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President & CEO 704-661-8131

David is an award-winning business builder and leader. He has co-founded or led more than a dozen start-up companies, most of them in the energy industry. David grew EnTrade Corporation, a natural gas marketing and trading company, to more than $1 billion in annual sales over eight years and Genscape, Inc, an energy information company, from R&D to cash-flow positive, international operation in 30 months. He raised more than $100 million in capital for companies he led, managed the subsequent sale of three companies and the bankruptcy of one. David was named an Inc. Magazine/Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner for EnTrade Corporation and Genscape, Inc.

David has also managed and led large corporate organizations. He was CEO of Tenneco Energy Resources Corporation, a multi-billion dollar company with 20 percent German ownership and housed within a publicly-traded holding company. David set strategy for two Fortune 500 subsidiaries; at Tenneco Energy in the early 1990s when it was diversifying internationally and at Texas Gas Transmission Corporation as it progressed through industry deregulation. David has served on the boards of directors of eight private corporations and one publicly traded subsidiary. The sales of companies under David’s leadership exceed $12 billion.

David is an award-winning academic innovator and organizer. While a fulltime CEO of early stage businesses, he served from 1997 through 2005 as the University of Louisville’s College of Business Bank One Entrepreneur in Residence. In 1998 he was named the College’s Graduate Educator of the Year for creating an innovative approach to teaching MBA students new venture finance. In 2012 David joined Duke University’s Energy Initiative where he effectively served as its chief operating officer through late 2014 while collaborating in building the Initiative.

Program Director 704-928-6261

Kelly Perkins is a Program Director for E4Carolinas. Prior to employment with E4 Kelly worked in Management and Banking for 4 years. Kelly also has a certification in event/wedding planning. She attended and Graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a degree in Business Administration, with a focus on Marketing and Consumer Behavior.

Kelly has gained knowledge and experience quickly through planning the Annual E4Carolinas Emerging Leaders Program, Leadership Energy Carolinas Program and assisting with the Executive Leadership Program as well. Each of these programs allow Energy Professionals to view and gain knowledge about parts of the industry they wouldn’t necessarily gain working in their current positions.

Kelly is also responsible for maintaining all Financial Accounts and Marketing for E4Carolinas. This includes maintaining Membership Accounts, Collecting Dues for Programs and Memberships, General Book Keeping, Weekly News and Events Mailings, Task Force and Working Group Management, and other Misc tasks.

Engagement Manager 919-724-9186

Courtney Taylor is the Engagement Manager for E4 Carolinas. Prior to working for E4, Courtney worked as Marketing Coordinator for a company in Guam and Guest Service and Social Media Manager for a retailer. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Apparel Retail Studies. With a consumer background her focus is what is important, why it’s important, and how to fulfill their needs.

Courtney is responsible for retaining existing E4 Carolina members and developing new member throughout the Carolinas. She will also support the development and support of E4 Carolinas programs and events.

Administrative Manager 980-477-1509

Jessica Buchanan is the Administrative Manager for E4Carolinas. Jessica graduated from the University of Tennessee with a major in Communications and a minor in Cinema Studies. Prior to E4Carolinas, Jessica ran and improved logistics for several Start-up companies who’s products ranged from monthly subscription packages to event based promotional marketing events.

SC Program Manager 803-767-5203

SC Managing Director 803-719-6202

Bonnie is E4 Carolinas South Carolina Managing Director. In this role, she is E4 Carolinas principal representative to the energy industry in South Carolina and oversees E4 Carolinas’ programs, events and staff activity in the state. Prior to joining E4 Carolinas, Bonnie served as Executive Director of the SC Clean Energy Business Alliance (SCCEBA) and, upon SCCEBA’s dissolution in June 2020, managed the integration of SCCEBA’s former members and activities into E4 Carolinas’ SC Clean Energy Industries Task Force. A South Carolina native with undergraduate and law degrees (both with honors) from the University of South Carolina, Bonnie is a proven leader with more than a decade of experience in energy policy and more than 30 years of experience working in and around South Carolina state government. She is a graduate of several executive development programs, including The Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University (energy) and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (leadership). Bonnie is also a Fellow of the Riley Institute at Furman University’s Diversity Leaders Initiative and a graduate of Leadership South Carolina.

Director, Research and Economic Development, in collaboration with Joules Accelerator 919-921-2364

Lukas Brun is the Director of Research and Economic Development at the Joules Accelerator where he manages joint initiatives with E4Carolinas to define regional energy clusters and identify joint grant-funding opportunities. Prior to joining Joules, Brun worked with the Duke University Global Value Chains Center where he conducted economic development research for governments, foundations, and international development organizations, primarily utilizing a value chain perspective.

Energy-related research projects completed by Lukas include analyzing utility-scale solar power in North Carolina, lithium-ion battery energy storage, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency, and the oil and gas services sector. Lukas received a Ph.D. from the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University, an M.P.A. from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government, an M.A. in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a B.S. in Political Science and B.A. in Economics from Texas Christian University. Lukas was born in Basel, Switzerland and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. After college, he worked as an energy economist in Los Angeles for a consulting firm before attending graduate school and working in North Carolina. He resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with his wife, Erin; children, Audrey, Ethan, and Clara; two dogs, Riley and Luna, and 12 chickens (he agreed to 3).