George is an Electrical Engineer with a PhD in Space Engineering from the University of Sussex, UK. He has more than 20 years of professional experience of which the last 13 in energy sector consulting. Before VIS, he held the positions of Senior Manager in the Energy & Infrastructure Division of Kantor Management Consultants, Managing Director of a hi-tech start-up company, and Researcher & Part-time lecturer at the University of Sussex.
George has managed and implemented more than 40 consulting projects, most of which international, for private and public utilities, regulators, the EC and the World Bank. His projects cover the oil & gas as well as the electricity sectors and to a lesser extent transport. His core expertise encompasses project management, programme & project evaluations, energy modelling, pricing & regulation, market & project appraisals.
The majority of projects George has implemented were in the EU, Western Balkans, FSU, MENA and sub-Saharan Africa. The energy projects he has managed or served as an expert, range from large Technical Assistance (national & regional) supporting governments setting out their national energy strategy, to infrastructure project evaluations and cost-benefit analyses, stakeholder engagement and training services to a number of institutional and private clients in the EC, Ukraine and Egypt.
George has also directed and executed a large number of more technical studies and projects, ranging from investment appraisals (electricity networks, oil & gas infrastructure) on behalf of the Commission and IFC, to specialized tolling agreements, to the execution of detailed cost benefit analysis for large energy related infrastructure projects, to specialized support for investors to gain access to grant financing (including justification for DG COMP ensuring compatibility with state aid rules), to programme evaluations (ex-post) and impact assessments (energy infrastructure investments, trade agreements), to pricing & regulation (tariff structuring, regulator operational benchmarking), to the design of utility & regulator “best” governance structures, to business advice relating to customer base segmentation and definition of PSOs.
George has also provided supported private investors during negotiations with institutional stakeholders and Governments for large investments in the electricity sector.