roles as bid director and operations director covering France and international activities, Jean-Luc Chapoton joined RATP Dev in 2009. He led business development in the Middle East region and achieved major credentials: in 7 years, RATP Dev built strategic partnerships and has been awarded more than USD 7 Billion in contracts, including Riyadh Bus, Doha Metro & Tramway, Riyadh Metro Lines 1 & 2 operation and maintenance projects. He also established relations at the highest level in Serbia, enabling RATP Dev to sign its first contract for Belgrade Metro.

He was appointed Vice-President of the French and Arab Chamber of Commerce in May 2016.

Before joining the public transport operation and maintenance business in RATP DEV, Jean-Luc Chapoton was involved in different roles of management in the field of Mobile and Fixed Telecom infrastructures for Alcatel and Nortel Networks, as well as in the field of Intelligent Transport Solutions in Alstom Transport and ENGIE-INEO groups.

Jean-Luc Chapoton graduated with a Master of Science in Electronics and Business Administration.

John is Deputy Director for Travel and Environment Data and Statistics at the UK Department for Transport. He has spent the last decade tackling a range of transport data challenges, across roads, aviation, maritime, the environment and various forms of local transport, including key periods looking at statistical needs for the COVID-19 pandemic response and the UK’s departure from the European Union.

His current roles include Chair of the Working Party for Transport Statistics for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and leadership of a large team overseeing a range of areas that include the English Bus Open Data digital service and the English National Travel Survey.

Jon Ivar Nygård b. 1973 (Labour Party) took office as Minister of Transport in October 2021. He was previously mayor of Fredrikstad from 2011 and was a member of the city council from 1993. Nygård has held several positions in the Labour Party and in elected bodies. He was a member of the Labour Party’s national executive committee from 2003 to 2004 and has been a member of the executive board of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2023. He has been elected to the Norwegian Parliament as a representative for Østfold during the period 2021–2025. Nygård holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oslo and Østfold University College with studies in history, economics and political science.

An Industrial Civil Engineer who graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile with a Master’s in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, United States. He is a full professor in the Department of Transportation and Logistics Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He has extensive academic experience, conducting research in the areas of transportation operations, public transportation systems, logistics, and vehicular traffic theory, among others.

Until his appointment, he was a teaching professor in the Department of Transportation and Logistics Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and Director of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS). He was a member of the expert committee promoted by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile to suggest improvements to public transport, and was director of the Santiago Metro and the Valparaíso Metro.

He is the editor of the book “Bus Rapid Transit and the Restructuring of Public Transit” (Policy Press, 2016) and has published multiple times in national and international journals on mobility and transportation, being recognised as an internationally renowned expert.

Juan Manuel Dominguez is in charge of prospective studies at SNCF Réseau in the Ile de France direction. Of Spanish origin, he has an academic background in engineering (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) and management (HEC Paris) and 8 years of professional experience mainly focused on transport economics and strategic studies (for example, the “Routes du futur du Grand Paris” international consultation).

Dr Julia Baker is a Technical Director of Nature Services at Mott MacDonald. Julia supports the public and private sector to integrate Nature within corporate strategies and disclosures following the TNFD framework, and throughout the lifecycle of a development project.

Julia is the lead author of the UK’s Good Practice Principles on Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), runs professional training courses on BNG and has designed and delivered BNG on numerous infrastructure projects. Her recent projects include the integration of climate resilience into BNG designs and long-term management plans.

Julia was named on the ENDs Power List of most influential environmental professions in 2022 and 2023, was CIEEM’s Member of the Year in 2023, and is a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford. Julia is also Chair of the Biodiversity Task Group by the Environmental Industries Commission.

Julia Simpson is President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council.  She spent 14 years in the aviation sector on the Board of British Airways and Iberia and as Chief of Staff at International Airlines Group. Before joining British Airways, Julia was senior adviser to the UK Prime Minister. She has held a number of key positions in the UK government and public sector, including Director at the Home Office and Department for Education and Employment; Assistant Chief Executive at the London Borough of Camden; and head of communications at the Communication Workers Union. Julia is currently on the Board of the London Chamber of Commerce. Julia believes in the power of travel to transform lives, grow economies, and protect the planet and its people. 

