• CERAWEEK
  • March 10 - 14, 2025

Darryl Willis

Microsoft

Corporate Vice President, Energy & Resources Industry

As Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Energy & Resources Industry, Darryl Willis leads the core teams driving digital transformation for organizations across Mining, Oil & Gas and Power & Utilities. Willis blends his technical and strategic acumen with his deep knowledge of the global energy sector to lead the global Microsoft team enabling the energy transition, reducing carbon emissions and intelligently fulfilling growing demand with new renewable sources. Prior to joining Microsoft, Willis was Vice President of Oil, Gas and Energy at Google Cloud. His other past roles include president and CEO of bp Angola; head of Deepwater Horizon claims and spokesperson for bp; and senior vice president and deputy head of Subsurface for bp. Willis is passionate about empowering customers, partners, governments and investors to drive the transition to sustainable energy, while providing equal access to all. Willis is an advocate for energy startups, supporting and fostering innovation in the field to enable next generation leaders to deliver a clean energy future. Since joining Microsoft in 2019 Willis has grown the Microsoft Energy & Resources Industry organization to become a global leader in driving digital transformation across the energy sector. Willis holds an MS in business from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, MS in geology and geophysics from the University of New Orleans, and BS in chemistry and literature from Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

Sessions With Darryl Willis

Thursday, 21 March

  • 02:25pm - 03:05pm (CST) / 21/mar/2024 07:25 pm - 21/mar/2024 08:05 pm

    Will AI Accelerate the Energy Transition?
    Digitalization/AI/Machine Learning/Robotics/Cybersecurity

    AI has the potential to accelerate the energy transition. It promises to help advance the design of new materials, monitor and analyze emissions, optimize plant processes or logistics, improve weather forecasting and optimize EV charging among other potential uses. But fulfilling this promise will require harnessing and deploying the technology effectively. Where can executives focus their attention to get the most out of AI? What do experiences with existing AI tools tell us about how to manage their implementation? What does the future hold for these tools to accelerate the energy transition?  

  • 05:00pm - 06:00pm (CST) / 21/mar/2024 10:00 pm - 21/mar/2024 11:00 pm

    Spotlight | "NextGen" Future Energy Leaders

    Future of Workforce/Diversity & Inclusion

    The race is on for innovative, fresh approaches to solve the world’s greatest energy and climate challenges. The emerging generation of future energy leaders, technologists and entrepreneurs have unprecedented opportunity for impact and to create real change. The energy world is hungry and open to disruptive ideas. There never has been a more exciting—or urgent—time to be part of the energy industry. Join this special interactive “Next Gen” dynamic session, featuring rapid-fire insights by leading minds on energy innovation, along with CERAWeek Future Energy Leaders. How can we achieve net-zero ambitions? How can we tackle climate change while meeting the planet’s need for more energy? What are promising and scalable technologies? What are the challenges and most exciting opportunities?  

Agenda