INTERNATIONAL COPPER ASSOCIATION - Key Persons

Adam Estelle

Job Titles:

President and CEO, Copper Development Association

Adam Estelle is the driving force behind the Copper Development Association (CDA) as its President and CEO. With a sharp focus on the needs of global copper producers and their downstream copper-alloy fabricator partners, he leads strategic initiatives to enhance the value of copper in society. His passion lies in unraveling complex challenges, a trait he's showcased through pioneering initiatives like establishing an ASTM standards subcommittee on copper scrap and recycling, and in demonstrating the safety and efficacy of lead-free brass rod alloys for drinking water products. Adam oversees a high-caliber team of subject matter experts that work up and down the value chain to drive lasting changes in the market while promoting, protecting, and defending the use of copper. Since joining CDA in 2008, Adam has leveraged his Bachelor of Science in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Arizona to fuel the organization's growth and innovation. Outside of work, Adam enjoys being a dad, playing guitar, playing chess, and cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles. Clinical trials prove that Antimicrobial Copper® kills 99.9% of deadly pathogens and when used in intensive care units, copper has reduced hospital infection rates by up to 58%. In 2014…

Alvin Chao

Job Titles:

Manager, Material Stewardship ( East & Southeast Asia )

Alvin Chao serves as a leading advocate at the International Copper Association (ICA) for sustainable development, environment, health and safety matters related to copper in Asia, presenting science-based advocacy materials to key stakeholders. Alvin works directly with governments on national legislation, where he employs his background in environmental science and law. He successfully assisted the Korean members with applying ICA's EU-REACH copper dossier to K-REACH requirements and provided technical support to the Korean Minister of the Environment on the issue of metal risk assessments (e.g., risk assessment approach on iUVCB). Alvin also contributed to the establishment of the Metal Environmental Risk Assessment Guidance in China. His favorite project is providing original research on the issue of copper availability in China as a part of ICA's global work on the circular economy More than anything, Alvin loves international collaboration with his colleagues and the ability to impact stakeholders around the globe. On his own time, Alvin embraces his creative side by practicing photography and enjoying science fiction.

Amy E. D'Agostino - Chief Legal Officer

Job Titles:

General Counsel

Amy E. D'Agostino didn't intend to shake up the legal profession-but she can't help it. Her big-law-partner's depth of training along with her experience in negotiating complex global legal disputes gives Amy's clients unprecedented confidence and clarity in the face of adversity.

Anna-Maria Karjalainen

Job Titles:

Director, Climate and Sustainability

Anna-Maria Karjalainen leads the International Copper Association (ICA)'s climate and sustainability work in Europe. In this role, she promotes copper markets in the clean energy transition and identifies opportunities and challenges for copper arising from EU policymaking and regulations. With more than 15 years of experience working with EU policymaking, Anna-Maria still finds the legislative process fascinating. Anna-Maria has led EU engagement campaigns for many sectors, from raw materials to financial services, giving her a well-rounded perspective on how the copper industry can work to make its voice heard in the EU process. With ECI, she is focusing on EU climate and energy policy, with specific attention on the "Fit for 55" legislative package and the proposals to revise the EU Emissions Trading System and set up a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. European Copper Institute position on the Commission proposal The current situation where EU electricity prices remain higher than in most other regions in the world is having a devastating impact…

Aurubis Plans

International Copper Association (ICA) member Aurubis is expanding its international operations and building a new recycling plant in the United States. This will be the first secondary smelter for multimetal…

Benjamin "Ben" Liu

Job Titles:

Asia Team Leader
Director of the Material Stewardship

Benjamin "Ben" Liu works as the International Copper Association's (ICA) director of the Material Stewardship (MS), Public Affairs (PA) and Industry Engagement (IE) Teams in Asia. In this role, he integrates these three functions, supporting the development of scientific research with the MS team and leveraging this information for advocacy work with PA. Through IE, he gathers feedback and supports the needs of the ICA members and the wider Chinese copper industry, which then informs the work of both MS and PA. By leading and coordinating these three efforts in Asia, Ben has successfully built a cohesive operation, uniting and streamlining the work of ICA in Asia to proactively respond to emerging challenges in the region. With a Master's degree in Management and Marketing from Jinan University, Ben has enjoyed applying his expertise to developing a sustainability platform for the Chinese copper industry. A lifelong learner, he is currently pursuing an Executive Master of Public Affairs from Syracuse University and enjoys reading and playing basketball outside of the office. "With ICA, I've trained installers on how to solder copper tubes, made more than 100 presentations to architects, co-patented a process for getting bismuth out of brass and advocated to policymakers. What an amazing journey with copper!"