Karen Vancluysen was appointed as Secretary General of POLIS in 2014, after having been its Research Director for 8 years. Prior to that, she worked as network manager at ACCESS-Eurocities and as project manager at Langzaam Verkeer, a Belgian centre for mobility management. Since 1998, Karen has been involved in urban transport networking and policy activities, and EU research and innovation projects covering a wide range of urban mobility topics. She has been a speaker and moderator at many international high-level events, on a wide range of urban mobility and governance innovation themes. POLIS is the leading network of cities and regions on urban transport innovation. For over 30 years, members have been working together to develop and deploy sustainable and innovative urban mobility solutions for the city of today and tomorrow.

Karin Svensson is the Chief Sustainability Officer of the Volvo Group, with responsibility to drive the sustainability agenda. Karin Svensson joined the Volvo Group in 1996, and has worked in several roles and functions such as Public Affairs, Strategy and R&D. Karin has been active in a number of transport-related external groups and organizations both in Sweden, Belgium and US. Karin was chairman of the Board of the SAFER – the Vehicle and Traffic Safety Center at Chalmers University, 2012-2021. Karin is also on the board of the International Women Forum in Sweden.

Kathryn’s work at UN Women focuses on addressing sexual harassment in different settings, including in public spaces, transportation, workplaces and online. Prior to joining UN Women, she worked as Development Officer for Democratic Life at Concertation Montréal and is the former Executive Director of Women in Cities International (WICI). She has also worked as a global consultant on issues of gender, safety, public participation and urban development and governance since 2016. Kathryn has a successful history of developing and managing programmes in Canada and internationally and has effectively worked to broaden the understanding of women’s safety by bringing an intersectional approach to her work and by collaborating with different groups of women and girls to explore new related issues (accessibility, essential services, adolescence, etc.). She has a Master’s Degree in Urban Studies, a Master’s Degree in International Peace Studies, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Sociology. 

Lake Sagaris is an internationally recognised expert in cycle-inclusive urban planning, civil society development, and participatory planning theory and practice within urban-regional governance. With a growing emphasis on gender perspectives, she illuminates transport and mobility justice and intersectionality in both research and teaching. Notable contributions include pioneering studies on women, safety, and public transport, such as the Santiago case study “Ella se mueve segura” in collaboration with CAF/FIA Foundation, and spearheading action-research partnerships like Cool Routes to Schools initiatives in vulnerable neighbourhoods.

In 2019, Sagaris was acknowledged by the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative among Remarkable Women in Transport. She began her career as a freelance journalist in Chile, contributing to publications like the London Times and Miami Herald. Recognised as a fellow of Ashoka since 2007 and a fellow of Synergos since 2008, she has received numerous accolades, including the UN World Cycling Day Award (2022) and being named a Notable Woman of Transport by TUMI-GTZ in 2019.

Employing participatory action research methods and community-government partnerships in Chile, particularly Santiago, Sagaris champions an intermodal approach to advance sustainable transport, focusing on resilience, social justice, and inclusion, particularly in gender, safety, and security issues.

Magda Kopczyńska is the current Director-General for Mobility and Transport in the European Commission. Magda has held various leadership roles in the Commission, from Clean Transport and Sustainable Urban Mobility to Agriculture and Rural Development. Magda’s commitment remains focused on driving positive change in Europe’s mobility sector.

Mahnam is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at TU Delft in the Department of Transport and Planning. Previously, she was R&D project lead at Siemens Mobility (Hacon Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH). She received her Master’s degree in Civil Engineering with a specialisation in Transportation Engineering, and her PhD in Freight Transportation and Logistics. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), where she was a recipient of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grant.

Mahnam’s area of research addresses current challenges in the freight transport sector, specifically in the domains of railway freight, intermodal freight transportation, automation, digitalisation and energy transition. To achieve this, she utilises techniques such as agent technology, distributed optimisation, discrete events simulation, and AI. Additionally, she is keen on exploring novel and innovative methods in this domain, including bio-inspired and self-organisation algorithms.

Manpreet is an award-winning campaigner who has been working in youth and road safety for over ten years. He has worked globally to champion the cause of meaningful youth participation in road safety decision-making. He began at YOURS in 2009 heading up social action campaigns and developing the multi-award-winning YOURS Capacity Development Programme. He is currently the YOURS Capacity Development Director as well as Deputy Director of the organisation.

Manpreet has co-led on international road safety campaigns such as the UN Road Safety Week; #SlowDown and #SaveKidsLives campaigns and has helped strategize the week’s focus into strong advocacy campaigns.

