Name:
Paul van Son, CEO of the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII)
Special responsibilities:
Mr. van Son's career has prominently been marked by his activities in the framework of energy grid operation, the liberalisation of energy markets and the development of green energy in Europe and beyond. He is co-founder and Chairman of EFET, the European Federation of Energy Traders and has been Chairman of the APX Advisory Committee, Chairman of the Energy4All Foundation / NICE International, Chairman of the Environment Committee of EnergieNed, Member of the Supervisory Board of swb (Bremen), Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KOM-STROM AG and a member of several environmental and industry committees in Europe, including CIGRE, UCTE, FGE (Germany), IEE and IEEE.
Education:
Mr. van Son received his M.Sc. of electrical engineering (power system engineering) at the Delft University in the Netherlands and is a post graduate of Corporate Governance at the Nyenrode University.
Professional experience:
Mr. van Son has been active in the electricity and gas business for over 25 years at respectively Siemens AG (Germany), SEP (the Dutch power pool), KEMA Consulting/ECC (international energy consultants), Chief Executive Officer of Essent Energy Trading, Managing Director of Essent Sustainable Energy and Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Essent GmbH in Düsseldorf, being responsible for the German activities of Essent N.V.
During 2008/2009 Mr van Son was an active Member of the Board of Econcern, Nl (renewable energy and energy efficiency).
In 2009 Mr van Son was appointed CEO of the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) with a mission of developing substantial amounts of renewable energy from the deserts.
