TOP 10 Most-Read Thought Leaders in Energy

Discover also our 2026 Rankings of the Most Read Thought Leaders in Business Impact, Carbon, Circularity, Climate Change, Energy Transition, Environmental Sustainability, ESG, Ethical Governance, Green Tech, Nature, Renewables, Social Responsibility, Sustainable AI, Sustainable Business, Sustainable Finance, and Sustainable Lifestyle. Explore how this year's leaders compare to the most influential Energy voices of last year!

illuminem is proud to present the most-read Thought Leaders in Energy globally, as recognised by illuminem's ever growing community of 700,000+ readers.

The energy story of 2025 was one of demand outrunning every assumption. Driven by AI, global data centre electricity use jumped 17%, far outpacing the roughly 3% growth in overall demand, and the capital expenditure of just five technology companies surpassed the world's entire investment in oil and gas production. The race to meet that surge pulled in every direction at once: renewables met nearly half the new demand, but natural gas, coal, and a sudden wave of nuclear and geothermal offtake deals filled the rest. Energy security and decarbonisation, long treated as the same project, were increasingly in tension.

Beneath the headline numbers, a quieter question animated this list: how to plan for an energy future that the models keep getting wrong. From hydrogen's contested role to Africa's emergence as a decisive voice in the global dialogue, the voices on this list approached the transition not as a settled destination but as a problem of navigating radical uncertainty.

What distinguished Frank Wouters in that conversation was his willingness to interrogate the tools the industry relies on. As Chairman of the MENA Hydrogen Alliance and former Deputy Director-General of IRENA, he has spent three decades at the centre of the transition, and his most-read piece asked an uncomfortable question: why energy models keep failing us, and what that means for the trillions being invested on their basis.

Joining him on the list, Jeremy Bentham, who led Shell's renowned scenarios team, reflects on thriving amid uncertainty, Angela Wilkinson of the World Energy Council offers a form of time travel for transition leaders, and a trio of African energy voices – Thaddeus Anim-Somuah, Justice Ohene-Akoto, and Karikari Achireko Kwagyan – examine what Africa's energy dialogue signals about our collective future.

Drawn from over 2,500 thought leaders publishing on illuminem Voices, the ranking below reflects the voices that shaped how the energy conversation evolved in 2025. Please join us in congratulating the Thought Leaders of the Year in Energy, and every voice contributing to this vital global debate on illuminem.

1️⃣ Frank Wouters - Chairman of the MENA Hydrogen Alliance
Country: United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪
Most-Read Thought Piece: Cracking the code: why energy models keep failing us
Profile: Frank Wouters is Chairman of the MENA Hydrogen Alliance, Director of the MED-GEM Network and Fellow at Payne Institute for Public Policy. He formerly acted as Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency. After working on the energy transition for more than 30 years in various leadership roles, he is currently focusing on hydrogen projects.

2️⃣ Jeremy Bentham - Co-Chair (scenarios) of the World Energy Council
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: Purging ghosts and thriving
Profile: Jeremy Bentham is the Co-Chair (scenarios) of the World Energy Council and Senior Fellow with Mission Possible Partnership. He led the internationally-renowned Shell Scenarios team for over fifteen years, advising company leadership and senior external policy-makers on energy transitions and strategic direction. He has experience in framing, and making, investment and policy choices in the face of radical uncertainties.

3️⃣ Nicola de Blasio - Associate of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: Unlocking clean hydrogen mobility: a strategic guide
Profile: Nicola de Blasio is an Associate of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He serves as board member and adviser to various companies and startups and is also Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). Previously, he was a Senior Research Scholar in the faculty of SIPA at Columbia University, Program Director of Technology and Innovation at the Center on Global Energy Policy, and Vice President and Head of R&D International Development at leading energy company ENI. He also contributes his expertise to the development of illuminem's Data Hub™, helping shape its insights on sustainability, and he is a member of the illuminem Leaders Cohort.

4️⃣ Angela Wilkinson - Secretary General and CEO of the World Energy Council
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: Time travel for energy transition leaders
Profile: Dr Angela Wilkinson is the 6th Secretary General and CEO of the World Energy Council, a diverse community network of over 3,000 member organisations that has been instrumental in promoting better energy developments in over 100 countries for nearly 100 years. Dr Wilkinson has led the Council since 2019 as it defines, enables and accelerates successful energy transitions through its unique network, practical insights and leadership dialogues. She is a member of the illuminem Leaders Cohort.

