Paulo Almirante has more than 25 years of experience in the energy business, working in various positions on the development, construction and management of wind, hydro, solar, coal and gas assets. Mr. Almirante started working in 1991 for EDP in Portugal moving to National Power in the UK in 1996. As of 2000, he became Director of various companies in Portugal and Spain and from 2005 to 2013 he was the International Power Regional Director for Iberia. In 2011, Mr. Almirante was also appointed COO for GDF Suez Latin America based in Brazil and from 2013 to 2015 he was President of Energy Europe Portugal and CEO of TrustEnergy. From January 2016 to April 2018, Mr. Almirante was the CEO of Generation Europe for the Engie Group.
In May 2016, Mr. Almirante was appointed Executive Vice President of the Engie Group and member of the Executive Committee responsible for the Brazil; Middle East, South and Central Asia and Turkey; North, South and Eastern Europe; and General Europe (until May 2019) Business Units. Mr. Almirante was also responsible for the Group Corporate Societal and Environmental Responsibility Department of Engie Group until May 2019. In July 2018, Mr. Almirante was appointed the Chief Operating Officer for the Engie Group. In Feb 2021, he was appointed SEVP in charge of Renewables, Nuclear and Energy Management and Trading.
Mr. Almirante holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from IST – Technical University of Lisbon, a Diploma in Management Studies from the Catholic University of Lisbon and undertook the Global Leadership Development Program at London Business School.
Mr. Almirante was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Portuguese Energy Regulator and the Vice-President of the Portuguese Association of Electricity Industry.
Jay has over 30 years of international technology experience in the automotive, aerospace and advanced water technology fields, much of which she gained through roles of increasing importance with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Eaton Aerospace and Xylem Inc.
After starting her career in product development for Delphi/General Motors in 1988, Ms. Iyengar joined Chrysler in 1997 as a Powertrain Systems Engineer. This was followed by a series of roles of increasing importance in its powertrain division, and in 2005 was named Senior Manager and Chief Engineer of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) Hybrid Development Center. From 2009 – 2012 Ms. Iyengar served as Global Director, Electrified Powertrains for FCA. In 2012 she joined Eaton Aerospace as Group Vice President Engineering and Technology, and from 2015 – 2019 she was the Senior Vice President, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer of Xylem Inc., a leading water technology company.
Jay Iyengar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Mysore University, Karnataka, India, a Master’s degree MTech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, as well as a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University, Michigan, USA. She has also served on the board of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Vehicular Technology Society and is a current board member of Engineering Tomorrow, a non-profit focused on promoting STEM education for underprivileged minority high school students.
Bilal Khan is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group at Blackstone. Since joining Blackstone in 2009, Mr. Khan has been involved in the execution of several Blackstone investments, including various Sithe Global investments, Fisterra Energy, PQ Energy, Transmission Developers, American Petroleum Tankers, Lightstone Generation, Lonestar Generation and Onyx Renewables.
Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Khan was an Associate at GTCR Golder Rauner, where he was involved with the analysis and execution of private equity investments in a wide range of industries. Prior to that, Mr. Khan worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions department at Lazard Frères focused on Power & Utilities clients.
Mr. Khan received a BS in Applied Economics from Cornell University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He also received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Gerrard Schmid currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Diebold Nixdorf Inc., a multinational financial and retail technology company that specializes in the sale, manufacture, installation and service of self-service transaction systems, point-of-sale terminals, physical security products, and software and related services for global financial, retail, and commercial markets. Since June 2020, Mr. Schmid has also served on the Board of Directors at Information Systems Audit & Control Association, Inc.
Mr. Schmid has more than 20 years of leadership experience in banking, payments, and financial technology. Most recently, he was a senior advisor with The Boston Consulting Group. From 2012 to 2017 he served as chief executive officer of D+H Corporation, a $1.7 billion global fintech company that was publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:DH) prior to being merged with Misys. He joined D+H in 2007 as president and CEO of the company’s Filogix business unit.
Prior to D+H, Mr. Schmid managed a $3 billion retail banking business at Lloyds TSB in the United Kingdom. From 2001 to 2005, he was executive vice president and chief operating officer for retail banking at CIBC. In 1997 Mr. Schmid joined McKinsey and Company, Inc., where he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility, working across financial services, e-commerce and technology before joining CIBC. Mr. Schmid began his career in finance at Citibank in 1995 as a developer in derivatives supporting trade reconciliations.
Originally from South Africa, Mr. Schmid earned a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and started his career as an aerospace engineer. He also holds a Master of Applied Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto.