Paul van Son has been active in various management and executive positions in the international (renewable) electricity and gas business for over 30 years at Siemens AG (Germany), SEP (the Dutch power pool and interconnected grid), KEMA Consulting/ECC (international energy consultants), Chief Executive Officer of Essent Energy Trading, Managing Director of Essent Sustainable Energy and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Essent GmbH in Düsseldorf, being responsible for the German activities of Essent N.V. Mr. van Son has been instrumental in developing of non‐food biomass for power supply, wind power development and marketing of green power (an invention of Essent in 1998). During 2008/9 Mr. van Son was Executive Director of Econcern, NL (renewable energy and energy efficiency). He is Chairman of the Energy4All Foundation (www.energy4all.org / www.niceinternational.com ), a non‐profit organization promoting decentralized energy and communication systems in Africa. In addition, Mr. van Son is President of the European Federation of Energy Traders (www.efet.org), which has been a pioneer in energy market opening and (renewable) energy trading. In 2009 Mr. van Son was appointed CEO of the Dii GmbH (Desertec Industrial Initiative).

Ahmed Nada is Head of Operations and Maintenance at AbuDhabi Future Energy Co. Masdar, Clean Energy Division. Masdar is a global and regional sustainability and renewable energy leader. Its renewable utility scale projects span across MENA, Europe, USA, Asia and Australia. Ahmed stepped into the solar industry when he was appointed as First Solar Vice President Region Executive for the ME in Jan 2013. He has since been engaged in the ME rapid solar industry evolution and supported its growth through projects development, technology, supply chain and working closely with all the industry stakeholders. He presided over key early solar projects in the ME such as Shams Maan 60MW in Jordan, DEWA 1, DEWA 2 in the UAE and closely supported Egypt's initial solar projects at Benban He is also the President of the Middle East Solar Industry Association (MESIA). Prior to his roles at Masdar and First Solar, he spent 14-years at GE Energy. Ahmed holds a Master's of Science Degree in International Management from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dr. Florian Wessendorf is Managing Director of Solar Promotion GmbH and Solar Promotion International GmbH. He is responsible for the global conference program and exhibitions in North America, South America and India. He has deep expertise in the solar industry, and formerly served as Managing Director of Photovoltaic Equipment at VDMA, where he was responsible for strategic development, market research and technology scouting, advocacy and policy advice, events, PR and marketing.