As a lead facilitator at YOURS, Manpreet has worked to develop a range of training materials to engage youth actively in road safety through a brain-friendly, action-orientated methodology and has trained youth champions for road safety in more than 25 countries. These young people have gone on to advocate for road safety nationally and have championed road safety in their communities, amongst their peers, and on a range of platforms. His team is currently involved in developing innovative training solutions for young leaders in road safety, namely through the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety and the online road safety and sustainable mobility learning platform YOURS Academy.

Manpreet’s background lies in youth rights and participation he was previously a participation trainer for the National Children’s Bureau, the National Youth Agency, and Participation Works and has worked on programs with the Prince’s Trust and the International Youth Foundation.

In 2018-2020 Skuodis was Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania responsible for investment, export promotion, business environment and EU affairs. Prior to that, he served as Director of the International Relations Department of the Bank of Lithuania.

Skuodis has a PhD in Social Science from Vilnius University, an MPA in Public and Economic Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MA in European Studies from Vilnius University.

Mathias Cormann is the 6th Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). His five-year term commenced on 1 June 2021. 

Prior to his appointment to the OECD, Mathias served as the Australian Minister for Finance, the Leader of the Government in the Australian Senate and as Federal Senator representing the State of Western Australia. In these roles, he has been a strong advocate for the positive power of open markets, free trade and the importance of a rules-based international trading system.

Mathias was born and raised in the German-speaking part of Belgium. He migrated to Australia in 1996, attracted by the great lifestyle and opportunities on offer in Western Australia. Before migrating to Perth, Mathias had graduated in law at the Flemish Catholic University of Louvain (Leuven), following studies at the University of Namur and, as part of the European Erasmus Student Exchange Program, at the University of East Anglia. Between 1997 and 2003, he worked as Chief of Staff as well as Senior Adviser to various State and Federal Ministers in Australia and for the Premier of Western Australia. Between 2003 and 2007, Mathias worked for major Western Australian health insurer HBF in a range of senior management roles. In 2001, realising a childhood dream, Mathias obtained his private pilot’s licence.

Mathias grew up speaking German and graduated in law following studies in French, Flemish and English. He is married to Hayley, a Perth lawyer, and they have two young daughters, Isabelle and Charlotte.

Megha works as a senior transport planner at Cities Forum, a global strategic advisory firm and think tank that aims at being catalyst, working with cities and governments to solve their sustainable urban development challenges. She contributes to the organisation’s commitment to promote resilient, green, digital, inclusive, and sustainable cities around the world by spearheading transformative sustainable urban mobility projects across India, UAE, and Africa. She brings more than eight years of experience working with international research institutions and non-governmental organisations in areas that span integrated transport planning, transport emission analysis, zero-emission vehicles, active mobility, and participatory planning. Prior to her role at Cities Forum, Megha conducted research as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Urban and Regional Planning, TU Berlin, exploring the implications of autonomous vehicles on children’s future mobility to school. Complementing her research-intensive consultancy role, she also serves as a visiting lecturer at the Chair of Integrated Transport Planning, TU Berlin, enriching the next generation of transport planners with her insights. Megha earned her PhD in urban mobility planning and a master’s in architecture from IIT Roorkee, India.

At the ITF Summit 2024, she will be presenting her organisation’s research under the title “Accelerating EV Revolution: A Data-Driven Approach to Designing an Effective Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate Policy for India”.

Mikaël is an engineer and economist working for the French railway infrastructure manager (SNCF Réseau) as responsible for socio-economic evaluation in the Occitanie region. He began his career in the Paris area, studying socio-economic benefits of railway projects related to high frequented train lines (RER A, RER B, RER D, etc.), before heading for the south of France in 2019. Ever since, he weighs pros and cons of many kinds of railway projects (urban/suburban, high speed line, reopening lines, etc.) thanks to traffic forecast and the French method for cost-benefit analysis.

Nicolas Peltier-Thiberge is the Global Director for the Transport Sector in the Infrastructure Practice Group of the World Bank. Mr. Peltier-Thiberge joined the World Bank in 2002 as a Young Professional and he has since held various positions in the Transport Global Practice, managing World Bank-financed transport investments in multiple regions, including North Africa and the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa.

