The New York Times and Richard Attias and Associates Collaborate to Launch "Energy for Tomorrow"

NEW YORK, April 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Leaders in Energy and Economics Will Meet April 11 to Discuss Fueling the World's Energy Needs

U.S. Secretary of Energy, energy economist Daniel Yergin and former Petrobras CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo are among the speakers at tomorrow's (Wednesday's) The New York Times Energy for Tomorrow conference. The conference has been created in collaboration with Richard Attias and Associates.

More than 400 corporate and political leaders, as well as NGOs, academics and energy experts will debate the most pressing issues and opportunities facing the energy sector today. GE is the founding sponsor of The New York Times Energy for Tomorrow, with BMW and Louisiana Economic Development as supporting sponsors.

Gerald Marzorati, editor for The New York Times who is responsible for creating The Times's conferences, said: "With rising prices, energy is at the top of the agenda - both economically and politically - around the world. The supply picture is changing in the United States, with new sources of oil and natural gas.

"There is also the debate over the environmental impact of energy extraction and production, and the role of efficiency in making sure there will be enough energy to meet growing global needs."

Richard Attias, chairman of Richard Attias and Associates, said: "A reimagining and rebuilding of the global energy sector could provide the necessary stimulus to propel global economic growth. The conference will spotlight the choices we face on energy supply, the impact of globalization on demand, and the geopolitical risks, as well as the question of from where investment in new energy will come."

The conference will host a wide-ranging scope of debates, panel discussions, keynote addresses, case studies and insight-gathering sessions.

Key sessions will include:

• Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and celebrated energy economist, will explore what the energy landscape might look like in 2030 during the opening keynote.
• Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics (1997), will join New York Times Op-Ed columnist Thomas Friedman in The Columnist Conversation.
• José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, chief planning officer of the state government of Bahia, Brazil, and former C.E.O of Petrobras, will deliver the afternoon's keynote address.

Other renowned speakers at the conference will include:

Lester R. Brown, founder and president of Earth Policy Institute; Carol Browner, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and former 'energy czar' to the Obama administration; Lee Edwards, president and chief executive of Virent, Inc.; Marvin Fertel, president and chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Institute; Jochen Flasbarth, president of the German Federal Environment Agency; Robert A. Hefner III, founder and owner of the GHK Company; Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Energy Forum at the Baker Institute; John Krenicki Jr., vice chairman of GE, and president and chief executive of GE Energy; Michael Levi, Senior Fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and director of the CFR program on energy security and climate change; Dave McCurdy, president and chief executive of the American Gas Association; Steve Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital Management; Jim Prendergast, executive director of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); Phil Radford, executive director of Greenpeace; Jim Rogers, chairman, president and chief executive of Duke Energy; and Manuel Camacho Solis, Mexico's former secretary of Urban Development and the Environment, and former mayor of Mexico City.

New York Times moderators will include:

Richard L. Berke, assistant managing editor; Helene Cooper, White House correspondent; Thomas Friedman, Op-Ed columnist; Clifford Krauss, energy correspondent; Joe Nocera, Op-Ed columnist; Ashley Parker, Metro reporter; and Jeff Zeleny, national political correspondent.

Energy for Tomorrow is one of a series of topical conferences produced by Richard Attias and Associates, designed to focus on areas of the global economy that are key to economic growth and social development. It follows: Doha GOALS, held in Qatar in January to look at sport's role in society; Global Competitiveness Forum in Riyadh; and Global Food Security Forum in Rabat last month.

The company will host a special edition of the New York Forum, focusing on immigration and US-China business opportunities, in New York on May 22, followed by the New York Forum Africa (June 8-10) in Libreville, Gabon, under the High Patronage of H.E. President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

There are two more conferences in collaboration with The New York Times, to be held later this year: the second Schools for Tomorrow, on September 13, and then the first-ever DealBook conference, Opportunities for Tomorrow, on December 12.

Admission is by invitation only; the conference will be streamed live on http://www.NYTenergyfortomorrow.com.

About Richard Attias & Associates:

Richard Attias & Associates is a strategic communications firm that provides private consultancy, idea initiatives and live experiences. Our mission is to help leaders, corporations and nations build their global influence, catalyze innovation and lead the global exchange of ideas.

http://www.richardattiasassociates.com

For more information please contact:

Richard Attias & Associates
Josh Harris
555 Madison Avenue, 17th Floor
NY 10022, New York
Josh.harris@richardattiasassociates.com
+1-212-794-8802, +1-917-822-1631