Ashok Bhargava is currently a senior consultant and advisor in clean energy- climate change-environment space with more than 38 years’ direct experience in energy sector work in 20 countries. Prior to this, he was Director for Energy and Chair of the Energy Sector Group in Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila where he worked from 2003 – 2020. For the past 9 years, he managed the Bank’s energy operations in the East Asia, and Central West Asia regions and provided leadership to the Bank’s overall energy operations in the entire Asia and the Pacific region.

He was a long-time expert in the Bank’s energy operations in China. In 2008, he received Dunhuang Award by Gansu Province – the highest award given to foreign nationals, for his early efforts in promoting renewable energy development in the province. In 2015. he led the development of a complex ADB program to address poor air quality issues in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China. In 2019, the first project under the program was selected as examples for Best Practice nature-based solution at the UN Climate Action Summit. In 2019, he led the formulation of ADB’s new regional energy strategy for Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, and managed organization of the first regional energy ministers’ dialogue for enhancing cooperation and energy trade.

Before ADB, he was senior consultant and team leaders for various energy infrastructure projects through a consulting firm and worked for a multinational company in Australia, and prior to that he worked as manager and senior technical expert in national hydropower generating company in India.

Ashok has received his Master in Business Administration from Deakin University, Australia, and Bachelor of Engineering from University of Indore, India. He has also attended leadership and management courses from Cambridge University; Harvard Business school; and Ross School of Management, Michigan.