Alumnus named in Middle East Policy Council ‘40 under 40’ Awards

Dr Abhishek Deshpande,  one of our Chemical Engineering alumni, recently received one of the Middle East Policy Council’s ’40 under 40’ awards for facilitating relationships between the United States and countries of the Middle East.

Dr Deshpande, a chartered energy engineer, is currently the Vice President of the ADNOC Group, one of the least carbon-intensive producers in the world based in Abu Dhabi. He gained his PhD with us back in 2009 under the supervision of Professor Nigel Slater.  He then moved on to J.P. Morgan HQ in NYC as an Executive Director in 2017 to lead the bank’s research and team covering Global Oil Market and Commodities Research and Strategy, before moving on to market intelligence giant OMV as Head of Market Intelligence/Global Commodities Research

The MEPC is a Washington DC-based leading ‘think-tank’ that was founded in 1981 with a mission to contribute to American understanding of the political, economic, and cultural issues that affect U.S. interests in the Middle East.   As a premier source for critical analysis and conversations on US-Middle East relations, the MEPC is committed to developing and amplifying new voices in the foreign policy community. The ‘40 Under 40 Awards’ recognise the breadth of cultural, economic, and political relationships between the United States and countries of the Middle East with awardees from a variety of professional backgrounds including academia, business, culture, and diplomacy.

Dr Deshpande, who previously also received the Oil & Gas Investor ‘40 under 40’ Award issued by Hart Energy in 2021, currently heads the market intelligence team with a mandate to cover Downstream, Marketing & Trading (DM&T) at ADNOC HQ, commented:  “Energy markets have been at the centre of the global energy transition policy storm for a while now. But it’s only recently that the quest to solve the energy trilemma i.e. security, sustainability and affordability, has picked up pace as countries globally rush towards meeting their net zero commitments. In times like these, to be recognised for our hard work by a leading think-tank like MEPC is quite a humbling experience especially given there are many deserving energy economists out there. So, a huge thanks to MEPC for bestowing this honour upon me.

A large part of my success and recognition today, as an authority in energy markets and policy, can be attributed to my education and strong network that I developed at Cambridge University. I studied Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (CEB) from 2005 to 2009. I still fondly remember my interactions with some of the world's leading Chemical Engineers that were associated with the department at that time. Whilst there are way too many to name here, two in particular who motivated me the most, from what they had achieved to what they had contributed to the profession, were Professor John Davidson (CEB, Cambridge) and Professor Man Mohan Sharma (UDCT, Mumbai)" ; Abhishek added.

 Find out more about the MECP and this award here

Dr. Abhishek Deshpande