THETEAM
THETEAM
Michael Liebreich
Michael is a well-known analyst and investor in clean energy, transport, technology and smart infrastructure. He is the founder and CEO of Liebreich Associates and Managing partner of EcoPragma Capital. Michael is also the co-host and founder of Cleaning Up, an influential podcast and YouTube channel, which highlights leadership around the world in clean energy and climate action. He is the founder of and a regular Senior Contributor to BloombergNEF. His former roles have included being a member of the UK Board of Trade, the high-level group for Sustainable Energy for All, the board of Transport for London and the IEA Commission on Energy Efficiency. The Liebreich Foundation is Michael’s family charity, which he set up following the sale of New Energy Finance to Bloomberg LP.
Dr. Niall Conroy
Niall is a specialist physician who manages outbreaks of infectious diseases for a living and is based in Ireland. He is also an adjunct professor of public health medicine in University College Cork. After several years working in child health and neonatal care in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, he took up a voluntary post in the department of paediatrics at Bo Government Hospital in 2013. ​Despite working in other low-resource settings, such as Somalia and Nepal, he built a particularly special enduring relationship with the staff and patients at Bo Government Hospital. Over the years he has returned many times, including a period in 2017 when he was tasked with opening and running the first Special Care Baby Unit in the region. While working in the SCBU, Niall crossed paths with Michael Liebreich, who was very keen to help with the biggest problem that the department faced, a lack of sustainable and reliable electricity. Niall has worked with Michael ever since, to try and provide a high level of care to the babies in the SCBU, who are some of the most vulnerable babies in the world.
Dr. Niall Conroy
Niall is a specialist physician who manages outbreaks of infectious diseases for a living and is based in Ireland. He is also an adjunct professor of public health medicine in University College Cork. After several years working in child health and neonatal care in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, he took up a voluntary post in the department of paediatrics at Bo Government Hospital in 2013. ​Despite working in other low-resource settings, such as Somalia and Nepal, he built a particularly special enduring relationship with the staff and patients at Bo Government Hospital. Over the years he has returned many times, including a period in 2017 when he was tasked with opening and running the first Special Care Baby Unit in the region. While working in the SCBU, Niall crossed paths with Michael Liebreich, who was very keen to help with the biggest problem that the department faced, a lack of sustainable and reliable electricity. Niall has worked with Michael ever since, to try and provide a high level of care to the babies in the SCBU, who are some of the most vulnerable babies in the world.
Richenda Van Leeuwen
Richenda is President of Hummingbird Green Solutions, a clean energy and sustainability advisory firm. She has many years of executive experience in the global renewable energy sector in commercial and impact investment, policy and projects especially in emerging markets, with organizations including RMI, the UN Foundation, the World Bank and Good Energies. She has also worked on clean cooking with the Global LPG Partnership and on global small business entrepreneurship when leading the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE). From 2010-2016 Richenda was Executive Director of Energy Access at the United Nations Foundation, working with governments and at the highest levels of the UN in developing the UN Sustainable Energy for All Initiative. Richenda previously worked in private equity and impact investing in renewable energy at Good Energies, and helped establish the Good Energies Foundation. Richenda was a board director of off-grid pioneer SELCO India for 12 years and is an Emeritus founding U.S. Women's "Clean Energy Ambassador" within the U.S. DOE Clean Energy, Education and Empowerment (C3E) initiative. She is on the board of New Energy Nexus and advises Sima Funds and Access to Energy Institute (A2EI).
The Eki Foundation is an NGO dedicated to providing reliable and clean energy to social centers in sub-Saharan Africa with solar energy, in line with the sustainable energy goals of 2030. Eki Foundation works with health and education centers that do not have access to the electrical grid or that have an unreliable grid connection. EKI provides the centers with a 10-year social impact financing option. EKI currently has over 140 installations in operation in over 20 countries and provides an important monitoring and technical assistance service for these centers. EKI is also committed to promoting solar technical training and capacity building through established vocational schools.