IRENA HQ

Senior Management

  • Francesco La Camera

    Francesco La Camera

    Director-General

    Francesco La Camera is the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He was appointed at the Ninth Assembly of IRENA, the ultimate decision-making body of the Agency. Mr. La Camera took office on 4 April 2019 and brings more than thirty years of experience in the fields of climate, sustainability, and international cooperation.

    Biography
  • Gauri Singh

    Deputy Director-General

    Gauri Singh is the Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency. Ms. Singh brings more than 30 years of experience in policy, advocacy and project implementation within the field of renewable energy and sustainable development from India and the international system

    Prior to joining IRENA, Ms. Singh worked within India’s federal government and at the apex level within provincial government. Federally, she was responsible for leading the development of the National Solar Mission of India policy in 2010, an early policy framework designed to drive solar power development across the country. At the Madhya Pradesh provincial Government, Ms. Singh steered rural development providing strategic planning and implementation guidance across the state for large initiatives. Her work involved poverty reduction and sustainable development within rural communities. She was also responsible for spearheading initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods for nearly two million poor women across the state. In Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Singh led livelihood projects based on decentralised renewable energy solutions to support rural artisans and ran an ambitious intervention to restore the flow of 40 rivers across the state, based on the use of remote sensing maps. She also played a key role in drafting the framework for the state Right to Water Act. Prior to that, Ms. Singh was Director, Country support and Partnerships at IRENA where she was responsible for regional and country level initiatives and for spearheading partnerships with regional energy and economic organisations.

  • Raul Alfaro Pelico

    DIRECTOR, KNOWLEDGE, POLICY AND FINANCE CENTRE

    As Director of the IRENA’s Knowledge, Policy, and Finance Centre (KPFC), Raul Alfaro Pelico oversees the Agency’s central knowledge repository for renewable energy policy and finance issues. The KPFC collects data, develops knowledge platforms, and conducts analyses to help create enabling conditions for renewable energy investment.

    Raul joined IRENA in 2024 after twenty-five years of leadership mobilizing over US$1 billion of sustainable finance, and derisking US$2 billion of low emission; blue, green and circular growth; climate-resilient and socially inclusive infrastructure. His work spans multilateral development banks (World Bank, International Finance Corporation and Inter-American Development Bank); international organizations (United Nations Development Programme, Sustainable Energy for All); multinational companies (ACCIONA, Noble Energy, Exxon Mobil, Glencore); civil society, research and academia (Lancaster, Arcadia and Drexel Universities; The Economist’s Intelligence Unit, Rocky Mountain Institute). He is a PhD Engineering researcher at Lancaster University (UK); has a Master of Science (MSc) in Economics from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK); and, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with Honors in Business Administration, from London Metropolitan University (UK) and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain).

  • Ahmed Badr

    Ahmed Badr

    Director, Project Facilitation & Support

    Ahmed Badr is the Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Project Facilitation and Support division (PFS). The division offers member countries dedicated project implementation support. Mr. Badr joined the Agency in April 2020 and brings more than 30 years of international experience in the field of banking and finance.

    In his role, Mr. Badr is tasked with leading the development of the division by building strong lines of cooperation with development banks and international financial institutions. He also spearheads the Agency’s implementation of the Climate Investment Platform, a multi-stakeholder platform established in partnership with SE4All, the UNDP and in coordination with Green Climate Fund, and manages IRENA’s ongoing relationship with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. Prior to joining IRENA, Mr. Badr held several senior operational positions in the field of climate change, renewable energy, energy efficiency, water and infrastructure projects in a number of multinational financial institutions, including the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Commission (EuropeAid), and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Mr. Badr is certified a project infrastructure project manager, with a B.Sc in Civil Engineering and Master’s Degree in Infrastructure Economics from the Université de Nantes, France.

  • Jelena Barnes

    Director, Administration and Management Services

    Ms. Jelena Barnes is the Director of Administration and Management Services at IRENA. In this role, she leads the agency's financial, budgetary, human resources teams, information and communications technology, procurement, travel and facilities management operations.

