World Renowned Energy Pioneer Karsner Joins Council as Distinguished Fellow

WASHINGTON—The Council on Competitiveness announced that The Honorable Alexander “Andy” Karsner has joined the Council as a distinguished fellow.  Karsner, who recently left his post as assistant secretary of energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, brings extensive public and private sector experience to the position. His energy expertise will be critical in guiding the Council’s Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability Initiative.

"Andy Karsner's record of leadership at the Department of Energy was a great service to our country and will be a lasting legacy,” said Chad Holliday, chairman of the Council and chairman and CEO of DuPont. “We are thrilled to have his energy, vision and expertise as an active part of the Council on Competitiveness."

Karsner will serve as a major contributor on energy policy, technology, and market development and will continue his efforts to promote comprehensive and concrete scalable solutions to move America forward on energy.

As assistant secretary, he managed the nation's $1.72 billion federal applied science, research, development and deployment portfolio, responsible for marketplace integration of renewable and environmentally sound energy. Karsner also was at the front end of the government’s international engagement and diplomacy on issues of energy security and climate change.

He has returned to private sector infrastructure development and financing, having been an international energy developer and entrepreneur for two decades on a wide range of technologies including oil, natural gas, coal, wood waste/biomass, wind and solar energy.

He serves on the board of Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT), the world’s leading nano-manufacturer and supplier to the semiconductor and solar industries, as well as the University of Chicago board of trustees overseeing Argonne National Laboratory.