2024 TESTIMONIALS:
Some of 2025 attendees:
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Davide Zarcone is currently serving as the Technical Sales Manager for the Coke Making industry at Paul Wurth Italia S.p.A., part of the SMS group. He has 16 years of experience in providing state-of-the-art solutions for the Coke Making industry. Davide gained his expertise in the design, engineering, commissioning, and production of coke ovens and coke oven machines through his roles as a Senior Mechanical Engineer and Technical Manager. He holds both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Genoa, Italy.
Toshio Suzuki graduated from the National University of Samoa in the Independent State of Samoa with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2009 and served as the National head coach and Technical director of the Judo Association of Samoa (JAS) until 2013. He then served as a Consul at the Japanese Embassy in Samoa for five years, and then moved to Japan in 2018 and served at Honda Motor Co., Ltd. for five years, where he devoted himself to facilitating communication between engineers at bases in Japan and engineers at bases around the world. In 2023, he supported the construction of the coke oven battery in Japan by acting as an intermediary between a Japanese customer and German Supervisors from thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH. He has been appointed by thyssenkrupp Uhde Japan in April 2025 as their Coke Plant Sales representative for Japanese and South Asian market. He holds a 3rd Dan black belt in judo.
Ng Jing Zhi joined Argus Media in 2022 and is currently a deputy editor for the Asia ferrous scrap and coal markets. Jing Zhi has over ten years of experience in market analytics and price reporting, specializing in the ferrous sector and oil markets. Found in 1970, Argus Media is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets.
Min Li is a senior research analyst with over eighteen years of experience in the international coal mining industry. She joined Wood Mackenzie in 2016 and is currently based in Singapore with responsibility for Asia Pacific metallurgical coal and global coke market research.
Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, Min worked with Peabody in business development and investment analysis for ten years.
Min also has over several years of experience in sales and marketing in FedEx.
Min Li is a CFA Level III candidate with an MBA from the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Mr. Mohit Sharma, a Chemical Engineer by training, is an operations professional with almost two decades of experience in process intensive industries with a strong background in process safety management. He has wide operational experience in the steel industry working with Essar Steel & JSW Steel. Currently working in JSW Steel’s BPSL unit in Jharsuguda, India, he leads operations in Coke Oven & Gas Handling units with a focus on safe, efficient coke production and clean gas distribution. Earlier in his career, he has also worked for six years in the leading petrochemical refinery of Reliance Industries in Syngas cleaning, CO₂ capture, and blue hydrogen production units. His core focus has been on enhancing operational excellence, energy optimization, and safe process execution across both the steel and refinery domains. He is passionate about bridging cross-industry knowledge to drive safer and more efficient plant operations.
Dr. Arvind is an experienced ESG, CSR & Risk Management professional with more than 3 decades of experience in Fertilizers, Petrochemicals, Steel, Cement, Shipping, Glass, FMCG, Pharma and Automobile sectors in National and Multinational environments.
Arvind currently works as a Chief Sustainability Officer with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel. Before joining AMNS, Arvind was working as an Executive Director-ESG and Chief Risk Officer with Dalmia Bharat Group..
Besides Risk & Sustainability Arvind has also worked in the area of Operations, Business excellence, Marketing and HR.
Arvind holds a Doctorate in Climate Science and Marketing. He is also a certified Independent Director from the Institute of Directors.
Min Li is a senior research analyst with over eighteen years of experience in the international coal mining industry. She joined Wood Mackenzie in 2016 and is currently based in Singapore with responsibility for Asia Pacific metallurgical coal and global coke market research.
Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, Min worked with Peabody in business development and investment analysis for ten years.
Min also has over several years of experience in sales and marketing in FedEx.
Min Li is a CFA Level III candidate with an MBA from the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Dr. Bristow has been actively involved in the steel and steelmaking raw materials industries for over 22 years. During this time, he has led numerous investigations in coal and iron ore technical and market research, minerals strategy development, and market planning for BHP’s coal business, and was Chief Analyst for BHP Billiton’s Carbon Steel Materials Group, leading the Market Intelligence Group in Singapore.
His key expertise in steel, metallurgical coal, iron ore, and manganese ore and ferroalloys, coupled with strategic vision and long term analysis on future directions in emerging markets, saw him as an early proponent of the rebirth of the global steel industry, the rise of China and of coal’s growth story, together with a strong belief in China’s emergence as a major seaborne metallurgical coal importer. He has been a strong advocate for India’s growing coal demand.
In April 2009, he formed H&W Worldwide Consulting, putting his strong market analysis and strategy skills to good use across bulk commodities, including iron ore and coal –for both coking and thermal.
As an internationally recognized expert in areas of steel and steelmaking raw materials, long term trends and scenarios, he has written and presented numerous publications at highly respected international conferences and meetings.
Dr Arash Tahmasebi is the Co-Director of the Centre for Ironmaking Materials Research (CIMR). The focus of his research is on cokemaking, bio-coke production, sustainable and low-carbon ironmaking technologies, biomass utilisation, hydrogen production, and thermochemical conversion of solid fuels. Arash leads an energetic team of postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and research professionals. He is actively engaged with the Australian and international resources, steel, and power sectors, developing solutions to industry challenges in addressing greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr. Yukihiro Kubota has over 20 years of cokemaking research and operation experience in Nippon Steel Corporation. He obtained his PhD from Tohoku University in 2012. He made significant contributions to the construction and initial operation of the SCOPE21-type coke oven at Nippon Steel Oita Works, which began operation in 2008. He served as the manager of the cokemaking plant at Yawata Works until 2014. His current role in NSC is the General Manager, Head of Coal & Coke Research Department, Ironmaking research Laboratory. He specializes in coal blending theory, coal preparation techniques, coke quality estimation, strength, size, and reactivity. His Keynote address at ICSCI 2025 focuses on Development of Technology for Improvement of Coke Strength for Low Carbonization in Blast Furnaces and/or Cost Reduction of Coke Production.
Graduation from university: 1992 (business administration)
1992: start of professional career with coke plant technology company Thyssen Still Otto (which in 1999 became Thyssen Krupp EnCoke and in 2004 was integrated in the company thyssenkrupp Uhde)
1992 – 2017: development of projects for new coke plants as well as coke plant revamps with an emphasis on Latin America, but also in Europe, North America as well Asia
2017: new position “Head of Sales”
Further engagement: board member of German coke plant experts association (VDKF)
Dr. Ahmed Shah Firoz served as Chief Economist at the Economic Research Unit of the Ministry of Steel till recently, studied Economics in India’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, to acquire is his Masters (MA) ,M.Phil. and Doctorate (Ph.D.) degrees. He worked on the problems of disequilibrium states of the market specifically involving consumer behavior in shortage economies of the erstwhile USSR, Hungary and Poland. He also worked on the concepts of soft budget constraints in investment decisions in both centrally planned and market economies.
Firoz is currently a member of the Expert Group in the government project Mining 2035 undertaken under the auspices of Niti Aayog, the government’s most important think tank and policy driver. He is a Member of the Governing Body of Thought Arbitrage Research Institute ( TARI), a professional research body. He is also member of the Advisory and Governing Body of Steel User Federation of India ( SUFI). He continues to advise the government on various policy and strategic matters related to the iron and steel and coal and other related sectors. He is also seen as the architect of India’s new steel policy.
