Landon Derentz is senior director and Richard L. Morningstar chair for global energy security at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center. Under his leadership, the Global Energy Center devises pragmatic solutions to the geopolitical, sustainability, and economic challenges of the changing global energy landscape.

Prior to the Atlantic Council, Landon was Director for Middle Eastern and African Affairs in the Office of International Affairs at the US Department of Energy where he managed the Department’s bilateral and regional engagement with international partners, while also advising the Department’s leadership on world energy market developments and related policy responses. Landon has deep experience building diverse coalitions across governments, the private sector, and civil society; having led US efforts to establish the Net-Zero Producers Forum and as the US executive board member for the East Mediterranean Gas Forum. Landon also served as the US representative and vice chairman of the International Energy Agency’s standing groups on emergency questions and the oil market.

Landon previously served as Director for Energy on the National Security Council and the National Economic Council at the White House. In this capacity, he coordinated progress on all facets of U.S. international energy policy, including ensuring the National Security Advisor and the National Economic Advisor remained informed on how market dynamics impacted U.S. national security, economic, and foreign policy interests.

Landon previously worked as an Energy Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources and served as a Presidential Management Fellow in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy. Additionally, Landon was an officer in the United States Air Force.

Landon graduated with a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law, a Master of Public Policy from the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at The George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Southern California.