The International Energy Agency (IEA) works with governments and industry to shape a secure and sustainable energy future for all

As Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Dr Fatih Birol (@fbirol) has positioned the IEA at the forefront of global efforts to advance a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system. Since taking office in 2015, he has modernised the Agency by broadening its energy security mandate beyond oil to include electricity, natural gas, renewables and critical minerals, strengthened the Agency's global leadership in clean energy transitions and expanded IEA membership to include major emerging countries. As a result, the IEA’s share of global energy demand coverage has increased from 40% to over 80%. He has also played a central role in the global response to major energy security emergencies, including those triggered by the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis.

Dr Birol joined the IEA in 1995 and steadily rose through the ranks from junior analyst to Chief Economist, where he oversaw the flagship World Energy Outlook. Throughout his career, he has been a leading advocate for expanding access to electricity and clean cooking solutions in developing countries, particularly in Africa.

He has twice been included in the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential figures, in 2021 and 2026. His numerous honours include the French Legion of Honour, the Japanese Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun, the Swedish King’s Order of the Polar Star, and the highest state decorations from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Korea, Portugal, and the United Arab Emirates.

Before joining the IEA, Dr Birol worked for the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna. He holds degrees in power engineering and energy economics from the Technical University of Istanbul and the Technical University of Vienna. He also has an honorary doctorate from Imperial College London and has been elected a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.  He chairs the World Economic Forum’s Energy Advisory Board and is an honorary life member of Galatasaray Football Club.

Mary Warlick (@AmbMaryWarlick), a retired senior career diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Serbia, led the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources as the Acting Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs from January – September 2017 and served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary from 2014 to 2017. In these roles, she advised the Secretary of State on energy diplomacy initiatives to promote global energy security, energy access and governance across Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. During this time, she served for three years as a U.S. representative on the IEA Governing Board and as Chair of the Standing Group on Long-Term Cooperation. Since then, she has served as team leader for the IEA’s recent in-depth peer reviews of the energy policies in the Netherlands and Canada.

During her diplomatic career, Ms. Warlick held a variety of other senior leadership positions in Washington and overseas at the Department of State, the National Security Council, and the Department of Defense. In particular, she has extensive foreign policy experience working on Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, including previous assignments as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, and Director of the State Department’s Office of Russian Affairs and the Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Affairs. She also served as Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and as U.S. Consul General in Melbourne, Australia, with earlier assignments in Germany, the Philippines, and Bangladesh.

Ms. Warlick holds a B.A. in Political Science from Valparaiso University in Indiana, and an M.A in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In addition to her prior service on the IEA Governing Board, she served previously on the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. She is a recipient of The Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award, The Secretary of State’s Award for Public Outreach, and The Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

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.

Laura Cozzi was appointed the International Energy Agency’s Director of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks in 2023. She leads and co-ordinates the IEA’s work on energy sustainability, encompassing energy technology policy and climate change. She is also the Agency’s Chief Energy Modeller, and in this capacity co-leads the World Energy Outlook, the IEA’s flagship publication series.

Ms Cozzi joined the IEA in 1999 as a junior analyst in the World Energy Outlook team. She has co-led many editions of the Outlook and led multiple special reports. Prior to joining the IEA, Ms Cozzi worked for the Italian energy company ENI S.p.A. She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan and a Master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Economics from Eni Corporate University.

Ms Cozzi was awarded an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Cavaliere dell’ordine al merito della repubblica italiana) in 2025 and she was elected as a member of the National Academy of Technologies of France in 2024. She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology and from the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Dan Dorner took up his duties as Head of the Strategic Initiatives Office at the International Energy Agency in December 2022. Previously, he was Head of Secretariat for the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), a global forum tasked with accelerating clean energy transitions. Mr Dorner’s involvement with the IEA goes back more than a decade, having worked as a lead author for the Agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook report and serving as the Executive Director’s Sherpa to the United Nations. Over the years, he has also held a variety of positions in the British government, serving as the UK’s Head of International Energy and as a senior adviser and analyst at the Treasury Department.

Tim Gould was appointed the Agency's Chief Energy Economist in 2021. As Chief Energy Economist, he provides strategic advice on energy economics across a wide range of IEA activities and analysis. Mr Gould is also Head of the Office of the Chief Energy Economist, in which capacity he co-leads the World Energy Outlook, the IEA's flagship publication series, and oversees the Agency's work on investment and finance, including the World Energy Investment report.

Mr Gould joined the IEA in 2008, initially as a specialist on Russian and Caspian energy, and in recent years has designed and directed a wide range of IEA analytical outputs, while continuing to contribute also as an author. Prior to joining the IEA, Mr Gould worked on European and Eurasian energy issues in Brussels and has ten years of experience in Eastern Europe, primarily in Ukraine. He graduated from Oxford University and has a post-graduate diploma from the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University.

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.

Pascal Laffont took up his duties as Chief Legal Counsel and Secretary to the IEA Governing Board, in June 2012. 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. Pascal Laffont is a Senior Executive Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. 

Sue-Ern Tan is the Head of the IEA Regional Cooperation Centre established in Singapore at the end of 2024.  The Office is the first outside of the IEA’s Paris headquarters in its 50-year history and will provide policy guidance, technical assistance, training and capacity building across areas such as scaling-up the deployment of renewables and other clean energy technologies, increasing cross-border power trade, and improving access to finance for clean energy investment.

Prior to joining the IEA, Ms Tan worked at Shell plc in senior climate and energy roles at Shell’s headquarters in London and The Hague and most recently in Singapore as the Head of Policy and Advocacy. Ms Tan practiced as a lawyer, worked as Ministerial adviser on energy in the Australian Government and was the Deputy CEO of a minerals trade association in Australia. She graduated from University of New South Wales in Australia with a Commerce and Law Degree and is an Eisenhower Fellow representing Australia in the 2017 International Program.

Timur Gül, a German national, was appointed Chief Energy Technology Officer of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in October 2023. In this capacity, he oversees IEA analysis of innovative new and emerging clean energy technologies and their supply chains across a range of sectors. Mr. Gül is also Head of the Energy Technology Policy Division, with responsibility for the IEA’s flagship technology publication Energy Technology Perspectives, the IEA Energy Innovation Forum, the IEA’s Technology and Innovation Advisory Board as well as the IEA’s Technology Collaboration network.

Having joined the IEA in 2009, Mr. Gül previously was a lead author of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WEO). Prior to his time at the IEA, he was a researcher at Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.

Timur Gül holds a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland. He also holds a Master degree in Environmental Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, Sweden, and a Diploma in Environmental Engineering from Stuttgart University, Germany.

Brian Motherway is Head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the IEA. He leads the Agency’s analytical and outreach programmes on energy efficiency worldwide, including a global programme of capacity building and engagement. He also oversees the Agency’s work on people-centred transitions, focusing on the social dimensions of energy policies, such as skills, social inclusion and energy affordability. Before joining the IEA, Brian was Chief Executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. He holds degrees in sociology and in engineering.