Mr Nguyen Thanh Phong is chairman of Phu Tai BioEnergy Corporation (PBE), one of pioneers in wood pellet production in Vietnam. PBE was first producer in Asean exported wood pellet to Japan for using in 5 Power Plants. Currently, PBE has 5 Plants with capacity of 1.2mil MT/year of wood pellet.

Phong has both master in engineering and business administration. He has 15 years experience in aluminium can making, ceramics making, fertilizer making and titanium mining too.

Emilyn B. Precioso is a high performing, results driven leader with 16 years of experience in plantation operations and 9 years of experience delivering successful renewable energy and biomass projects across the Philippines. She brings a rare and powerful combination of deep scientific expertise, holding a Master of Science in Agriculture with a specialization in Entomology, and sharp commercial acumen, further strengthened by completing her Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA). Her proven track record spans leading cross functional teams and steering complex projects from concept to full operation, securing land, navigating regulatory requirements, aligning government bodies and indigenous communities, managing finances, and ensuring full environmental compliance while delivering strong commercial returns and lasting stakeholder trust.

She turns the Philippines’ vast, underutilized biomass resources into secure, scalable, and profitable energy assets, blending hands on operational excellence with strategic business insight to drive sustainable growth across the biomass sector. Her career reflects consistent achievement exceeding production targets, optimizing resource use, implementing innovative solutions, and building inclusive, long term partnerships that benefit investors, communities, and the industry alike. With unmatched practical knowledge of local feedstock systems, supply chains, and regulatory frameworks, she stands as a trusted leader advancing responsible, bankable biomass development for the country and the wider ASEAN region.

Adam is a graduate of Gdynia Maritime University (Business Management) and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the School of Banking in partnership with the University of Northampton. He began his career in the banking and financial sector (1998–2003), later moving into certification. From 2002 to 2007, he was Lead Auditor at PRS S.A., and from 2007 to 2015, Director of Certification and Audit at SGS Polska Sp. z o.o. Since 2012, he has held the position of Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe at SGS, contributing to international projects within the SGS Group. In 2014, he co-founded Biocontrol Sp. z o.o. and helped develop the National Standard for Biomass Authentication. 
 

He is a co-creator of the SNS certification system and the National Biomass Authentication Register (www.ksub.pl)—the most widely used tools for biomass supply chain verification in Poland.

Kathrin Weber is a Research Manager at SINTEF Energy Research in Trondheim, Norway, specializing in biochar production and utilization. She holds a PhD in Energy and Process Engineering from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), where she focused on the production and properties of biochar. She leads and contributes to numerous national and industry projects applying biochar across metallurgical processing (silicon and ferro-silicon), soil conditioning and agriculture, and carbon storage in the building industry. She serves in the board of Biochar Europe, the Norwegian Biochar Network and the Nordic Biochar Network.

Zion Kong Yik Seng is the Head of Marketing at Samling Group of Companies, with more than 20 years of experience spanning forestry, forest certification, production, plantation management, sustainability initiatives, carbon projects, and marketing. Since joining Samling in 2006, he has built a distinguished career across multiple business functions, giving him a deep understanding of the entire forest-based industry value chain.

Zion began his career within Samling's forestry operations before expanding his expertise into forest plantation development, certification and compliance, production management, and Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) carbon projects. His diverse background has enabled him to successfully bridge technical and operational knowledge with commercial strategy, helping the Group navigate evolving market demands while strengthening its sustainability credentials.

A key achievement of Zion's career has been his instrumental role in driving Samling's strategic pivot towards green and sustainable products. He was actively involved in the development and commercialization of the Group's biomass wood pellet business in 2019, supporting the transition towards renewable energy solutions. In 2023, he played a significant role in advancing Samling's carbon project initiatives, helping position the Group to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the carbon economy and nature-based climate solutions.

More recently, Zion has been leading efforts to develop Samling's black pellet business, a next-generation renewable energy product with strong potential in global decarbonization markets. In 2025, Samling signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Kobelco to advance collaboration in this area, marking an important milestone in the Group's green product journey.

Recognized for his ability to integrate technical expertise with business strategy, Zion has consistently contributed to the transformation of traditional forestry assets into innovative, sustainability-driven business opportunities. As Head of Marketing, he continues to lead market development, strategic partnerships, and commercial growth initiatives while championing Samling's commitment to sustainable forest management and a low-carbon future.

Amr Khalid is the General Manager of Vidul Plantations (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of Vidullanka PLC, a leading renewable energy company in Sri Lanka. He began his career with the group’s dendro arm, Vidul Biomass (Pvt) Ltd, joining as Finance Manager in 2019 before rising to Manager – Finance and Administration, a role in which he spearheaded the management of the group’s biomass segment. Over nearly a decade as a finance professional, Amr has built a distinguished track record in the biomass and renewable energy sectors, driving operational and financial performance with a keen strategic eye. His standing in the industry is further reflected in his appointment as a committee member of the Sri Lanka Japan Business Council, and his earlier tenure as Secretary of the Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka.

Amr is an Associate Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), credentials that underpin his rigorous approach to finance leadership. He holds an MBA from Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK).