Between 2012 and 2015, Mr. Peltier-Thiberge was a Portfolio Assistant in the Office of the World Bank Group President. From 2015 to 2022, Mr. Peltier-Thiberge has been a Practice Manager in charge of the World Bank’s Transport business in North Africa and the Middle East, West and Central Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. In May 2022, he became the Global Director for the Transport Sector.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Peltier-Thiberge worked in the French Ministry of Economy and Industry and in the French Treasury. Mr. Peltier-Thiberge holds graduate diplomas in science and civil engineering, as well as technology and policy from Ecole Polytechnique (France), Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (France), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States).

Óscar Puente Santiago was appointed as Minister for Transport and Sustainable Mobility on 20 November 2023, and he has been a Member of Parliament since July 2023.

Mr Puente was born on 15 November 1968 in Valladolid. He holds a degree in Law from the University of Valladolid and a master’s degree in Political Management from the Jaime Vera Foundation. He worked as a lawyer between 1995 and 2015, when he became Mayor of Valladolid.

He served as Mayor of Valladolid from June 2015 to May 2023, and he chaired the Spanish Network of Healthy Cities of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) between November 2015 and December 2019. He was a member of the FEMP board between September 2019 and May 2023, and a representative of the FEMP in the urban initiatives network between October 2020 and May 2023. He has also been the first vice president of the Iberian-American Organization for Intermunicipal Cooperation (OICI).

As Secretary General of PIARC (World Road Association), Patrick Malléjacq’s mission is to provide support to road administrations and professionals across the globe.
PIARC focuses on identifying and disseminating best practice between all PIARC members, including governments from 124 member countries, high income as well low- and middle-income countries. More than 20 PIARC Technical Committees are in operation, through which 1 000 international experts share knowledge on a wide range of topics, including resilience of road infrastructure and transportation systems, road safety, tunnels operations, road network operations, road and transport planning, etc. PIARC also publishes the “Routes/Roads” magazine, and operates an ambitious knowledge-sharing programme with the publication of a report per month and the organisation of a seminar every six weeks on average.
After delivering the 26th World Road Congress (Abu Dhabi, October 2019), kick-starting the 2020 – 2023 Technical Committees in 2020, and organising more than 30 online seminars on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on roads, Patrick’s current projects include supporting Committees in the organisation of virtual seminars (while the pandemic lasts) and in the early publication of knowledge products, organising the XVIth World Winter Service and Road Resilience Congress, with Transport Canada and Calgary (Canada) in February 2022, preparing the return to normal, with face-to-face seminars and Congresses, and planning for the XXVIIth World Road Congress, which will take place in October 2023 in Prague (Czech Republic).
Patrick is a French civil servant (« ingenieur général des Ponts, des eaux et des forêts »). Before joining PIARC, he was instrumental in organising the Transport Research Arena conference in Paris in 2014 and in developing EU-sponsored research programmes and projects at IFSTTAR-France. He held positions at SETRA-France and at the French ministry of transport, mainly on road safety and ITS issues, and led « EasyWay » implementation projects. Patrick was posted at the French Embassy in Tokyo and started his career at IGN, the French national mapping institute.

Pierre-Martin Huet is the head of CSR for Michelin and a member of the Group Direction Committee.

Passionate about sustainability, he has developed a pragmatic vision through his 20-plus years of experience in operations built in North America, Europe and Asia. In his previous role as Head of Global Supply Chain, he led the Group’s transformation towards a customer-centric and low-carbon supply chain in line with Michelin’s “All Sustainable” strategy. Results include delivering a 25% carbon footprint reduction 7 years ahead of the SBTI-validated agenda.

Pierre-Martin holds an Engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnique and a Master’s degree in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University.

Rana Adib is the Executive Director of REN21, the only global renewable energy community of actors from science, governments, NGOs and industry, headquartered at the UNEP in Paris, France. She is also the chair of SLOCAT, an international multi-stakeholder partnership enabling knowledge and action for sustainable, low carbon transport.

Rana has worked in private industry and applied research in the areas of renewable energy, energy access, and waste management. She was also responsible for coordinating the biogas-to-energy research programme of Veolia Environment.

Rana has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, and holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wedel in Germany.

Renée Amilcar is the General Manager of OC Transpo in Ottawa, Canada, and was elected as the first female president in 138 years of the International Association of Public Transit (UITP). She is globally recognised for her work on sustainability and innovation in the transportation industry. With a background in industrial engineering from École Polytechnique and an MBA from Université de Sherbrooke, she is known for her people-first approach and strategic vision.

Renée began her transportation career in 2002 at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), rising to become its first female director of bus maintenance and later executive director of bus service.

