World Energy Council Welcomes new Chair

 

 

Younghoon David Kim has succeeded  Marie-José Nadeau as the Chair of the World Energy Council at the closing of the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul.

Mr Kim was the Co-Chair of the World Energy Council since 2013 and previously the Council’s Vice Chair for Asia Pacific and South Asia. Mr Kim is a member of the Energy Council of Korea and served in the last quarter of 2012 as Acting Chair of the 22nd World Energy Congress 2013, Daegu, South Korea.

 

In his inaugural speech at the 23rd World Energy Congress Chairman Kim said: “I would like to thank Marie-José Nadeau for her dedicated service to the Council over the past two decades and for her outstanding leadership as chair of the World Energy Council. She was the first female Chair of the Council in its 93-year history, and leaves behind a valuable legacy that will benefit us for years to come. I want to further express my personal gratitude to Marie-Jose for her support during my term as Co-Chair.

“I also want to welcome Jean-Marie Dauger as my Co-chair and look forward to working closely with him over the next three years. The Council must play a pivotal role in this process by providing a vision and a roadmap for the sustainability and resilience of the global economy. In fact, this should not be our mission only, but also that of everyone else in the energy sector. I urge all our colleagues in the energy community to join the World Energy Council in this noble endeavour.”

Mr Kim has been Chairman and CEO of the Daesung Group since 2000. Prior to this, Mr Kim held the offices of Vice President and then President at Daesung. He has worked in the energy sector for over 20 years. Mr Kim has also chaired the Contents Korea Promotion Committee, and currently chairs the Daegu Athletics Association. He also serves as an advisor to the Korea China Foundation.

Chair Kim was awarded the highest honour given to a foreign national, the Order of the Polestar, from the Mongolian government in 2008 in recognition of his contribution to the fight against desertification in the Gobi Desert with Daesung’s SolaWin project, a WEC flagship project. In recognition of the success of the 2013 World Energy Congress in Daegu, Co-chair Kim was awarded the Seo Sang-don Award in 2014, which honours the achievements of an outstanding Korean business leader.

 

 

 

Mr Kim succeeded Marie-José Nadeau C.M, who will now become Honorary Chair of the World Energy Council. Mrs Nadeau was the Chair of the World Energy Council between 2013 and 2016 and has been a regular speaker at international energy conferences. During her time as Chair she worked wıth the Council’s future energy leaders in preparing the next generation of energy professionals to take over the energy sector and be suitably equipped with the approprıate talents and skillsets.

She is on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Advisory Board on Sustainable Energy for All, on the Advisory Council of the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and China Energy Fund Committee, on the Advisory Council – Women Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) Program (UAE) and on the selection

committee of Sheik Zayed’s Energy Prize (UAE)

 

 

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She served as a Senior Policy Advisor and then Chief of Staff to the Ministers of Energy and Environment of the Government of Quebec. In 1993, she joined Hydro Quebec, Canada’s largest electric utility, where she was Secretary General and Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs until her retirement in 2015.

The Council also welcomed  Jean-Marie Dauger as its new Co-Chair over the next three years. Jean-Marie Dauger has served several positions within Gaz de France, including Chief Operating Officer, and since the merger of Gaz de France and Suez, with GDF SUEZ, then ENGIE, as Former Senior Executive Vice President in charge of the Global Gas & LNG Business Line, one of the five business lines of the ENGIE Group.

Mr Dauger is a Chevalier of the National Order of Merit and a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.  He is also Chair of the World Energy Council’s Studies Committee.