Daniel Liang

Job Titles:

Chief
Representative
Project Manager, Motor and Motor System

Daniel Liang is the chief representative of the International Copper Association's (ICA) Beijing Office, managing its relationship with the Chinese government. He also serves as the project manager of the low-carbon drive system project with the Clean Energy Transition (CET) team, which is his favorite initiative to date. Bringing the training from his doctorate in copper and copper-alloy materials and 15 years of experience in the energy conservation sector, Daniel applies his expertise in product development, trend analysis and policy research to his projects with ICA. He enjoys working with a diverse group of stakeholders to analyze economic and technical trends in the field. An innovator by nature, Daniel has obtained 10 patents and published more than 20 professional articles. His past work on high-efficiency, copper-intensive motor products was awarded the Global Efficiency Medal by the Clean Energy Ministerial in 2015, and more recently, he received China's second prize for scientific and technological progress in energy conservation and emission reduction in 2019. "My parents worked at one of the largest copper mining enterprises in China. In some sense, I can say that copper raised me. I hope to be able to give back to the copper industry through my work."

Danny Wang

Job Titles:

Project Manager, Renewable Energy ( Asia )

Danny Wang promotes copper's solutions for renewable energy generation in the Chinese, Japanese and Korean markets. A champion of copper's role in the clean energy transition, Danny works to create an energy system that will support green development. As a trained engineer who also holds an MBA, Danny applies his specialized expertise to his targeted work in the wind power industry. Danny has co-authored more than five different national technical standards on wind power generation in China. He has also established and led two different working bodies: the Cooperative Organization of Direct-Drive Wind Turbine Manufacturers and the Distributed Wind Power Generation Working Group. He serves as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Wind Equipment Association and as a member of the Global Wind Energy Council and the Chinese National Standardization Technical Committee of Wind Machinery. When not working on renewable energy projects, Danny can be found jogging, reading books, watching movies and going for drives.

Diedert Debusscher

Job Titles:

Science & Regulatory Affairs

This Application Note supports SMEs in the implementation of such an "Energy Management System - light". It guides you through the basic steps of implementing energy management in your company…

Diego García Carvajal

Job Titles:

Executive Summary Sustainable and Smart Mobility
Manager ( EU )

Diego Garcia Carvajal manages projects and advocacy related to electric vehicles on the European Copper Institute's (ECI) Clean Energy Transition (CET) team. Focused on the big picture, he appreciates any project in which he can develop a holistic vision, connect it with policy outcomes and see it through to implementation. Interested in solutions mitigating climate change, Diego is passionate about his current work on accelerating the transition to battery electric vehicles in Europe. After three years of research and liaising with EU policymakers and other stakeholders, Diego is proud the EU Commission included several of CET's provisions in their Regulations on CO 2 standards for Cars and Alternative Fuels Infrastructure. Diego is also working on market initiatives, such as a pilot project implementing a megawatt charging system to fuel long-haul battery trucks on a European corridor and guidelines for truck fleet operators on depot charging infrastructure. Road transport accounts for 20 percent of EU CO2 emissions, and trucks are responsible for 28 percent of those emissions while representing only 2.8 percent of the EU road fleet.

Erin Smith

Job Titles:

Program Manager ( US )

Fernando Nuno

Job Titles:

Manager ( EU )

Fernando Nuño works on the advocacy and promotion of copper-based technologies for motors, transformers and power cables in the Clean Energy Transition (CET) program. He enjoys developing new projects related to industrial motors, electric vehicle drivetrains and electric batteries. One of Fernando's favorite professional accomplishments includes raising millions in public funding for innovative projects in these sectors. Every year, Fernando hosts a popular electric motors event, the International Motor Workshop, which continues to connect him to industry stakeholders and promote copper's solutions for energy-efficient technologies. He appreciates the opportunity to work in a diversified field where his work can make a direct difference to policy and copper's many applications in the green transition. When not working on motors, Fernando is often out trekking, riding his mountain bike, experimenting in the kitchen or reading.

