A Fortune 200 CEO turned senior U.S. energy official, David Crane brings a rare blend of private-sector leadership and public-sector impact to the global energy conversation.
As Under Secretary for Infrastructure at the U.S. Department of Energy under President Joe Biden, Crane steered one of the largest federal clean energy investment portfolios in history—overseeing billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure, scale innovation, and accelerate the clean energy transition.
Previously, he served as CEO of Fortune 200 energy giant NRG, where he transformed the company from bankruptcy into a national leader in utility-scale renewables, residential solar, EV charging, and carbon capture. He also served as CEO of the global energy company, International Power, and served on the boards of multiple private sector climate tech innovators and sustainability-focused nonprofits.
Drawing on his rare top-level insider’s view of both the public and private sectors, David Crane unpacks what the future holds for energy markets, infrastructure, and business strategy, during this period of tremendous uncertainty and looming energy scarcity. Audiences gain a candid look at the federal government’s approach to climate and innovation, learn how to shape and transform traditional companies in a conservative industry to embrace the unprecedented disruption at scale underway in the energy industry; and to illuminate for large scale energy buyers how to sort through the ever lengthening list of energy solution technologies to determine the optimal approach for the buyer in energy scarce economy and a carbon-constrained society..
Crane has been named Energy Industry “CEO of the Year” by EnergyBiz, top CEO in the electric utility sector by Institutional Investor, and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young.
- Power Shift: Leading Through the Clean Energy Transition
- David Crane offers a powerful insider’s view of the clean energy transition from both sides of the public-private divide. Drawing on his leadership of one of the largest federal clean energy investment portfolios in U.S. history and his experience transforming NRG into a national leader in renewables and low-carbon technologies, Crane unpacks what the future holds for energy markets, infrastructure, business strategy, addressing:
- External:
- Organizational design and institutional transformation, addressing either or both the external energy environment or the internal organizational imperative in response to:
- How should companies—large and small—be preparing now for the energy transition ahead?
- Where should forward-thinking businesses be investing in energy innovation or infrastructure resilience?
- What will different energy sources mean for our daily lives—costs, reliability, and accessibility?
- How can individuals or local businesses play a meaningful role in strengthening their community’s energy resilience?
- What are the emerging, invisible threats to our national energy grid—and what’s being done to protect it?
- Internal:
- What does it mean to be purpose driven in a carbon-constrained future?
- How to manage climate risk while maintaining cost competitiveness?
- What does company leadership and employee buy-in look like?
- How to manage your value proposition in a transition-unfriendly marketplace?
- Audiences will gain a candid look at the federal government’s approach to climate and innovation, learn how to lead through disruption at scale, and walk away with actionable insights for staying competitive—and relevant—in an accelerating decarbonized economy.