Keynote Speakers
This workshop’s programme will feature 4 inspiring keynote speakers.
Ulrich Adam (ORGALIM, BE)
The Geopolitics of Electrification: Delivering Decarbonisation, Industrial Strength & Energy Resilience for Europe
Ulrich Adam is the Director General of Orgalim, the voice of Europe’s Technology Industries, representing the EU’s largest manufacturing sector and, with it, 770,000 innovative companies operating in the industrial branches of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and electronics, and metal technology.
As Director General, Ulrich is responsible for setting Orgalim’s strategy, acting as the senior representative of the European technology industries in Brussels and managing the operations of the association.
Ulrich joined Orgalim in March 2025, with more than 20 years of professional experience in European association management and Brussels-based public affairs. He served as Director General of spiritsEUROPE from 2018 to 2025 and Secretary General of the European Agricultural Machinery Industry Association CEMA from 2013 until 2017. Prior to that, he worked nine years for the international consultancy Hill+Knowlton Strategies.
A German national, Ulrich holds a PhD and MPhil degree in History and Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University (UK).
Inne Mertens (Sibelga, BE)
Innovating as a DSO to Energize Tomorrow
Inne Mertens is CEO of Brussels distribution network operator Sibelga.
She holds a masters degree of the University of Leuven as an Electrical Engineer. She began her career at Electrabel in 1998. She accompanied the liberalization of the energy market in Wallonia in the early 2000s. Between 2009 and 2021, she was a member of the Executive Committee of ORES, the Walloon distribution network operator, where she was responsible for the Market & Customers department. She is also member of the board of Atrias and Synergrid and Chairman of the Board at the Royal Belgian Society for Energy.
Layla Sawyer (CurrENT, BE)
Up Against the Clock: Using Innovation to Win the Race Against Time
Since 2022, Layla Sawyer is the Secretary General of CurrENT, the voice of innovative grid technology companies in Europe.
She advocates for policies that will speed up the deployment of innovative grid technologies to support the mass uptake of renewables, increase European Competitiveness, and phase out fossil fuels. She was previously Head of Business Development at smartEn, where she worked on demand-side flexibility, digitalisation and the future of prosumer models. She has also worked at Urgenda, a national climate NGOs in the Netherlands, advocating for more urgency in the Dutch energy transition, and she spent a year in the Philippines working for a social investment fund specialized in climate resilient enterprises. She studied Sustainable Business and Innovation at the University of Utrecht, with a special focus on energy and material transitions and p2p energy trading.
Frederik Vandendriessche (Ghent University, BE)
The 2024 Electricity Market Design directive : Grid Saviour or False Hope?
Prof. Dr. Frederik Vandendriessche is Professor of Energy Law at Ghent University, specializing in EU and Belgian energy market regulation, network governance, and renewable energy law.
He is also a partner and attorney at Stibbe (Brussels), advising network operators, public authorities and private clients on complex energy transactions, regulatory compliance, and litigation. His work bridges academic research and practical legal expertise in modern energy systems.