Since joining the City of Ottawa in 2021, Renée is spearheading many projects including the electrification and conversion of Ottawa’s transit fleet to emission-free buses by 2036. Under Renée’s leadership is the expansion of Ottawa’s Stage 2 Light Rail Transit project which will extend light rail service to the Ottawa International Airport and within 5km of the homes of nearly 80 percent of residents.

In 2018, Renée received the Mercuriades Outstanding Woman in Leadership Award from the Fédération des Chambres de Commerce du Québec.

Ririn Radiawati Kusuma is a public policy and government affairs professional with more than a decade’s experience in various sectors including journalism, research and advocacy. She has her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Public Policy. She worked as a journalist for five years before continuing her career in advocacy. Some of the projects she was involved prior to joining Clean Air Asia as Indonesia Director were improving building codes for high rise-high density building in Jakarta, ease of building construction regulation in Indonesia, advocacy in improving air quality in Jakarta, and accelerating the adoption of EV in Indonesia.

Before joining the European Investment Bank as Vice-President as of 1 February 2024, Robert de Groot was the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the European Union from May 2017 to January 2024. After joining the Netherlands’ Foreign Service in 1989, he has held various positions with the Foreign Ministry, both in The Hague and abroad.
From 2011 to 2016, Robert de Groot was Director-General for European Cooperation (also during the Dutch European Presidency in 2016). Furthermore, he was Deputy Director General for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011, Director of the Security Policy Department from 2005 to 2008 and Head of the Bureau of the Secretary General from 2002 to 2005. Prior to that, he was the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Netherlands’ Prime Minister, Mr Wim Kok (within the Ministry of General Affairs), from 1998 to 2002.
Robert de Groot holds a Master’s Degree in Monetary Economics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

His Excellency the Minister has been appointed by the royal decree on 23 October 2019.

He chairs several boards and committees. The most prominent of which are: Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Saudi Ports Authority, the Transport General Authority, the Saudi Railways Company (SAR), the Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, and Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Industry and Logistics Development Programme, Chairman of the Saudi-Jordanian Joint Committee, and Chairman of the Transport and Border Ports Committee of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council. He is also a member of several boards of directors and committees.

Saleh bin Nasser bin Alali Aljasser has a rich experience of more than 30 years in the field of business administration, leading companies and non-governmental organisations, He also held important positions before his appointment as Minister of Transport, where he held the position of Director General of the Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation and a member of its Board of Directors. Prior to that, he was CEO of the Saudi National Shipping Company “Bahri”, after spending 7 years in the Abdul Latif Jameel Group as Executive General Manager for the “Lexus” sector and then for Toyota operations.

Minister Saleh bin Nasser bin Alali Aljasser holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from King Saud University and a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from King Abdulaziz University. He also received extensive training in a number of prestigious institutes, such as graduating from the bankers training program for Lloyds Bank in the United Kingdom, the internal credit training program for the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a one-year bankers’ fellowship programme with Chase Manhattan Bank in New York and a management training programme at Cranfield University in the UK, an executive training programme in communications management at the INSEAD Institute in France, the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard University, USA, and the Advanced Management Programme at Oxford University, UK.

Sander Salmu is the Deputy Secretary General for Mobility at the Ministry of Climate of Estonia. Previously, he has worked in the private sector as an export and development manager; most recently as the business direction development manager of Ragn-Sells AS. Salmu has worked as the Head of the Transportation and Traffic Division in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and represented Estonia during the Estonian presidency on issues related to road transport and technical requirements for vehicles. In addition, he has been a member of the advisory board of Eesti Teed AS and worked in the Road Administration. Salmu has a master’s degree in transport engineering from the Tallinn University of Technology.

Shin Seung-kyu is Senior Vice President and Head of Policy Coordination at Hyundai Motor Group. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from SungKyunKwan University and pursued an MBA at Seoul National University. With over two decades of experience, Shin has held key positions within Hyundai Motor Group, including Vice President of the Strategy Planning Division and Director of the Brussels Office. He currently serves as a Board Director for the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association, and the Korea Electric Vehicle Association, demonstrating his influential role in shaping industry initiatives.

