Mr Yasuhisa Okamoto is Managing Director for Drax Asia Japan, leading the organisation’s business development team and Tokyo field office in Japan. Mr Okamoto has an integral role in achieving Drax’s target to double biomass sales to 4Mt pa by 2030, to support the net-zero transition.
    

Mr Okamoto established Sumitomo Corporation’s biomass business in 2002 and led its growth in wood pellets in Japan. While at Sumitomo, Mr Okamoto played an active role in establishing the company’s upstream integration into wood pellet manufacturing in South America and Canada. Following Sumitomo’s investment in Pacific Bioenergy, Mr Okamoto went on to support their sales team as SVP of Sales and Logistics, focusing on the long-term sustainability and traceability of wood pellets and wood chips.

Flora Ji leads Shell’s global Nature Based Solutions (NBS) business. She and the team focus on the development of high-quality natural carbon sinks with environmental and social co-benefits, as well as nature-based market and customer solutions that can contribute to climate change migation.

Shell’s NBS business invests in activities that protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural ecosystems, including forest, agriculture, wetland, grassland, and coastal ecosystems. The business takes on long-term commitments in NBS projects, working closely with local communities, governments, NGOs, and other experts to ensure that the projects invested in make a demonstrable difference.

Flora joined Shell in 2006, and has worked across Downstream and Upstream in operational, commercial, and business management roles in China, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Singapore.  She holds an MBA from IMD, Switzerland.

Steve Oldham is CEO of Captura, an ocean-based carbon removal company founded at Caltech. Captura combines cutting-edge technology with the ocean’s natural ability to absorb CO2, enabling large-scale, low-cost carbon removal. Prior to Captura, Steve was CEO of Carbon Engineering, where he helped establish Direct Air Capture as a credible and scalable climate solution. Steve also spent more than two decades at Canadian space and robotics company MDA, directing corporate strategy and business development, and overseeing major space and technology programs.

Kyunghwa (Kay) Jeon is the Founder and Director of BeFLAT Services and a recognized expert in carbon finance. Since 2018, she has led the development and investment of international carbon offset projects, working closely with financial institutions and compliance entities across South Korea to advance the effective use of carbon finance. Prior to establishing BeFLAT, she served as Climate Finance Expert at Korea Investment and Securities, where she founded the Carbon Solution Department, pioneered voluntary carbon project investments in Korea, and acted as a market maker under the Korea Emissions Trading Scheme. Earlier in her career, she led overseas offset project development at Ecoeye, successfully developing and converting more than 20 CDM projects into Korean Offset Credits. 
 

She holds a Master of Science in Carbon Finance from the University of Edinburgh and brings a strong professional background in both finance and accounting. With her combined expertise, she is committed to mobilizing capital into high-impact climate projects and advancing market-based solutions for the net-zero transition.

Marta Krupinska is Co-Founder and CEO of Cur8, a serial entrepreneur and seasoned executive with 15 years of leadership experience in socially impactful ventures. Marta co-founded two exited fintech startups, Azimo and FreeUp, and was the Head of Google for Startups UK and co-lead of Google’s Black Founders Fund. Alongside building CUR8, Marta serves as Chair of Youth Business International, a global charity founded by King Charles that supports young entrepreneurs worldwide, and as a Non-Executive Director at ACUA Ocean, a marine cleantech startup.

After working in ship building company and financial institute, joined Mitsui O.S.K.Lines, Ltd. in 2005 and spent most of the carrier with traditional shipping sector including tanker and RORO vessel business. Become head of CDR in April 2024, and currently in charge of CDR procurement, project investment related with CDR, and carbon credit trading. 

Kei Ikegami is the Founder and CEO of Planet Savers, Japan’s first Direct Air Capture (DAC) startup, dedicated to combating climate change. He began his career at JICA, where he managed energy infrastructure development projects in the Middle East, before moving to SoftBank Robotics to lead global business development. A proven entrepreneur, Kei also founded and successfully exited a mission-driven education startup, demonstrating his ability to scale impactful ventures. This diverse experience in energy, global technology, and entrepreneurship uniquely positions him to lead this critical new industry. Kei holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge.

Mr. Yamada is General Manager of Business Development at TOWING Co., Ltd, where he leads project development in high-performance biochar, with a focus on creating impactful decarbonization solutions. Prior to Towing, his career began at Toyota Motor Corporation as a certification engineer.

Tank Chen is the Head of Content & Community at CDR.fyi and Ecosystem Fellow at the Carbon Business Council, where he tracks investment trends, corporate engagement, and market development across the carbon dioxide removal sector. He also leads CDRjobs.earth, the industry’s dedicated talent platform, providing insights into compensation, hiring, and workforce trends. Drawing on experience in corporate sustainability, policy engagement, and education, Tank works to make the CDR market more transparent, data-driven, and accessible for businesses, policymakers, and the public.

Mr. Ishizaki, Founder and CEO of Faeger Co., Ltd., is a Waseda Law graduate with consulting experience at PwC Advisory and YCP Solidiance.

Since founding Faeger in 2022, he has led initiatives in decarbonization and sustainable agriculture, focusing on Japan, Asia, and Africa.

Ms. Odera graduated from King’s College London with a Master’s degree in Environment, Politics, and Globalization. Prior to joining Mizuho Securities, she worked at FTSE Russell, a British index company based in London and Paris, where she was involved in ESG scores and Sustainable Investment (SI) indexes. Ms. Odera is currently responsible for identifying sustainability-related start-ups and supporting their growth and financing.

Samuel Alterescu leads the development of solutions related to Carbon Dioxide Removals and carbon credits in SMBC Group. These solutions span from co-development of solutions with ecosystem companies, support to companies in developing their solutions, as well as a range of traditional and innovative financial solutions.

Samuel joined SMBC in 2023 after 10 years in consulting. His background is climate finance and partnerships to advance decarbonization and social impact.

Simon Göß is an energy engineer and expert on carbon and energy markets. As managing director at carboneer he leads international consultancy projects and supported 100+ companies on strategic and operational CBAM compliance. carboneer is a Berlin-based consulting company with expertise and solutions in the areas of CBAM, CO2 markets, decarbonisation & climate neutrality.

Mr. Wang is one of senior experts in the field of climate change and low-carbon development in China. He had been engaged in formulation and implementation of climate change policies, in particular carbon emission trading system, for a long time when working in governmental sector. Since 2017, Mr. Wang has been working as a long-term Key Expert in EU-China ETS cooperation, deeply tracking and studying the development of carbon trading systems in China and EU and beyond.

Mr. Ishihara built his career in marketing at a major food manufacturer and in agricultural decarbonization projects at an IT company. 
 

Since 2024, he has led the biochar business at Faeger Co. Ltd., aiming to make agriculture a more attractive and sustainable profession.

Alexander Mäkelä is the Chief Policy Officer at Carbon Gap, leading European and global carbon removal policy advocacy. He previously shaped carbon management and industrial decarbonization strategies at McKinsey & Company’s Sustainability Practice. Alexander is also a co-founder of the Nordic Carbon Removal Association, working to accelerate policy and market readiness for CDR solutions in the Nordics.

Keita Akazawa is a General Manager of Corporate Sustainability Div. for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) since April 2025. He is responsible for the Environment & Sustainability Strategy. 
 

He joined MOL in 2003 and established his career in several business sectors, such as containership and fuel procurement and the General Affairs Department. In 2021 he was transferred to the Environment & Sustainability Strategy Div. Over 3 years, he acted as the General Manager of the Sustainability Management Team and the Deputy General Manager of the division.