Marco Montefiori is an international thought leader at the intersection of energy, finance, technology, and policy. He is the co-Founder, Chair, and Chief Growth Officer of the Energy Plexus Institute (EPI), the new global platform that enables energy system-centric collaboration by convening the broader energy ecosystem—including critical
industries, investors, policymakers, and technology leaders, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. He is also the Founder of the Energy Leadership Forum in Davos, convening senior executives, policymakers, and investors to pragmatically address structural challenges in global energy systems. He is the Founder and President of the INSEAD Energy Club Switzerland and serves on the Board of the INSEAD Global Energy Network, strengthening dialogue between academia, industry, and capital markets and broadening the perimeter of the energy debate. In 2024, he published Energy Citizenship: The Energy-Power Equation Explained, presenting a framework to understand the evolving relationship between energy systems, economic power, and civic responsibility. He chairs the Geneva Energy Forum and is also a lecturer at the Haute École de Gestion in Geneva, where he teaches energy and commodity trading. Marco also served as a Global Ambassador for the EEI International Program and contributed to international cooperation in the power sector.
Over more than twenty years, Marco has built a global career in energy trading at the crossroads of physical commodity markets, investment banking, and trade finance. He has held senior executive and trading roles within leading Government Energy Companies and major private sector players, structuring and executing multibillion-dollar transactions across B2B, B2G, and government-to-government frameworks. Reporting directly to chief executives, he negotiated and executed complex agreements with ministers and national energy companies across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. His experience spans across proprietary trading, commercial strategy, risk management, and supply chain optimization. He has represented shareholders in governance roles within major European refining and petrochemical joint ventures and contributed to landmark refinery acquisitions in India, strengthening long-term industrial and commercial performance while navigating regulatory and geopolitical complexity.
In parallel, Marco has developed an extensive investment track record across the energy value chain. He is Partner in several venture capital funds and an active direct investor across multiple asset classes. He has invested, fundraised, and advised across infrastructure and advanced technologies, supporting companies in photovoltaic and solar thermal power, nuclear innovation, hydrogen production and supply chains, e-mobility, energy storage, critical minerals extraction. His involvement covers the full investment lifecycle, from origination and due diligence to capital raising, strategic advisory, scale up, portfolio monitoring, and exit. Combining deep market intelligence with forward-looking capital allocation, he supports scalable solutions that enhance energy security, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability.
Marco holds an MBA from INSEAD and completed the INBoard Program for board members. He also attended the Venture Finance Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He graduated with Honors in Business Economics from the University of Genoa, with a thesis in Economic History focused on public mobility and infrastructure development. His academic background integrates finance, governance, and economic systems analysis, reinforcing a structured, multidisciplinary approach to energy markets, investment strategy, and institutional leadership.