The company G7 Connect is the largest logistics technology company in China, serving logistics companies to help them improve operation efficiency through digitalisation. Before joining G7 Connect, Shuai was in charge of DiDi Chuxing’s innovative transit business line. Prior to DiDi, she worked with the Global Infrastructure Facility at the World Bank on public-private partnerships and financial structuring for projects in Asian countries to attract private-sector investment. She also worked on the World Bank’s Transport Global Practice department on lending and advisory projects in China, focusing on urban mobility and municipal financing. Shuai holds a Master’s of Urban Planning from New York University and a Bachelor of Urban Planning from Peking University.

Sigrid de Vries is the Director General of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), having taken up position in September 2022.

Ms de Vries has long-standing experience working for strategic EU industry sectors – from automobile manufacturers to automotive suppliers, to the construction equipment sector.

She has held various external affairs and leadership roles, and has a strong track record in representing industries in times of fast-paced transformation.

Prior to her current appointment at ACEA, Sigrid de Vries was Secretary General of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA). She also led the Association of the European Construction Equipment Industry (CECE), and headed the external relations and communications department at CNH Industrial.

De Vries previously acted as ACEA’s Director of Communications and Public Relations between 2006 and 2012.

A Dutch national, Ms de Vries studied journalism in the Netherlands. She worked for over a decade as a correspondent for a major financial newspaper, reporting from Amsterdam, Brussels and Berlin.

Dr. T. Edward Yu is a Professor and the Graduate Director in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tennessee. He has led and co-investigated various grant projects to evaluate the economics of biofuels from different agricultural and forestry feedstock and the related environmental impacts over the past two decades. His recent research has primarily focused on the economics of developing a regional sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production system from various feedstock and the nexus of bioenergy, agriculture, and the environment, such as GHG emissions, soil organic carbon, and water quality. His research has been disseminated in prestigious journals and national/international meetings and featured in the public press. Dr. Yu is co-leading a Tennessee team for the feedstock supply analysis for SAF in the Aviation Sustainable Center under the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. He is a member of the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Environmental Issues in Aviation (AV030) in 2024-2027.
Dr. Yu received his M.S. in Economics from Iowa State University and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University in 2005.

Tanya is the Vice President of Strategy and Planning, ExxonMobil Product Solutions, based in Houston.

She received her Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan in 1997. She began her career with Imperial Oil, an ExxonMobil affiliate in Canada, that same year.

Throughout her career, Tanya has served in various capacities across Fuels & Lubricants, Controllers and Refining & Supply while working in Saskatoon, Toronto, Calgary, Houston, Singapore and most recently Brussels.

Tanya assumed her current position in September 2023. In her role, she and her team are responsible for: Product Solutions business strategies; investment, GHG and portfolio plans; and external advocacy. In addition to her organisational responsibilities, Tanya has been an active sponsor of inclusion and diversity networks and several mentoring programs focused on employee development.

Beyond work, Tanya supports numerous programs for special needs children and especially enjoys sailing, fishing, biking and horseback riding with her husband and boys.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 26 July 2023 the appointment of Tatiana Molcean of Moldova as the next Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Ms Molcean brings to the position twenty years of experience in the public sector with extensive international cooperation and development experience, and in-depth knowledge and expertise across the entire ECE membership. She was the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organization and other international organisations in Geneva until 31 August 2023. She served as State Secretary and Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Bilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2017-2020), Deputy Director General for European Integration and Head of the Division for Economic and Sector Cooperation with the European Union (2012-2017) and Head of the Division for Economic Cooperation and Sectorial Coordination at the General Directorate for European Integration (2004-2008). A career diplomat, she has also served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova to Sweden (2008-2011). Ms Molcean holds a LLM Degree in Law from the Faculty of International Law at Moldova State University and completed the Multilateral Diplomacy Program from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland. She is fluent in Romanian, English and Russian, with advanced knowledge of French.

Tiemen is the Group Chief Operating Officer, Ports & Terminals at DP World. Prior to joining DP World, Tiemen held several business positions at Sea-Land, Maersk, and APM Terminals, including Senior Vice President for New Business at Maersk, VP of Human Resources at APM Terminals, and Regional Manger at Sea-Land.

Tiemen has over 16 years’ worth of experience covering the globe, large-scale multi-port acquisitions, greenfield and brownfield port projects, and ports and logistics responsibility over a large portfolio of ports and terminals. Tiemen has educational qualifications from Columbia, Cornell, IMD and Harvard and was a naval officer for five years at Merchant Maritime.

Victoria Sheehan is the executive director of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) provides leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. 

