C.O.B. Tuesday

Today we had the pleasure of hosting Lynn Calder, CEO of INEOS Automotive, for an engaging discussion on vehicles, decarbonization, and the future of transportation. As you may have heard, INEOS Automotive has just launched a new vehicle called the Grenadier. Lynn is a fellow energy enthusiast and brings a fascinating background, having previously served at Lime Rock Partners and Talisman before j...

On this Memorial Day, we are excited to share a Special Edition with Representative John Curtis (R-UT). Rep. Curtis has been serving in Congress for four terms, beginning in 2017, and is currently running for the U.S. Senate. He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee including as Vice-Chair of the Energy, Climate and Grid Security Subcommittee. Additionally, he serves as Vice Chair of the Fed...

Today we had the pleasure of visiting with Max Layton, Global Head of Commodities Research at Citi. Prior to joining Citi in 2017, Max held notable leadership positions including Managing Director and Head of European Commodities Research at Goldman Sachs as well as Deputy Head of Commodities Research at Macquarie. We have been eager to examine copper’s recent record highs and were excited to have...

Today we had the pleasure of welcoming back Alexander Zaslavsky, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Horizon Engage. Alex established Horizon Engage in 2003 and specializes in energy politics in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Horizon Engage merges tech and geopolitical expertise to provide country insights, data on how sanctions and counter sanctions impact your business, security analysis and...

For today’s discussion we were pleased to host Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Jim’s distinguished background includes roles in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the NRECA in 2016, he served in the public policy practice at Squire Patton Boggs based in Washington, D.C. Jim was elected as a U.S. Representative for Utah from 2001...

Today we had the pleasure of hosting David Holt, President of the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), for an important discussion on electricity affordability and reliability for consumers. David’s background is in government affairs with over thirty years of experience working for state and federal agencies and directing outreach and advocacy efforts. The CEA will be celebrating its 20th anniversary...

Today we had the pleasure of hosting David Sacks, Fellow for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), for a comprehensive discussion on China and the intricate dynamics of US-China, US-Taiwan, and cross-Strait relations. Prior to joining the CFR in 2017, David served at the American Institute in Taiwan focused on political military affairs. David’s research spans Asia, China, Taiwan...

Today we were delighted to host Matt Parker, Managing Director and Head of Strategy, alongside Alex Melvin, Commodity Risk Analyst, with Mobius Risk Group for an extensive discussion on commodity and power markets, as well as volatility and risk management in particular. Matt joined Mobius in 2018 and oversees fundamental analytics, decision strategies, financial trading, and physical marketing te...

Today we were thrilled to be joined by Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), to discuss a critical yet often ignored topic: the US national debt and budget deficits. Prior to her tenure at the CRFB starting in 2004, Maya served at the Brookings Institution and on Wall Street. Maya is a native Washingtonian, Harvard Kennedy School alumni, and frequentl...

Today we had the pleasure of hosting our good friend Derek Podhaizer, Vice President of Equity Research at Barclays. Derek started his research career at the firm in 2014 and leads coverage of U.S. Onshore Energy Services and Geothermal. Given the recent flurry of activity within the services sector, including Tuesday’s SLB-ChampionX announcement (linked here ), it was fantastic to hear Derek’s ob...

We had a fantastic session today with Jun Nishizawa, Executive Vice President and CEO of the Natural Gas Group at Mitsubishi Corporation. Jun joined Mitsubishi Corporation in 1986 as an oil trader and has since held a variety of roles in Tokyo and overseas. As CEO of the Natural Gas Group, Jun is responsible for Mitsubishi Corporation’s LNG business globally and leads the execution of the organiza...

We are thrilled to share this Special Edition COBT episode featuring Peter Orszag, CEO of Lazard. Peter assumed the role as Lazard CEO in the fall of 2023, after serving as CEO of Lazard’s Financial Advisory business. Prior to his tenure at Lazard, Peter’s wide-ranging career includes serving as Director of the Office of Management and Budget and as Director of the Congressional Budget Office duri...