Akito Usami is the General Manager of the Biomass Fuel Business Development Department at RENOVA, one of the largest biomass fuel consumers in Japan. With 30 years of experience at a major Japanese oil company, he has been deeply involved in the fuel business, including LNG, jet and marine fuels, as well as renewable energy and SAF. Leveraging his extensive knowledge and experience, he now leads the Biomass Fuel Trading Division at RENOVA.

Professor Govind S. Gupta received his PhD in Materials Engineering from the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 1991. From 1990 to 1997, he was with The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, as a Postdoctoral fellow, Research Associate, and Associate Lecturer before joining the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.

His research interests are in the broad area of modelling of chemical/metallurgical processes and fundamental study of solid, liquid, gas, and powder interactions, as well as green steel and critical minerals.

He has published more than 90 papers in international journals and 70 conference papers. He has 1 national and 5 international
patents as well as authoured 9 books/book chapters. His SiC production technology and gas carburising software for heat treatment have been commercialised.

He served as a visiting professor in many countries such as Japan, Australia, Brazil, Poland, and China. He is a Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation (IJESMS), UK. He has also received the Metallurgist of the Year Award from the Government of India in 2005. He is a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Metals (FIIM).

He is also a Director of RESCONS Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (RSPL), Bangalore, India, which has developed a technology to replace coal with raw biomass in the steel industry.

Alex Nguyen is the Founder of the Mekong Biochar Initiative (MBI) and Founder & CEO of ESG Education & Business, a leading sustainability consulting organization in Vietnam specializing in decarbonization, carbon markets, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), ESG, and climate finance.

With over 20 years of experience in investment management, sustainable development, and ESG across Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Vietnam, Alex has led and advised numerous projects involving greenhouse gas accounting, carbon neutrality, circular economy, and sustainable supply chains. He is also a registered consultant with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and has supported sustainability and ESG initiatives for corporations and internationally funded projects across Southeast Asia.

Through the Mekong Biochar Initiative, Alex is leading efforts to position Vietnam as a regional hub for biochar carbon removal by transforming agricultural residues into high-value biochar, carbon removal credits, and regenerative agriculture solutions. His work includes the development of one of Vietnam's largest rice husk biochar production projects, integrating carbon removal certification, climate finance, and circular bioeconomy models to create commercially viable and investment-ready biochar projects.

Alex has completed executive training in project management, sustainable infrastructure, carbon accounting, carbon markets, and green finance through UNITAR, UNSSC, and other international institutions. He is also a founding member and Senior Advisory Board member of the ESG & Sustainability Alliance (ESGA) and the Vietnam Circular Supply Chain Alliance (VCSCA).

His current work focuses on scaling biochar deployment, advancing carbon removal markets, and connecting technology developers, investors, financial institutions, and agricultural stakeholders to accelerate the transition toward a low-carbon and regenerative economy in Southeast Asia.

Ida Handojo is Senior Vice President of Fuel Management at Tuas Power Generation, where she is responsible for the procurement, contracting and portfolio optimisation of natural gas, coal, biomass and diesel. 

Since joining Tuas Power in August 2019, Ida has been closely involved in the biomass procurement strategy for the Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex (TMUC), including the transition towards greater biomass utilisation. Her experience covers the development and diversification of biomass supply chains, particularly palm kernel shell (PKS), wood pellets and local woodchips, as well as the commercial, fuel-quality and supply security considerations involved in scaling biomass procurement.

She has worked directly with biomass suppliers across Southeast Asia and visited production facilities in Indonesia and Malaysia to better understand production capability, fuel quality and supply-chain reliability. Her procurement experience also includes optimising the biomass portfolio in response to changing biomass prices, coal economics and Singapore's carbon tax, as well as significantly increasing local woodchip procurement.

Ida brings more than two decades of experience across Singapore's energy sector, spanning electricity, natural gas, LNG, fuel procurement, trading and regulatory matters. Earlier in her career, she also represented Singapore in ASEAN energy discussions
under the ASEAN Council on Petroleum (ASCOPE).

Her current focus is on developing commercially sustainable fuel strategies that balance affordability, supply security and decarbonisation as Tuas Power progresses its energy transition.

Yuichiro Shigematsu brings over 15 years of experience in the energy and natural resources sectors, including commodity trading, maritime logistics, and business development.

At Idemitsu Kosan, he leads supply chain development for a new biomass fuel designed as an alternative to coal. In this role, he coordinates the production project in Vietnam and aligns stakeholders across the supply chain from Vietnam to Japan.

Prior to joining Idemitsu Kosan, he held sales and logistics roles in the copper industry at JX Metals, including an assignment at an affiliated mining company in Chile. Earlier in his career, he handled coking coal trading at JFE Shoji.

After joining Idemitsu Kosan, he built nearly 30 years of experience as an engineer in refinery operations, plant improvements, and planning. Through assignments in Japan, Vietnam, and the Middle East, he developed broad expertise in refinery operations and management. Since July 2025, he has served as General Director of BP’s manufacturing plant in Vietnam, leading its business operations with his extensive technical and management experience.