Leadership
The IEA Secretariat is headed by Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol
Executive Director
Dr Fatih Birol (@IEABirol) has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency since September 2015. He was re-elected in January 2018 for a second four-year term, which began in September 2019. Under his leadership, the IEA has undertaken its first comprehensive modernisation programme since its creation in 1974. This effort focuses on three pillars: opening the doors of the IEA to include major emerging countries, such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa who have joined the IEA Family, thus increasing its share of global energy demand from 38% to almost 75%; broadening the IEA’s security mandate to natural gas and electricity as well as oil; and making the IEA the global hub for clean energy technologies and energy efficiency.
Acting Deputy Executive Director and Head of the Strategic Initiatives Office
Dave Turk joined the IEA in September 2016 and is currently the Acting Deputy Executive Director and Head of the Strategic Initiatives Office. He formerly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Climate and Technology at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he coordinated the Department’s international clean energy efforts. He also previously served as Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. National Security Council, and in various capacities in the U.S. Congress.
Director, Energy Markets and Security
Keisuke Sadamori took up his duties as Director of the Office for Energy Markets and Security at the International Energy Agency in October 2012. Previously, he held the post of Deputy Director General for Policy Co-ordination at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan. He had been involved with the IEA for a number of years as IEA Governing Board Representative for Japan and as Co-Chair of the Standing Group on Long Term Co-operation. Over the years, Mr Sadamori has served in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Japan and has co-ordinated numerous important projects, including work following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in March 2011.
Director, Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks
Mechthild Wörsdörfer (@MWorsdorfer) joined the IEA on 1 October 2018 as Director of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks (STO). Ms Wörsdörfer plans and co-ordinates the IEA’s work on energy sustainability, encompassing clean energy technologies and climate change policy. Previously, Mechthild held several senior management positions in the European Commission, where she coordinated the work on the 2030 Energy and Climate Framework, the Clean Energy Package and the 2050 Energy Roadmap. She had been involved with the IEA for a number of years as IEA Governing Board Representative for the EU, and served in the Cabinet of Commissioners, in charge of industry, competitiveness, trade and digital economy.
Chief Management Officer
Claire Bouteille joined the IEA as Chief Management Officer in May 2013. As head of the Office of Management and Administration (OMA), she has overall responsibility for the Finance Unit, the Information Systems Unit, the Building and Operations Unit, and Human Resource issues. She was formerly the Head of Corporate Services at the British Embassy Paris, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with direct responsibility for the leadership and management of that section, and responsibility for human resources, finance and budget management, information technology, communications, security, transport and logistics, and the bilateral Ambassador's Residence.
Chief Energy Modeller
Laura Cozzi (@Laura_Cozzi_) was appointed the Agency’s Chief Energy Modeller in 2018. As Chief Energy Modeller Ms. Cozzi oversees the Agency’s work on outlooks and forecasts and is in charge of overall consistency of modelling work and resulting messages. Ms. Cozzi is also Head of the Demand Outlook Division with responsibility of producing the annual World Energy Outlook, the IEA flagship publication. The Division produces medium to long term energy demand, efficiency, power generation, renewables and environmental analysis for the World Energy Outlook and other publications.
Chief Statistician
Nick Johnstone took up his duties as Chief Statistician and Head of the Energy Data Centre in February 2019. Previously he provided support to the work of the Committee on Industry, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) in the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation at the OECD. He began his career at the OECD 1999, taking up the position of Head of the Empirical Policy Analysis Unit in the Environment Directorate. He previously held positions as a Research Associate at the International Institute for Environment and Development, and as a Research Officer at the Department of Applied Economics of the University of Cambridge. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge (UK), and has published widely in leading journals in the areas of energy, innovation, and environmental economics.
Chief Legal Counsel
Pascal Laffont took up his duties as Chief Legal Counsel in June 2012. Mr. Laffont, who is a French national, brings to the IEA more than 15 years of legal practice in government, at the multilateral level and in the private sector. His previous post was in Doha for the Government of Qatar (2010-2012). Before that, he served in the Energy Charter, Brussels (2001-2010). He started his professional life in legal private practice in London and Hong Kong (1996-2001). He qualified as a lawyer in France and England and is admitted to practise law in England and Hong Kong.
Head of the Communication and Digital Office
Jad Mouawad (@jadmouawad) was appointed as head of the IEA’s Communication and Digital Office in September 2019. He oversees the IEA’s public and media relations, digital and social media strategy, publications, product strategy and sales, and is responsible for the IEA’s digitalization initiative. He joined the IEA in 2016, as head of the news, information and multimedia unit. A reporter for nearly two decades, he previously worked for The New York Times where he covered the global energy industry, airlines and transportation.
Chief Economist
Laszlo Varro, who has worked at the IEA since 2011, became the Agency’s Chief Economist at the start of 2016, succeeding Fatih Birol, who took over as IEA Executive Director on 1 September 2015. As Chief Economist, Mr. Varro supports all Directors and teams at the IEA in ensuring consistent energy economics and analytical rigour for the Agency’s work. Prior to assuming the position of Chief Economist, Mr Varro served as IEA Head of Gas, Coal and Power Markets.