Conference Speakers
William (Bill) O’Rourke, VP, Sustainability and Environment, Health and Safety, Alcoa
Bill O’Rourke was named Vice President, Sustainability and Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) for Alcoa in September 2008, and is responsible for Corporate Environment, Health & Safety functions, and the company’s Sustainability area. Previously, he was Vice President of Global Business Services and the Chief Information Officer of Alcoa. As CIO, he led the strategic direction and integration of Alcoa’s global information systems and security. Mr. O’Rourke has been an Alcoa Vice President since 1997.
From the beginning of 2005 to 2008, Mr. O’Rourke served as President of Alcoa Russia, a $1 billion revenue business. He was responsible for the substantial manufacturing assets Alcoa acquired in Samara and Belaya Kalitva in the Russian Federation in early 2005. During the three years Mr. O’Rourke was in Russia, he spearheaded efforts to bring the facilities up to Alcoa’s world class standards and integrate the Alcoa culture. He oversaw an investment program that exceeded $500 million.
After college, Mr. O’Rourke was an Officer in the US Army. Mr. O’Rourke joined Alcoa in 1975 as a Patent Attorney after working as an Industrial Engineer for US Steel. During his career with Alcoa, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety; Corporate Auditor; and head of various corporate staff functions including Finance, Procurement, and Human Resources. He formed Alcoa’s Business Services organization in the mid-1990s. He also held positions in Alcoa’s Legal Department as Corporate Patent Counsel and as Assistant General Counsel.
Mr. O’Rourke graduated from John Carroll University and received a law degree from Duquesne University’s School of Law in Pittsburgh. He is married, has two children and resides in Pittsburgh.
Printer-friendly versionJanet Peace, VP of Markets and Business Strategy, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Janet Peace is the Vice President of Markets and Business Strategy at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. In this role she manages the Center's Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC), the largest US-based association of companies devoted to climate-related policy and corporate strategies. The BELC includes 44 mainly Fortune 500 companies with combined revenues of over $2 trillion and over 4 million employees. In addition, she manages the Center's engagement in the Offset Quality Initiative, a multi-group effort to address a key climate policy element believed by the Center to be necessary for a credible and robust carbon market.
To the climate change topic, Dr. Peace brings 20 years and a wide spectrum of experience on environmental issues. Prior to taking on the Director role at Pew, Dr. Peace was the Senior Economist with the Center, providing economic analysis of climate policy at the International, National, and State level. Before coming to Pew, Dr. Peace was the Director of Offsets Development and Industry Relations with a Canadian non-profit group, Climate Change Central. Here she worked on issues related to implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, including the assessment of cost effective, alternative policies that were politically feasible for industry and all levels of government. Working with Canadian stakeholders, she was a founding Chair of the National Offsets Quantification Team – an intergovernmental /industry group currently developing standardized offset quantification protocols for use in the Canadian offset program. In addition, she has taught environmental and natural resource economics at the University of Calgary, has worked as a resource specialist with the U.S. General Accounting Office and worked for a number of years as a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Dr. Peace holds an MS and PhD in Economics and an undergraduate degree in Geology.
William Prindle, VP, ICF International
William Prindle helps lead ICF’s growing Energy Efficiency business within the Energy and Resources practice. He supports various programs in U.S. EPA’s Climate Protection Partnerships Division, leads the firm’s tracking initiative for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s energy efficiency provisions, works with utility clients on energy efficiency programs and regulatory issues, and supports other ICF climate policy and strategy efforts.
Prior to joining ICF in 2008, Mr. Prindle served as Deputy Director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a leading policy research and advocacy nonprofit group founded in 1980 by leading research scientists to articulate the policy case for energy efficiency. He directed ACEEE’s energy policy program, conducting policy analysis and advocacy on energy efficiency issues at the national and state levels, and also oversaw internal operations. Prior to joining ACEEE in 2002, he directed buildings and utilities programs for The Alliance to Save Energy for several years.
Mr. Prindle earned a BA degree in Psychology from Swarthmore College and an MS in Energy Management and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kevin Rabinovitch, Global Director of Sustainability, Mars
Kevin Rabinovitch is the Global Director of Sustainability for Mars, Inc. In his role he develops and deploys strategies, goals, targets and policies relating to all aspects of sustainability (climate, water, waste, etc.) for Mars’ operations. He also chairs the Sustainability sub-group of the Mars Scientific Advisory Council which advises Mars on the science behind our sustainability decisions throughout our entire supply chain. Mr. Rabinovitch has been with Mars for 15 years, 2 years in sustainability and the first 13 in the Process and Packaging development functions of multiple Mars business segments in the U.S. and Europe. Based in Nashville, TN, he is also an adjunct professor in an MS/MBA sustainability program at Lipscomb University.
