John Smelcer

Managing Director, Business Development, Head of Southern Africa Globeleq

John has 20 years’ experience working in the energy & infrastructure sectors.  As interim Chief Development Officer, he leads Globeleq’s business development activities across the group and is responsible for leading the strategy and growth of the business.  He successfully led the 450MW Temane gas fired project in Mozambique, and under his leadership, he has significantly increased the project pipeline for the company.    Prior to his time at Globeleq, John was a commercial and legal advisor in London and South Africa where he was recognised as a leading advisor on large scale energy projects and project financings and was involved in some of the largest LNG projects in emerging economies including in Qatar, Papua New Guinea and across the African continent as well as working on large scale gas fired power projects and other complex value chain energy projects. 

In addition to his Globeleq role, John regularly leads training seminars with senior government officials and other stakeholders related to energy developments and financings. 

John holds a Juris Doctor of Law degree from the University of Washington and an undergraduate degree from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.  He is a member of the New York bar.