Iain Stewart
Director, Plymouth University Sustainable Earth Institute

Iain is professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth and Director of its Sustainable Earth Institute. His long-standing research interests are in geological hazards, geology for sustainable development, and geoscience communication. His geo-communication work has built on a 15 year partnership with BBC television presenting Earth science programmes, including Earth: The Power of the Planet; How Earth Made Us, How To Grow A Planet, The Rise of the Continents and Planet Oil. His public geoscience work has received awards from numerous international geoscience organisations, including from the AAPG, AGI, EFG, and GSA and he holds a UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society.

Anne Strømmen Lycke
CEO, Norsar

Anne is CEO of NORSAR, an independent research foundation within earthquake, nuclear test ban treaty monitoring and geophysics performing research, services and software. In her career, she created strong profile in establishing strategies, recruiting management teams and project development including renewable energies, CO2 capture and storage and new technologies.

Gareth Burns
VP and Managing Director, Equinor Energy Ventures

Gareth Burns is the VP and Managing Director of Equinor Energy Ventures, Equinor’s renewable energy focused venture capital fund. Prior to establishing the new VC initiative in 2016, Gareth was senior vice president for business development and has over 20 years’ experience within the energy industry. He has held various management positions since 2006, and has worked in all areas of the oil and gas value chain. Gareth holds a board observer role at ChargePoint, the leading electric vehicle charging infrastructure company in North America and is chair of the Equinor UK Limited Employee Benefits Plan. Gareth is a trustee (“director”) of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited, Stewardship American Donor Fund UK Limited and his local church. Gareth is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has a BSc in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics from Heriot-Watt University in the UK. He is an Irish citizen and is lives with his family in London, UK.

Laura Sandys
Senior Independent Director, SGN 

Laura is a Senior Independent Director at SGN Network and has recently been appointed Chair of the BEIS/Ofgem Energy Data Taskforce to propose the use of data for whole energy system management. Laura also runs the 21st Century Energy Regulatory Commission with Imperial College and the Energy Systems Catapult. She was appointed as a member of the Advisory Panel for the Government’s Cost of Energy Review, is on the Council and taskforce for Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage and has a regular column in Utility Week. She is also co-founder of POWERful Women, a Visiting Senior Fellow at Kings College and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. Previously she served as Member of Parliament for South Thanet and was a member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Energy and Climate Change.