2026 Speakers

Colin Ellis

Colin Ellis is the Head of Economic Research in the Economics Group at Moody’s Analytics. In this role, he manages the group’s thought leadership and contributes to analysis, forecasting, and outreach.

Prior to this, he worked at Moody’s Ratings for 14 years, including serving as Chief Credit Officer for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for 9 years and as Head of U.K. during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to working at Moody’s, Colin has held positions at Daiwa Capital Markets, the BVCA, and Birmingham University. He started his career as an economist at the Bank of England, supporting the work of the Monetary Policy Committee in a variety of roles.

Colin has published academic papers on a range of topics including corporate investment and pricing, private equity, data uncertainty, stress testing, credit risk, financial stability, and monetary policy. His publications include The Economic Journal, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, and the Journal of Fixed Income. He has appeared as an expert on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, the BBC and others, and frequently speaks at a range of conferences and events. Colin holds degrees from York University, the LSE, and Middlesex University. He is a visiting academic at Bayes Business School, Hult International Business School, and LSBU. Colin is also a Fellow of the RSA.

Anya Albot

Geoscientist by background. After completing her  Master’s degree in 2014, she joined the research team in the Geology and Geochemistry Department at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, where She worked as a research and teaching associate for three years. Anya joined Woodside Energy in the Perth office in 2017 as an exploration geologist working on prospectivity in offshore Gabon and Congo, West Africa. Subsequently worked as a geohazard analyst and development geologist on projects in offshore Southeast Asia and Australia.

From 2022, Anya led well planning and geosteering for the Sangomar deepwater oil development offshore Senegal, overseeing the design and execution of deepwater, extended-reach horizontal producer and injector wells. She joined Rystad Energy in 2025 as a lead in drilling and well research within the supply chain team.

Dr. Bart Rienties

Dr. Bart Rienties is Professor of Learning Analytics and Director of the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) at the Open University UK (OU). As educational psychologist, he conducts multi-disciplinary research on work-based and collaborative learning environments and focuses on the role of social interaction in learning, which is published in leading academic journals and books.

His primary research interests are focussed on Learning Analytics, Learning Design, and the role of motivation in learning. Furthermore, Bart is interested in broader internationalisation aspects of higher education. He has successfully led a range of institutional/national/European projects, currently leads the £5M Research Capacity Hub for ESRC, and has received a range of awards for his educational innovation projects.

From 2023-2026 he was President of the Society of Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR), the largest researcher community on learning analytics.

Wadii El Karkouri

Wadii El Karkouri is Executive Vice President of Technology at TGS, based in Houston, where he leads a global organization driving innovation across geophysical technologies, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence for the energy industry. His focus is on accelerating smarter, faster geoscience decisions through advanced technology and data-driven solutions that help shape the future of energy exploration and production.

Before joining TGS, Wadii served as Global Sales Director for Energy and Utilities at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he helped energy companies modernize operations and accelerate cloud adoption using industry-leading digital and AI solutions. Prior to AWS, Wadii built a distinguished 23-year career with SLB and WesternGeco, holding senior leadership roles across field operations, executive management, sales, commercial strategy, and human resources. His international career spans assignments across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, culminating in executive leadership positions including Vice President of Sales and Commercial and Vice President of Geosolutions, based in Houston. Earlier in his career, he also worked with TOTAL as a research engineer. Recognised for combining deep technical expertise with global business leadership, Wadii brings a unique perspective at the intersection of energy, technology, and innovation. He holds an MSc in Electrical Engineering from l’Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

Chris Atkinson

Chris has over 40 years’ experience in the energy/resource sector initially working for Shell and then Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) in their reservoir research divisions and ultimately as the Exploration Vice President of ARCO Europe/Eurasia before the merger with BP plc.