5️⃣ Helmy Abouleish - CEO of SEKEM Group
Country: Egypt 🇪🇬
Most-Read Thought Piece: Unveiling Egypt's new energy treasures
Profile: Helmy Abouleish is the CEO of SEKEM Group, leading its integration of biodynamic agriculture and sustainable development in Egypt. He is also President of the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International and co-founder of the Egyptian Biodynamic Association. Helmy is also the Chairman of Heliopolis University and a Right Livelihood Award laureate.

6️⃣ Fernando C. Hernandez - Global Chairman at the Society for Low Carbon Technologies
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: What the Paris Agreement teaches us about governing AI's carbon footprint
Profile: Fernando C. Hernandez is the Global Chairman at the Society for Low Carbon Technologies and a Business Ambassador to Scotland, appointed for his energy contributions. Fernando is recognised for having actively shaped South America's first carbon capture and storage legal framework, and as a multi-award winning technologist with the U.K.'s Net Zero Technology Centre for advancing an array of clean technologies.

7️⃣ Lolade Aluko - Marine Fuels Trader at Peninsula
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: Chemical tankers: the future of hydrogen transport
Profile: Lolade Aluko is a Marine Fuels Trader at Peninsula, a global leader in marine energy solutions. She has previous experience in the financial services industry, with a focus on mining, metals and industrial decarbonisation. Lolade has a range of expertise in industries spanning renewable energy and global commodity supply chains.

8️⃣ ex aequo Thaddeus Anim-Somuah - Global Senior Manager Sustainability at Philips
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: What Africa's energy dialogue signals about our future
Profile: Thaddeus Anim-Somuah is Global Senior Manager Sustainability at Philips and Board Member Future Energy Leaders at World Energy Council. He also has held several board and advisory positions at engineering associations, universities and startups.

8️⃣ ex aequo Justice Ohene-Akoto - Executive Director of the Africa Sustainable Energy Centre
Country: Ghana 🇬🇭
Most-Read Thought Piece: What Africa's energy dialogue signals about our future
Profile: Justice Ohene-Akoto is Executive Director of the Africa Sustainable Energy Centre and a Board Member at the World Energy Council. A professional engineer and sustainability leader, he has consulted for the German Energy Agency, Oxford Business Group, and Ariel Foundation. His prior roles include work at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO).

8️⃣ ex aequo Karikari Achireko Kwagyan - Director of Corporate Strategy at Africa Sustainable Energy Centre
Country: Ghana 🇬🇭
Most-Read Thought Piece: What Africa's energy dialogue signals about our future
Profile: Karikari Kwagyan Achireko is Director of Corporate Strategy at Africa Sustainable Energy Centre and graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he specializes in energy, economics, and policy within the Technology and Policy Program. He also worked with the World Bank's Energy and Extractives Global Practice, supporting climate-aligned infrastructure investment planning and coal transition strategies in emerging markets. Previously, he served as an Energy Consultant at the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited, where he led strategic infrastructure projects and advised on regulatory and investment planning for national energy systems.

9️⃣ Tomoki Matsuno - Kenneth I. Juster Fellow at Harvard's Weatherhead Center
Country: Japan 🇯🇵
Most-Read Thought Piece: Japan's hydrogen gamble: what the world can learn from this high-stakes energy bet
Profile: Tomoki Matsuno is a Kenneth I. Juster Fellow at Harvard's Weatherhead Center and Head of Research for North America at ISEP. While his work focuses on hydrogen, LNG, and energy transition policies, Tomoki also founded the Japan Policy Network to advance evidence-based policy solutions.

🔟 Ivo Pezzuto - Professor of Economics and Management at ISM Paris
Country: Italy 🇮🇹
Most-Read Thought Piece: The green cloud revolution: how distributed storage is reshaping digital sustainability
Profile: Dr. Ivo Pezzuto is a professor of Economics and Management at ISM in Paris. He is also the founder of Ivo Pezzuto Forward-Thinking Lab and an author, keynote speaker, and member of advisory boards and think tanks. Dr. Pezzuto is a regular contributor and commentator for major international broadcasting networks and financial press.

Congratulations to our most-read thought leaders of the last year. In a time when the sustainability conversation was pulled in every direction at once, the voices on this list helped move it forward with clarity and intellect. We are proud to amplify their voices, and look forward to what comes next.

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