Sheehan came to the National Academies from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT), where she was commissioner for seven years. Responsible for an operating budget of over $650 million, she oversaw a staff of more than 1,600 employees representing diverse areas such as aeronautics, rail, transit, construction, operations, finance, and administration. Her team led the development of New Hampshire’s Ten-Year Transportation Plan, and Sheehan worked directly with the governor, general court, and executive council to ensure it would address the state’s growing needs.

Before joining the New Hampshire DOT, Sheehan spent 10 years at the Massachusetts DOT leading strategic planning and highway performance, managing the bridge consulting program, and overseeing an eight-year, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program. Sheehan served as president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for 2020-2021 and has been an active board member in a range of other professional organizations. She holds a master’s degree in structural engineering and architecture from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

A geographer-urbanist by training, Yannick Autret holds a master’s degree in planning, urbanism and spatial dynamics from the Sorbonne University, and works in the Research and Innovation Department of the Ministry of Ecological Transition in France.

He is a certified international expert in natural resource management, specialising in the environmental impacts of transport and energy, and he manages the national research programme ITTECOP (Transport Infrastructure, Territories, Ecosystems and Landscapes).

Yannick is the MTECT representative to the OECD Joint Transport Research Centre and a member of the Governance Board of the European research network IENE (Infrastructure and Ecology Network Europe).

He led the H2020 BISON project (Biodiversity and infrastructure, synergies and opportunities for European transport networks), which brought together 16 countries and set the strategic research and innovation agenda on infrastructure and biodiversity at the European and international levels.

He is a member of the UNEP sustainable infrastructure partnership – community of learners – and collaborates with the GEF 8 on sustainable infrastructure topics.

Born in December 1969, Mr Li currently serves as the Vice Minister of Transport of the People’s Republic of China. Holding a doctoral degree and the professional title of research fellow, Mr Li brings a wealth of expertise to his role.

With a career spanning over two decades, Mr Li has held various significant positions within the Ministry of Transport (MOT) of China. His journey includes serving as Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, where he played a crucial role in promoting global partnerships and collaboration in the transportation sector. Additionally, Mr Li has spearheaded initiatives as President of the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute (WTI), contributing to advancements in waterborne transportation research and innovation.

In his current capacity as Vice Minister, Mr Li oversees the Department of International Cooperation and serves as the Director-General of the Global Sustainable Transport Innovation and Knowledge Center.

Dr Young Tae Kim is the Secretary-General of the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD. Elected by transport ministers of the ITF member countries in 2017, he was confirmed for a second five-year mandate in 2022. Under the leadership of  Secretary-General Kim, the ITF has grown from 59 to 66 member countries and into a truly global organisation with a presence on five continents. He has strengthened the ITF’s role as a convener of transport policy leaders and global platform for dialogue for better transport, inter alia by establishing Regional High-level Dialogues on Transport for Asia, Latin America and in Europe, that complement the ITF Summit, the world’s premier transport policy event and largest gathering of transport ministers.

Before becoming ITF Secretary-General, Dr Kim distinguished himself in the civil service of his native Korea, serving as Director-General in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT). As Deputy Director-General from 2015, he was responsible for co-ordinating various transport policies including for autonomous vehicles, greenhouse gas reduction, urban transport, Intelligent Transport Systems and road safety, among others.

Dr Kim also held several Deputy Director and Director positions with responsibility for housing welfare, integrated city development and overseas infrastructure construction. He was seconded to the Prime Minister’s Commission on Administrative Reform in 1996 and the Presidential Committee on Social Inclusion in 2005-07. From 2010 to 2014, Dr Kim worked at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., as Counsellor for Construction, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

Dr Kim earned Master’s degrees in Public Policy from Seoul National University, Korea, and in Urban Studies from Paris University de Vincennes-Saint-Denis, France. He also received his Doctoral degree in Political Sociology and Public Policy from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences-Po) in Paris, France.

Dr Kim speaks fluent English, French and some Spanish, in addition to his native Korean.

As Chief Sustainability Officer at Toyota Motor Corporation, Yumi Otsuka is leading Toyota’s corporate mission “Producing Happiness for All”, and commitment to helping build a sustainable society.

She joined Toyota as one of the first female career-track administrative new recruits. Since then, she has consistently demonstrated leadership in promoting diversity and sustainability at the front line of transformation, including the “Diversity Project”, the “Mirai (future) Project”, and the creation of a motorsports business.

She graduated from the School of Law, Osaka University (Japan) and earned an MBA degree from Dartmouth College (USA).