(in alphabetical order)
Andrei Covatariu (co-founder) – andrei.covatariu@ecera.org
Andrei Covatariu is an international energy and climate change expert. His activity focuses on climate and energy policies, concentrating on the energy transition process and its geopolitical, economic, and social challenges. Andrei’s views and policy analyses are constantly published and cited in international media.
Andrei is currently the Co-Chair of the Task Force on “Digitalization in Energy” and a Vice-Chair of the Group of Experts on Energy Efficiency, at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). He is also a consultant for the Public Power Corporation (PPC) utility company, in Greece, acting as a Climate Policy Advisor for the CEO & Chairman. At the same time, Andrei is a Non-resident Scholar in the Climate and Water Program, at the Middle East Institute (United States), a Senior Research Associate at Energy Policy Group (Romania), and an Associate Lecturer at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, teaching energy and environmental policies. In 2021, Andrei co-founded ECERA, a network of sustainability practitioners aiming to produce policy-relevant knowledge, helping governments, companies, NGOs, universities, and others navigate the various facets of sustainability.
In the past, Andrei has worked with other for-profit companies (Enel Romania, where he was the Head of Public Affairs, previously having other roles, such as Regulatory Affairs Manager, Digital Manager, Executive Assistant to CEO & Country Manager), multilateral and international organizations (World Energy Council, as a former Board member of FEL-100), think tanks (Harvard’s Belfer Center; Centre on Regulation in Europe; Energy Policy Group, etc.), or NGOs (Climate Reality Project, Climate Interactive, etc.). He was a fellow at the Middle East Institute’s Frontier Europe program (in 2020, Washington DC), and a Masdar Institute Future Sustainability Leader (in 2022, Abu Dhabi).
Andrei holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. Andrei also completed a master’s in public policy (MPP) at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, with a summer project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.
Jean-Baka Domelevo Entfellner (co-founder) – jean.baka.domelevo@ecera.org
With an educational background in mathematics and computer science, Jean-Baka Domelevo Entfellner is a former student at the French École Normale Supérieure (Rennes, France). After an MSc in computer science, he gained a Ph.D. in statistical modelling and bioinformatics in 2011 from the University of Montpellier, France. He then joined the South African National Bioinformatics Institute for a postdoctoral fellowship and moved to a senior lectureship at the University of the Western Cape (Cape Town, South Africa) from 2012 to 2017. Since 2017, Jean-Baka is with the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, where he works within the CGIAR network on research for agricultural development in the global South. A bioinformatics scientist, Jean-Baka now heads ILRI’s Data & Research Methods Unit.
Dr. Domelevo Entfellner has a strong interest in ecology, the safeguarding of biodiversity, and the means to mitigate global warming and its effects on the poorest. He is a member of Europe Écologie – Les Verts (French green party) and represents the French citizens living abroad in the Assemblée des Français de l’Étranger and in the French National Council for Legal Aid.
Daniel Duma (co-founder) – daniel.duma@ecera.org
With a background in political science (B.A), public policy (MSc), and economics (Ph.D.), Daniel has worked in the renewable energy sector for almost 10 years. Holding various roles related to public policy, development, and sustainability, he focused on merging corporate and societal value creation strategies and translating them into action. Some of his achievements include a wide-ranging program on tackling energy poverty, advocating for greater ambition on climate goals, and raising awareness on the changing role of business within society.
Daniel’s current focus is on financing the energy transition in Romania, building on his experience of developing wind and solar projects in the United States and leveraging the sustainable finance opportunities related to the European Green Deal. In 2020, Daniel completed the MBA program at the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, with a concentration in Energy and Environment, being the recipient of the Benavitch scholarship from St. Catharine’s College. As part of the MBA, he was involved in a consulting project on one of the world’s largest solar microgrids with Tata Power in India and a research project on post-conflict economic recovery in Iraq and Afghanistan. Daniel is also an affiliated expert of the Energy Policy Group, where he contributed to research projects on the green transition and economic growth in partnership with the European Climate Foundation and the European Climate Initiative. Daniel is a fellow of the Aspen Institute Romania since 2015.
Simona Iftimescu (co-founder) – simona.iftimescu@ecera.org
Simona Iftimescu is an education professional with 10+ years experience in the field. She is currently a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, the University of Bucharest, Romania, as well as Secretary-General of the Romanian Educational Research Association.
Simona earned her master’s degree in Comparative and International Education at the University of Oxford, and holds a PhD in Education from the University of Bucharest. Simona also studied at Ithaca College, NY, US, and pursued short research fellowships at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, and at the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, MA, US. She collaborated in various roles with NGOs, companies, and public institutions such as the British Council, Oxford Education Society, PwC Romania or the Romanian Presidential Administration (Department for Education and Research), and has also been involved in a wide range of national and international projects including, among other topics, educational policy, evidence-based practice, knowledge transfer, adult learning, higher education.
Piyush Verma (co-founder) – piyush.verma@ecera.org
Dr. Piyush Verma is an internationally recognized energy and climate policy expert. He works on the intersection of technology, society, and governance and has significant expertise on policies around frontier technologies to accelerate our efforts towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He has previously worked in India, Vanuatu, New Zealand, and Ireland on researching, developing, and implementing energy and climate nexus policies.
He has been selected as Global Future Energy Leader by the World Energy Council, London in 2018, and since then he has led and contributed to a variety of international projects. He is also the Chair of the Joint Task Force on Digitalization in Energy at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva. He has also been nominated as Regional Ambassador for Ireland in the Global Blockchain Business Council in Washington, D.C. for the year 2020.
He has published more than 40 articles and opinion pieces in conferences, journals, and national news media and has spoken in more than 23 countries on energy and climate change issues. He has been invited by the United Nations, International Telecommunication Union, International Energy Agency, World Energy Council, and other multilaterals on several occasions to speak on sustainable development agenda.
Dr. Verma is an Electrical Engineer with a postgraduate in Power Systems and has a Ph.D. in Energy Efficiency Technology and Policy from The University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has also completed a Harvard Public Leadership Credential Programme and currently pursuing a Mid-Career Master’s in Public Administration programme as Edward S. Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, USA.