    With over 20 years of experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Ms. Barnes brings a wealth of expertise in resource management, ethics and compliance, programme planning and administration, and policy development and implementation. Her background includes liaison with governing bodies and donors within international organizations, including the United Nations. Ms. Barnes holds a Master of Business Administration from Edinburgh, United Kingdom and a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Management from Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

  • Gurbuz

    Gurbuz Gonul

    Director, Country Engagement and Partnerships

    As Director of the IRENA’s Country Engagement and Partnerships (CEP), Gurbuz Gonul oversees the Agency’s work on supporting member countries in the development and implementation of national and regional renewable energy strategies and programmes through IRENA’s regional initiatives, tailored country support as well as partnership initiatives.

    Mr. Gonul joined IRENA in 2014 as Head of Regions Unit. Formerly, he worked as Senior Energy Economist of the Islamic Development Bank between 2010 and 2014, where he led the work for the development of an Energy Sector Policy for the Bank as well as the processing of complex loan and technical assistance projects in Africa and Asia. Between 2004 and 2010, Mr. Gonul served as Senior Expert at the Energy Charter Secretariat in Brussels, where he spearheaded policy analysis, sectoral in-depth reviews, regional / country reviews concerning energy investments, trade and transportation. He also held positions in the EU Commission’s Delegation in Ankara and Turkey’s Ministry of Energy since 1993. Mr. Gonul holds Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in Oil and Gas Engineering from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

  • Roland

    Roland Roesch

    Director, Innovation and Technology Centre

    As Director of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC), Roland Roesch oversees the Agency’s work on advising member countries in the area of technology status and roadmaps, energy planning, cost and markets and innovation policy frameworks. Before becoming Director, he served as IITC Deputy Director from 2018.

    Roland joined IRENA in 2012 and has worked in multiple work programs since. For two years prior to joining IRENA, Roland had been Professor for Energy Economics at the University of Applied Science in Damstadt. Previously, he worked for 15 years in the oil and gas and utilities industries for Shell and E.ON, latterly as General Manager Power with Shell and as Head of Division, Project Leader, Project Executive and Technical Project Developer with E.ON. Prior to that, he worked as an Energy Market Consultant for Lahmeyer International and as a researcher in renewable energy. Roland has solid business experience in energy markets, energy economics and strategies, renewable integration management, energy project development and project financing.

  • Laura Secada Daly

    Laura Secada Daly

    Chief of Staff

    Laura Secada Daly is the Chief of Staff of the International Renewable Energy Agency. In her role she is responsible for the overall management of the Executive Office, ensuring the Governance Support Office, Legal Affairs, Protocol and Liaison, Events Management, and Publications, deliver the support needed to enable the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General to lead effectively.

    Before joining IRENA, Ms. Secada was Director-General of Climate Change and Desertification under the Ministry of Environment in Peru, where she led the design and implementation of the country´s public policies on climate change. Under her lead the high-level permanent Commission on Climate Change of Peru was established, and as Technical Secretary she guided the process to update the country´s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Prior to that, as the Director for Green House Gas Mitigation, Ms Secada was responsible for developing and coordinating low-carbon public policies and sustainable development in Peru. She is also engaged in UNFCCC Climate Change International Negotiations and led Peru’s COP24 and COP25 delegations in Katowice and Madrid, respectively. Ms. Secada has fostered international cooperation to implement climate change projects with UNDP, SECO Swiss Cooperation, FAO, UNEP- DTU, NDC Partnership, Global Environmental Facility (GEF), International Development Bank, and World Bank, and served as country focal point for Germany´s International Climate Initiative (IKI) and Euroclima+ programme financed by the EU. Ms. Secada holds a Bachelor’s in Science and Philosophy from Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru, a Master’s in Conservation Science from Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru, and has studied Environmental Change and Management at School of Geography and the Environment at Oxford University.

  • Ute Collier

    Deputy Director, Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre (KPFC)

  • Binu Parthan

    Deputy Director, Country Engagement and Partnerships (CEP)

  • Erick Ruiz Araya

    Deputy Director, Project Facilitation and Support (PFS)

  • Norela Constantinescu

    Deputy Director, Innovation and Technology Centre (IITC)