Francisco de la Cerda

Job Titles:

Vice President, Strategic Communications and External Affairs

Francisco de la Cerda leads ICA's Strategic Communications program. A bilingual international executive with over 15 years of leadership experience in communications, human resources and external affairs for publicly traded multinational companies, Francisco's expertise spans various industries, including mining, commercial aviation, technology and banking. He has demonstrated experience in strategically supporting senior leaders to communicate and engage with relevant stakeholders, including public/government authorities, regulatory bodies and unions in public forums. Francisco also brings extensive experience as a leader of international, cross-border teams. In his most recent corporate role, he worked for Siemens Energy, a leading company in the energy transition. Francisco's team operated in seven countries supporting a total of thirteen country operations across the Latin America region. Francisco holds an LL.M., and an MBA.

Frank Gao

Job Titles:

Team Leader

Frank Gao oversees the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), appliance and electric vehicle (EV) project teams in Asia. He has been instrumental in supporting the International Copper Association's (ICA) presence in the HVAC industry in China and is proud of his team's work in the HVAC sector. Combining the training from his Bachelor's degree in Refrigeration Engineering and MBA from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Frank uses his expertise to meet the needs of the HVAC, EV and appliance sectors with answers from the copper industry. By promoting copper's sustainable solutions for energy-efficient and reliable technologies, Frank wants to support these industries in meeting the needs of their end-market customers in an environmentally conscious and responsible way. When he is not leading projects, Frank enjoys taking the time to read history and science fiction books, as well as play badminton and basketball.

Frosina Velkovska

fr..@copperalliance.org

Job Titles:

Management Assistant

Gabrielle Peterson

Job Titles:

Senior Manager, Global Communications and Public Affairs

Géraud Servin

Job Titles:

Vice President, Strategy and Operations

Hans De Keulenaer

Job Titles:

Knowledge Director for the Clean Energy Transition ( CET ) Team
Market Development

Hans De Keulenaer is knowledge director for the Clean Energy Transition (CET) team where he fosters knowledge sharing about the copper industry, its applications and innovative copper technologies. A lifelong scholar, Hans never has a boring day when he can bring topical trends, technical information, market data and original research together to tell the copper story. As knowledge director, Hans has been on the ground floor of many of the issues at the forefront of the copper industry today, such as founding the Leonardo ENERGY program and pioneering much of the organization's thematic work in energy policy, energy-efficiency, electrification and decarbonization. He hopes that the industry's commitment to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) related issues, especially community engagement, will continue to establish trust and propel copper's role in human development. ECI signs a joint letter of the ferrous and nonferrous metals sectors, establishing a level playing field and equivalent conditions for EXTRA-EU exported waste in the context of the Waste…

James Li

Job Titles:

Director of China

James Li manages the International Copper Association's (ICA) power cable, transformer and renewable energy programs in Asia and serves as the Asia Team Leader of the Green and Healthy Buildings (GHB) strategic program. James' work on power cables, one of his favorite projects, has helped copper maintain its position in the Chinese market through work with regulators and partners throughout the supply chain. James is grateful to be able to work with such a friendly and accomplished team of experts to promote reliable copper solutions that enable decarbonization. A favorite aspect of his job, James especially enjoys presenting these solutions to government officials, standards regulators, associations and institutes, and members of the copper supply chain. By promoting copper products and technologies, James believes his work at ICA can create a win-win situation for the copper industry and end-use markets by facilitating the development of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) practices.

Joe Zhou

Job Titles:

Director of Market Intelligence

Joe Zhou serves as the Director of Market Intelligence at the International Copper Association. With a decade of experience in the copper industry, Joe has established himself as a leading expert in end-use markets. As a strategic thinker passionate about data analysis, Joe leads the development and execution of market intelligence efforts, ensuring ICA at the forefront of copper market insights. His expertise is instrumental in shaping the ICA's narrative on copper demand, promoting its continued use across various industries, and strengthening the organization's position as a critical partner for member success. With a Master's Degree in Finance, Joe is a valuable asset to the ICA's mission of promoting copper's use globally.