Today we had the honor of hosting Mike Wirth, Chairman and CEO of Chevron. Mike’s journey at Chevron began as a design engineer in 1982 and since then, he has held senior leadership roles in several divisions of the company. Most recently, Mike served as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and as Executive Vice President of Midstream and Development before assuming his role as CEO in 2018....

It was our privilege today to welcome Paul Dabbar, CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology. In addition to his position at Bohr, Paul is a Senior Research Scholar and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Board Member of Dominion Energy, and a Contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Paul’s distinguished career...

Today we had the pleasure of welcoming back Jigar Shah, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office (LPO). Jigar joined the LPO in 2021 and is the former founder of SunEdison and former co-founder of Generate Capital. As you may know, the LPO is equipped with more than $400 billion in loans and loan guarantees to help deploy innovative clean energy, advanced transportation, and...

Today we were thrilled to welcome our good friend Pat Wood, CEO of Hunt Energy Network. Pat’s extensive career in power and energy includes serving as Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas during the administration of President George W. Bush. Additionally, he has held several independent director and advisor roles in solar, pow...

One of the issues that we have become fascinated with over the last couple of years is power: power availability, power costs, power reliability, growth in demand for power, and the overall complexity of our power systems. We’ve also become extremely interested in how these power issues are meaningfully affecting states, countries and industries. With all of that in mind, we read with particular i...

Today we had the pleasure of hosting Fred Hutchison, President and CEO of LNG Allies, for a comprehensive discussion on an important and timely topic, LNG. Fred founded LNG Allies in 2014 and is a leading spokesman for the US LNG export industry with over four decades of experience in government and public relations. LNG Allies is an independent, non-profit association focused on advancing the int...

Today we had the very interesting opportunity to visit with Ernest Scheyder, Senior Correspondent at Thomson Reuters and author of the newly released book entitled "The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives." The book was officially published on January 30th and examines the multifaceted world of metals, mining, and processing with insights from investors,...

For today’s discussion we were delighted to welcome back our good friend Robert Bryce. Robert is the author of six books (his most recent being "A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations"), host of the Power Hungry podcast, and a former journalist with more than 30 years of experience reporting on the energy sector. He is a frequent contributor to the energy discussion a...

We have been intrigued by some of the news coming out of the World Economic Forum (i.e. Davos) and have been on the lookout for someone who could give us an objective, independent summary and assessment of the gathering. We were elated to connect with our special friend Dr. Dan Yergin for such a discussion. While impossible to succinctly summarize his achievements and contributions to the energy i...

Today we had the pleasure of hosting Rob Gramlich, Founder and President of Grid Strategies. Rob previously oversaw transmission and power market policy for the American Wind Energy Association as SVP and Interim CEO, served as Economic Advisor to FERC Chairman Pat Wood III, and was Senior Economist at PJM Interconnection. Grid Strategies is a power consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C...

Today was a big one – the first regular COBT of the year, and also the second anniversary of Veriten. Accordingly, we thought about something that would be truly special to mark the occasion and reached back for two COBT All-Stars… on the same show!   Today’s episode features two great friends: Dr. Lars Schernikau, energy economist, entrepreneur, commodity trader, strategic advisor, and the author...

We hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and that you are excited about the New Year! We had a special guest join us yesterday to kick off 2024. We have been lucky enough to get to know a number of Senators, Governors and Congressional Representatives over the past few years. One that we have been getting to know better recently is Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. Sharp, informed, well rea...

Today we were thrilled to visit with Brian Lee, Vice President and Head of US Clean Technology Research at Goldman Sachs, for 2023’s final COBT episode. Brian has been with the firm since 2011 and offers a unique vantage point with his experience covering cleantech. Recently, Brian and his team released their 2024 Americas Clean Technology Outlook ( linked here ). With 2023 coming to a close, it w...