Neil Hirst is the director of the Global Energy Dialogue Directorate of the International Energy Agency, based in Paris, France, where he previously served the Agency as director for energy technology and R&D. Prior to that Mr. Hirst was, for over 30 years, an energy administrator with the UK Government, holding a series of senior posts with responsibility for almost all aspects of UK energy policy. He was the head of the Energy Markets Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), where he also held responsibilities including energy technology and R&D, nuclear power, coal, and renewables. Mr. Hirst was chair of the G8 Nuclear Safety Working Group in 1997 and was energy counselor at the British Embassy in Washington D.C. from 1983 to 1985. He holds a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics from Lincoln College in Oxford, as well as an M.B.A. from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.