Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, has positioned the Agency at the centre of global efforts for secure, affordable, and sustainable energy. He led the Agency’s first major modernisation since 1974, expanding its mandate beyond oil to electricity, gas, renewables, and critical minerals, strengthening its technology leadership and engagement with emerging economies. These reforms expanded IEA share of global energy consumption from 40% to over 80%. Joining the IEA in the mid 1990s, he rose from analyst to Chief Economist, overseeing the World Energy Outlook, and has long championed energy access and clean cooking, particularly in Africa. He has been recognised in the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential figures on two separate occasions and received the French Legion of Honour and Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, among many other honours.
