2020 has brought a historic level of change with the pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest. Coupled with the climate crisis and an unprecedented wildfire season, how can Western utilities adapt to a fundamentally changed landscape? Join Maria Pope, President and CEO of Portland General Electric, for an on-demand webinar as we examine this “next normal.”
Speakers
Maria Pope, President & CEO Portland General Electric
Maria Pope is president, chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Portland General Electric, Oregon’s largest electric company. Before becoming CEO in 2018, she served as PGE’s senior vice president of Power Supply, Operations and Resource Strategy. In that role, she oversaw PGE’s transition to the Western Energy Imbalance Market, a foundational step in creating a regional smart grid. She joined PGE in 2009 as the company’s chief financial officer. As CEO, Pope leads PGE’s strategy to create clean, affordable energy Oregon customers expect, while keeping reliability and resiliency at the forefront of the company’s planning efforts. Prior to PGE, Pope was CFO of Mentor Graphics Corporation. She has also held senior operating and finance positions within the forest products and consumer products industries. Pope began her career in banking with Morgan Stanley. Pope serves on the Oregon Global Warming Commission. Her other board and commission activities include The Nature Conservancy, Electric Power Research Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Pope is an alumna of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.
Chris Beaufait, President & CEO Sharper Shape
Chris Beaufait is a proven business leader with extensive global experience. Before joining Sharper Shape, Chris was the Chief Operating Officer at Sarcos Robotics, leading the commercialization and development efforts for their powered exoskeletons and teleoperated inspection robots. Before that, he served as Group SVP and President of Asia & China for Vestas, the world's leading wind power company. For 16 years prior to Vestas he worked for General Electric and held a variety of senior executive roles, including President of China Commercial Aircraft Programs, President and General Manager for GE’s global avionics business, as well as a variety of other GE leadership positions in the US and China. Chris also served for 11 years in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Officer and certified nuclear engineer. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Systems Engineering and he holds multiple Six Sigma certifications.
