Dr. Fatih Birol

Executive Director of the International Energy Agency

Dr. Fatih Birol has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) since September 2015. Under his leadership, the IEA has undertaken its first comprehensive modernisation programme since the creation of the Agency in 1974. Prior to his nomination as Executive Director, Dr. Birol spent 20 years as a staff member at the Agency, serving most recently as Chief Economist.

He has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the most influential people on the world’s energy scene and was recognised by the Financial Times as energy personality of the year in 2017. He is the founder and chair of the IEA Energy Business Council, one of the most active industry advisory groups in global energy. He also chairs the World Economic Forum’s (Davos) Energy Advisory Board and has served on the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on ‘Sustainable Energy for All’.