Mars is a family owned company founded in 1911 generating annual revenues of over $30 billion and is both the world’s largest confectionery and petcare company in addition to operating Food, Drinks and a Symbioscience business. Based in McLean, VA, Mars has 70,000 associates working in 300 offices and 150 factories in 75 countries around the world.
Leo Raudys, Senior Director, Environmental Affairs, Best Buy
Leo Raudys is the Senior Director of Environmental Affairs at Best Buy, where he is responsible for programs focusing on recycling, climate change, and green business development. Prior to Best Buy, Mr. Raudys was the Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Mr. Raudys is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he received his master's degree in ecology.
Gene Rodrigues, Director of Energy Efficiency, Southern California Edison Company
Gene Rodrigues is the Director of Energy Efficiency for Southern California Edison Company (SCE). In this capacity, Mr. Rodrigues is responsible for SCE’s portfolio of Energy Efficiency, Low Income Energy Efficiency, Low Income Rate Assistance, California Solar Initiative and Self Generation Incentive programs. Mr. Rodrigues also serves on the boards of directors for the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and the China-US Energy Efficiency Alliance. Additionally, Mr. Rodrigues serves on the Leadership Group for the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, a voluntary initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is a member of California’s Low Income Oversight Board.
Liba Rubenstein, Director, Global Energy Initiative, News Corporation
Liba Wenig Rubenstein runs News Corporation’s Global Energy Initiative (GEI), the company-wide commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of its operations – including over 100 companies on 5 continents – and to engage with its one billion customers, fifty-thousand employees, and hundreds of business partners on the issues of energy and climate change. Ms. Rubenstein joined the News Corp. family in 2006 when she founded the IMPACT Channel for causes and politics at MySpace and managed its Public Affairs team, launching groundbreaking initiatives around climate change, Darfur, ‘viral’ fundraising, and the US Presidential election. Most recently she spent a year in London spearheading the energy, environment, and corporate social responsibility program for News Corp’s UK newspaper subsidiary. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Ms. Rubenstein graduated cum laude from Yale University with distinction in American Studies.
Christopher Russell, Principal, Energy Pathfinder Management Consulting
Christopher Russell monetizes the connections between modern energy use and business performance. The author of "Managing Energy from the Top Down," Mr. Russell approaches energy from a marketing, finance, and business development perspective. For energy-consuming organizations, he designs and implements business plans for controlling energy cost and risk. For utilities and energy solution providers, he conducts market communications and program evaluation. For financial audiences, he "connects the dots" between energy choices and business performance opportunities. He is recognized by the Association of Energy Engineers as a Certified Energy Manager. He is a member of the Leadership Baltimore County class of 2006. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Fuel Fund of Maryland, and is an Advisory Board member for the Texas A&M Industrial Energy Technology Conference.
Mr. Russell holds an MBA and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Maryland and a BA from McGill University.
Robert Schasel, Director, Energy and Resource Conservation, PepsiCo
Robert Schasel is the PepsiCo Director of Energy and Resource Conservation. In this role, he is responsible for the procurement, risk management and conservation of energy and water throughout PepsiCo’s operations. Under Mr. Schasel’s leadership, PepsiCo has made significant improvements in energy and water use efficiency, reducing the environmental impact of their operations. The efforts of the PepsiCo team have resulted in EPA Energy Star Partner of the Year Awards for PepsiCo in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Mr. Schasel has a B.S. degree from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He served for seven years in the Navy’s Fast Attack Submarine force as an engineering officer and instructor of nuclear operations and submarine tactics. He has worked in Energy Procurement, Risk Management and Efficiency Improvement since leaving the Navy in 1995.
Bruce Schlein, Corporate Sustainability, Citi
Bruce Schlein joined Citi in 2006 as Vice President of Corporate Sustainability after having worked as a sustainability specialist for Bechtel on oil and gas and civil projects in China and Romania. Previously, he worked for international development agencies including Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services in Bosnia Herzegovina, and the U.S. Peace Corps in Papua New Guinea.
Mr. Schlein is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies where he currently serves as an adjunct professor.
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