Management team
Download a pdf which highlights the structure of the IEA
Maria VAN DER HOEVEN
Executive Director
Maria van der Hoeven took over as Executive Director of the IEA on 1 September 2011. Previously, Ms. Van der Hoeven served as Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands from February 2007 to October 2010, during which time she demonstrated leadership on energy policy at the national, regional and global levels. As Executive Director of the IEA, Ms. Van der Hoeven has steered the agency during a period of exceptional change in the global energy economy. She led a strategic reorganisation of the IEA in 2012, part of an ongoing effort to reposition the agency and equip it to confront contemporary energy challenges.
Richard JONES
Deputy Executive Director
Richard H. Jones took up his duties as Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency on 1 October 2008. Ambassador Jones, a former American diplomat, brings to the IEA over 30 years of diplomatic and policy experience on issues ranging from Middle East politics to trade negotiations and energy security. After a rapid rise through the ranks of the US Foreign Service, he served as the American Ambassador to four countries: Israel (2005-2008), Kuwait (2001-2004), Kazakhstan (1998-2001) and Lebanon (1996-1998).
Fatih BIROL
Chief Economist
Director, Global Energy Economics
Dr. Birol is the Chief Economist and Director of Global Energy Economics at the IEA in Paris. He is responsible for the IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook publication, which is recognised as the most authoritative source of strategic analysis of global energy markets. He is also the founder and chair of the IEA Energy Business Council, which provides a forum to enhance co-operation between the energy industry and energy policymakers. Dr. Birol has been named by Forbes Magazine among the most powerful people in terms of influence on the world’s energy scene.
Didier HOUSSIN
Director, Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology
Mr. Didier Houssin became Director of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology at the International Energy Agency on 1 December 2012. Previously, he served for five years as Director of Energy Markets and Security and head of the directorate’s predecessor, the Office of Oil Markets and Emergency Preparedness. Before joining the International Energy Agency, Mr. Houssin, a French national, was Managing Director of BRGM, the French Geological Survey, with extensive management responsibilities over the 850-strong group. Among other matters, his responsibilities at BRGM included overseeing carbon capture and sequestration and geothermal energy.
Keisuke SADAMORI
Director, Energy Markets and Security
Mr. Sadamori took up his duties as Director of the Office for Energy Markets and Security at the International Energy Agency on 1 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 incident in March 2011.
Ulrich BENTERBUSCH
Chief of Office, Global Energy Policy
Mr. Benterbusch was appointed Director of Global Energy Dialogue in October 2009. In July 2012, this Directorate was renamed the Office of Global Energy Policy. A German national, he was Director of the Heiligendamm Dialogue and its Support Unit at the OECD, a position he took up shortly after the G8 Summit in 2007 until he joined the IEA. This high-level policy dialogue between the G8 and the G5 was the first institutional dialogue at the leadership level with emerging countries.
Rebecca GAGHEN
Head, Communication and Information Office
Ms. Rebecca Gaghen has served as head of the IEA Communication and Information Office (CIO) since 2006. She oversees the Agency’s primary communications activities: publications and printing; news and public affairs; and on-line and social media. The objective of CIO is to convey the key messages of IEA work to governments and other stakeholders around the world. Ms. Gaghen also advises the Executive Director on communication strategy and priorities.
Jean-Yves GARNIER
Head, Energy Data Centre
Mr. Garnier joined the IEA as Head of the Energy Statistics Division in September 1995. He was appointed Chief Statistician of the IEA in July 2010. In July 2012, the Division was renamed the Energy Data Centre. Prior to joining the IEA, Mr. Garnier – a French national – had several assignments abroad, including five years in Jakarta where he was the EU Special Energy Advisor at the joint ASEAN-EU Centre for Energy. Before being posted to Jakarta he worked for three years in Abidjan, where he was in charge of the National Energy Plan of Côte d’Ivoire. Prior to Côte d’Ivoire, he was posted to Djibouti for a period of three years where he was also in charge of the National Energy Plan of Djibouti.
Pascal LAFFONT
Chief Legal Counsel
Mr. Laffont took up his duties as Chief Legal Counsel of the International Energy Agency on 4 June 2012. Mr Laffont, who is a French national, brings to the IEA over 15 years of legal practice in government, at the multilateral level and in the private sector. His last 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.
