Throughout the challenge you will have the chance to interact with one or more mentors who will provide detailed answers to your questions, help you refine your proposition and best prepare your pitches
Mentors
Policy Mentors
Jamie Berryhill
Innovation Specialist
OPSI - OECD
Jamie Berryhill is an Innovation Specialist at OPSI. His work includes surfacing and tracking innovation trends and conducting research on the intersection of innovation and digital government. Most recently, he co-authored a Blockchain guide and case studies for public servants. Prior to joining OECD, Jamie worked for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the Chief of Policy for the United States Chief Information Officer. His portfolio included restructuring technology governance in agencies, devising new funding mechanisms for tech modernisation, and providing transparency through open data and open source policies and approaches. Prior to OMB, Jamie worked for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide the U.S. Congress with data-driven reviews of fraud and abuse in government programs.
Alejandra Guraieb Elizalde
Research Assistant
European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition
Alejandra is Research Assistant at the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po. She holds a Bachelor of Laws, Summa Cum Laude, from Universidad Iberoamericana, CDMX. She has advised energy companies on the development of renewable energy projects in Mexico, working as an Environmental and Energy Associate at a renowned law firm. She has a Master’s in Environmental Policy from PSIA, Sciences Po. During her graduate studies she was an intern at the Legal Affairs Programme of the UNFCCC Secretariat.
Charlotte Halpern
Tenured researcher
Sciences Po Paris
Charlotte Halpern, tenured researcher at the Centre for European studies and comparative politics, Sciences Po (Paris). Her main research interest is State restructuring and policy change in Europe. She has done extensive research on infrastructure and environmental policies. Her current research examines the role of politics and policies in processes of ecological transitions in European cities, with a specific attention to transport and mobility. She is the director of the Environmental policy Group at LIEPP and a board member of the Centre for Earth politics (Sciences Po & Paris University).
Rosanna Jackson
Senior Analyst
The Carbon Trust
Rosanna works at the Carbon Trust, a group that advises governments and companies around the world on the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy.
Rosanna has a strong track record in Asian markets and focuses on enabling renewable energy projects, such as offshore wind. Prior to the Carbon Trust, Rosanna worked in the Economic Section of the Embassy of Japan (UK), where she specialised in economic policy analysis and diplomacy, covering topics such as renewable energy, environmental policy, and trade policy.
Rosanna holds an MPhil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge where her research focused on development economics and evaluating green growth strategies, as well as a BA in Japanese and Chinese Studies from the University of London, SOAS.
Florian Richard-Dap
Director
PwC France and Maghreb
Florian is a Director dedicated to Public Policies at PwC France and Maghreb and has more than 15 years of consulting experience in public and private sectors. Throughout his career, he has developed a strong expertise in the management of complex strategic projects with a high level of political exposure. His expertise ranges from Sustainability to Economic Policy and Education, as he led some major reforms for Ministries, Regional Councils and Metropolitan Areas.
His expertise at the intersection of public management, innovation and strategy will help students pay close attention to the structure and disruptive nature of their policies, while keeping an eye on their financial and political viability.
A former student in the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan in Economics, Florian holds one PhD from the Sorbonne University in Management Science and ond Master's Degree from HEC - ENSAM in Risk Management.
Johannes Svensson
Researcher
IDDRI
Johannes work consists mainly of decarbonisation analysis in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. This work is carried out within multiple projects in the Deep Decarbonisation Pathways initiative. His work aims at informing policymakers in a variety of countries on how deep decarbonisation in the AFOLU sector can be achieved, the levers that can drive this process and the indicators to follow. He is also working with the articulation of national and global climate ambition.
After working for two years with development cooperation at the Swedish embassy in Nairobi, he pursued a master in International Economic Policy at Sciences Po Paris, where he developed a specific interest in sustainable development and decarbonisation. He joined IDDRI in 2019.
