Philippe Benoit

Philippe Benoit is adjunct senior research scholar with Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. He has held various strategic and management positions in the private and public sectors, including most recently as head of the Energy Environment and Energy Efficiency Divisions at the International Energy Agency (IEA). He previously worked at the World Bank, including as energy sector manager for Latin America and as adviser to the managing director in the Office of the World Bank President, responsible for outreach to the private sector. He also worked at Société Générale Investment Bank as a director in the Energy Project Finance Department and as a New York corporate lawyer on infrastructure and mezzanine financings. Mr. Benoit’s experience spans a wide spectrum of regions, including the United States/North America, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Asia and Europe, emerging economies in Asia and Latin America, and developing countries in Africa. He has been responsible for structuring and financing energy and other infrastructure projects totaling over $15 billion. Mr. Benoit has also managed over 50 publications in the areas of clean energy, climate change, and development while at the IEA and the World Bank. He is a recognized expert on the policy, financing, and implementation challenges of the transition to a low-carbon future and is frequently called on to speak on these issues to governments, businesses, academic institutions, and think tanks (including in China, India, and other emerging countries) and at the Conference of the Parties (COP) climate conferences. Mr. Benoit holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in economics and political science from Yale University.