Dr. Michael W. Howard is an energy executive who combines business acumen with deep technical expertise and in-depth electric utility experience. He has over forty years of results-driven global experience with a bias toward collaboration, entrepreneurship, and innovation in organizations ranging from start-ups to large public companies.
Most recently, Dr. Howard served for ten years as the CEO of EPRI, a $425 million global company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with several U.S. and international offices. EPRI develops technology innovations encompassing the production, delivery, and use of electricity, including nuclear power, renewable energy, energy storage, and electric vehicles, with a mission to ensure reliable, affordable, and cleaner electricity for society.
Dr. Howard started his career with Westinghouse after receiving his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Tennessee. At Westinghouse, he was chosen for a four-year management trainee program while also receiving his M.S. in Business and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
After ten years of experience with Westinghouse and its subsidiary, Dr. Howard co-founded a technology company that provided advanced image processing systems for automated microscopic material and biological analysis. After three years, the company merged with an affiliated company to create a roll-up with other related companies. Following the merger, Dr. Howard joined a venture capital company providing equity and debt investment to early-stage technology companies. At the same time, Dr. Howard served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, College of Engineering, where he received his Ph.D. in Engineering Science. Dr. Howard was also President of a technology-based power electronics technology company providing end-use power quality solutions for large industrial customers and electric utility companies. EPRI acquired the business in 1999. Following the acquisition, Dr. Howard served in several EPRI leadership roles before EPRI’s Board of Directors selected him as its President and CEO in 2010.
Dr. Howard currently serves on the boards of four private technology-based companies including LRNE portfolio companies Electric Power Engineers and Power TakeOff. He also serves on the Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute advisory council, is Chairman of the World Energy Council headquartered in London, and serves as a Senior Fellow for the Rome-based Enel Foundation. Dr. Howard recently served on a technical committee of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences. In 2019, Dr. Howard was awarded the Distinguished Energy Award in Washington, D.C., for lifetime contributions to providing technical innovations and leadership to global energy issues. Dr. Howard is an active member of IEEE and the National Association of Corporate Directors.