Project Mentors
Yoann Derriennic
Business Unit Leader
PwC France
With more than 20 years of consulting experience in public and private environment, Yoann is a PwC France Partner, leading Capital Project and Infrastructure Project (CP&I) and leading a team operating in different industries E&U, Mobility, Infrastructure on many aspect of complex programme including strategy, financing, engineering, programme restructuring, programme organisation and programme management.
Yoann spent most of his career redesigning large and complex strategies and translating operational improvements into higher operational and financial performance
Romain Forestier
Tech and Scientific Project Leader
JEDI - The Joint European Disruptive Initiative
Romain holds a double master’s degree in Finance, Economics and Management between Bocconi University and Sciences Po Paris and is currently a Tech and Scientific Project Lead at JEDI. In his current position he is in charge of conducting research on AI and Digital disruptive technologies as well as of creating a challenge on Green Hydrogen as one of the key tools in the path to decarbonisation.
Previously, Romain has accumulated experiences in the public sector, notably as a Research Assistant at the Assemblée Nationale and as a Public Policy Intern at the French Treasury.
He speaks French, English and German.
James Napier
Founder
CBN Expert
James has spent the last 10+ years in the Energy & Sustainability sector and has been involved in large scale energy efficiency projects in both the Public & private sectors as well leading the development of new offerings focused on supporting the transition to a more flexible, low carbon energy system.
James founded CBN Expert in 2020 with a core focus on allowing SME businesses to fully participate in efforts to tackle climate change. Previously, James has held senior positions in the industry including roles on the Board of The Energy Managers Association and Sustainable Glasgow. He has also been a conference speaker on topics including Energy Efficiency, Future Energy Systems and Green Investment.
Parminder Plahé
Senior CSR officer
EIB
After a successful career in ICT and gaining an MSc in Green ICT, Parminder moved to the Corporate Responsibility dept at the EIB Group as a Senior Corporate Responsibility Officer. His responsibilities include the measurement, management, and compensation of the GHG emissions resulting from the EIB Group internal operations and supporting CSR activates including the production of the Groups Sustainability reporting. Having successfully implemented an environmental management system in accordance with the international ISO14001 standard and the EU EMAS regulation he is now also the EMAS Management Representative, which includes the production and publication of the EIB Group EMAS Environmental Statement.
Deeksha Rao
Sustainability Solutions Expert
Changing Habits Solutions
With an M.B.A. in Energy and Environment, Deeksha has over 5 years of rich and diverse professional experience with startups, consulting, non-profit and research. Her strength lies in developing solutions to create strategic business opportunities that embrace sustainability and facilitating dialogue for fostering partnerships among different stakeholders. She is passionate about contributing to programs that bring a positive impact on the local community and grabs every opportunity to help fellow newcomers. In her spare time, Deeksha likes to explore the future of our City, network with like-minded people, and spend time with family.
Brendan Reidenbach
Energy Analyst
International Energy Agency
Brendan Reidenbach is an Energy Analyst in the digitalisation team in the Energy Efficiency Division at the International Energy Agency in Paris. He specialises in electrical distribution systems and is currently focusing on the integration of distributed energy resources and digitally enabled technologies. He has more than a decade of experience in the energy sector and was previously a senior project manager coordinating and delivering highly technical private sector engineering projects in the UK and Ireland. He is currently finalising an enhanced MA in International Energy at Sciences Po.
Raquel Wu
Director of operations
Changing Habits Solutions
With more than 8 years corporate management experience, Raquel is a creative communications expert who uses innovative methods to help solve real-time challenges. She is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator, and uses the method to complement her insights into corporate structure, operations management and sustainability initiatives to help companies create positive impacts in alignment with the United Nations’ SDGs.
Jeremy Navon
Co-founder
Pitch My Startup
Co-founder of Pitch My Startup, Jeremy is a pitch coach, expert in communication, moderator and radio host. Over the past 8 years Jeremy coached more than 2000 entrepreneurs and helped them raise more than 300M€. Jeremy works with Business France and helps French startups perform at CES Las Vegas and Web Summit. He also gives lectures at Ecole Polytechnique, ESSEC and HEC