In 2001 Chris left big oil and co-founded the predecessor of Serica Energy plc which today is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the UK North Sea.  In 2018 he co-founded Helios Aragon which is exploring for natural/geologic hydrogen and helium gas in Spain, UK, Poland, Australia and Oman.  Chris currently acts as a non-executive director of Lime Petroleum Holdings in Norway and is the Chairman and board member for Masirah Oil in Oman. Chris is a current SPE Distinguished Lecturer on the subject of Natural/Geologic Hydrogen, a member of the SPE Singapore section, a past president and life member of SEAPEX (Southeast Asian Petroleum Exploration Society) and spent several years as an active council member of the IPA (Indonesian Petroleum Association). Chris holds both a BSc and PhD in Geology from the University of Wales, UK.

Charlotte Adams

Charlotte Adams is CEO of the National Geothermal Centre in the UK, established in 2024 to accelerate the UK geothermal sector. Charlotte’s interest in geothermal was sparked whilst undertaking her PhD when she realised the geothermal potential of disused mines. She has been active across the sector for over 20 years and was instrumental in the delivery of the UK’s largest geothermal heat scheme at Gateshead. Charlotte has worked in consultancy, academia and the public sector managing commercial contracts, R&D and geothermal drilling programmes. Her work has featured on Countryfile, The One Show, ITV Tonight and Channel 4 News. She has received awards from the Geological Society and The Energy Institute for her work on geothermal.

Lorna Blaisse

A driven and focused Chief Executive Director and skilled Geologist with almost twenty years of oil and gas experience in Africa, which includes five years’ experience in the helium sector. Holds a first class (Hons) Masters (MSci) degree in Petroleum Geoscience from Royal Holloway University, London with an International year from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Lorna is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. Has successfully led AIM-listed Helium One Global Ltd for three years through its successful drilling programme in the southern Rukwa Basin, which delivered the first helium discovery in Tanzania from the Itumbula West-1 well that flowed 5.5% sustained helium to surface during an extended well test and measured up to 9.2% helium.

This significant discovery saw the award of Tanzania’s first helium Mining Licence, whereby the Company now plan to develop and produce from the 480km2 licenced area. Transitioned Helium One Global Ltd to a leading operator through the acquisition of the Company’s onshore drilling rig that will accelerate and streamline Company’s drilling programme and development of Tanzania’s helium sector. Also, successfully diversified the Company’s portfolio through acquisition of a 50% stake in a near-term producing helium-CO2 project in Colorado, USA which is operated by Blue Star Helium having achieved first gas Q4 2025. Prior to joining Helium One, Lorna previously held a number of Senior Geologist roles with Delonex Energy Ltd, African Petroleum Corp Ltd and Tullow Oil plc, leading numerous exploration drilling campaigns in East and Central Africa, through her extensive geological knowledge of the East Africa Rift System.

Professor Nicholas Schofield

Professor Nick Schofield is a Professor of Igneous and Petroleum Geology at the University of Aberdeen and currently serves on an 80% secondment to Pulsar Helium Inc. as Chief Geologist. He is a distinguished applied geologist with expertise in understanding subsurface hard-rock geology in both hydrocarbon-bearing and non-hydrocarbon systems, using an integrated approach that combines field observations, well data, and geophysical techniques.

Professor Schofield is internationally recognised for his work in helping the energy industry understand complex subsurface igneous geology and its implications for resource exploration and development.

He obtained his undergraduate degree in Geology from the University of Edinburgh before completing a PhD in Geology at the University of Birmingham.

Ievgenii Solodkyi

Ievgenii Solodkyi is Head of Exploration Department at DTEK Oil & Gas with 15 years of experience in the upstream industry. He holds degrees in Geology, Geophysics, Petroleum Engineering, a PhD in Petrophysics, and an MBA in Management. Ievgenii specializes in near-field exploration and development of deep and ultra-deep onshore prospects in Ukraine, including structural, stratigraphic, and lithological traps, and has led integrated exploration and appraisal programs, including large-scale 3D seismic campaigns. His work has significantly contributed to the company’s reserves and production growth through exploration activities.