ees South America Conference Opening

Dr. Florian Wessendorf is Managing Director of Solar Promotion GmbH and Solar Promotion International GmbH. He is responsible for the global conference program and exhibitions in North America, South America and India. He has deep expertise in the solar industry, and formerly served as Managing Director of Photovoltaic Equipment at VDMA, where he was responsible for strategic development, market research and technology scouting, advocacy and policy advice, events, PR and marketing.

Ana Carla Petti has more than 20 years of experience in Regulatory, Strategic Operations Management, Risk Management and Middle-Office, working in executive positions in the energy sector at companies such as Braskem and Odebrecht Energia. She has been an executive at the Comerc Energia Group for more than seven years and currently serves as the group's director of regulatory and institutional affairs. She is a chemical engineer and lawyer, with a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, with a postgraduate degree in Financial Products and Risk Management and an MBA in Executive Management.

Markus Vlasits started as a consultant at McKinsey & Company in Germany and has been active in the solar PV industry for 17 years in several executive positions. In 2007-2009, he was Production Manager of crystallization and wafering at Q.Cells SE, Thalheim, Germany, where he reached a vice-presidential role in Sales Operations. Moving to Brazil in 2013, he started as CEO of Yingli Green Energy do Brasil. He teamed up with fellow executives to open Faro Energy, an investment company focusing on PV generation projects for commercial concerns, and was its Sales Director until 2018. In 2019, he was an independent consultant and helped start ABSOLAR's Energy Storage Workgroup. In 2020, founded NewCharge, an engineering company focused on energy storage projects for commercial clients in Brazil. He is also active as acts as a technical consultant and advisor for projects related to energy storage. In August 2023, he was elected president of board of directors of the Brazilian Association for Energy Storage Solutions (ABSAE). Markus also organizes energy storage events and conferences, and recently co-organized an energy storage conference panel for Intersolar South America 2021 in partnership with Solar Promotion.

An electrical engineer with a master's degree in production engineering, he has worked for major companies in the electricity sector, in the areas of electricity generation, transmission and distribution, accumulating 45 years of professional experience. He held the positions of Transmission Superintendent and Engineering Director at Companhia Hidrelétrica do São Francisco - CHESF. He was also Director of Systems Management at Companhia Energética de Pernambuco - CELPE, Assistant to the President of Eletrobras, Director of the Electricity Regulatory Agency - ANEEL, President of the Energy Research Company - EPE and Secretary of Energy Planning and Development at the Ministry of Mines and Energy - MME. He was Professor of Energy Transmission at the University of Pernambuco. He is currently Director of Acropolis Energia.

With 29 years of experience in the electricity sector, she joined the National Electricity System Operator when it was founded, where she built a solid career in technical and management positions. At the end of 2017, she took over the Executive Management of Electricity Planning at the ONS, where she is responsible for the entire planning chain for the operation of the National Interconnected System (SIN). In 2024, she took over as Executive Advisor to the ONS Planning Board, supporting the Director in the management of the country's Engineering, Electrical and Energy Planning areas. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she graduated in Electrical Engineering from the State University of Rio de Janeiro. She has specialization and post-graduate degrees in Power Systems from the Federal University of Itajubá, in Economic Engineering and Industrial Administration from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a MBA in Management Development from IAG Executive Education at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Director of the National Electric Energy Agency - ANEEL, Master's Degree in Law from the Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research - IDP and Bachelor of Laws from the Faculty of Legal Sciences Vianna Júnior in 1999. Director of the Brazilian Association of Regulatory Agencies - ABAR, he worked at Eletrobras Distribuição Rondônia/Energisa as a Lawyer in the Legal Department and later as Manager of the Electricity Market and Contracting Department. He held the position of Director of Regulation and Commercialization at Centrais Elétricas do Norte do Brasil S.A. - Eletronorte.

Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia is co-founder and CEO of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Energy Association), the national association representing Brazilian solar PV companies and professionals. He is co-founder and a governing board member of the GSC (Global Solar Council), a non-profit body representing regional and national solar associations on international issues. Rodrigo holds a PhD in Materials Engineering and Technology from PUC-RS (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul), a Master's degree in Renewable Energies from Loughborough University (UK), a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from USP (São Paulo University), and has collaborated with the Fraunhofer Institut für Solare Energiesysteme (Germany) and with ETH Zürich (Switzerland).