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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.

Digital Communications Manager 919-724-9186

Courtney Taylor is the Digital Communications 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 members throughout the Carolinas. She will also support the development and support of E4 Carolinas programs and events.

Innovation Program Manager 980-477-1509

Jessica Buchanan is the Innovation Program 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 whose products ranged from monthly subscription packages to event-based promotional marketing events.

SC Program Manager 803-767-5203

Managing Director, South Carolina 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.

Managing Director, Research & Economic Development 919-921-2364

Lukas Brun is the Managing Director of Research & Economic Development at E4 Carolinas where he manages federal grant projects and other initiatives to define and activate regional energy value chains. Lukas also is an Adjunct Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University where he teaches a graduate course on value chain analysis for the Center on International Development. Brun has published widely on the topic of economic development and competitiveness, including recent research appearing in Globalisation, Human Capital, Regional Growth and the 4th Industrial Revolution (Edward Elgar Press, 2019), The Oxford Handbook of Local Competitiveness (Oxford University Press, 2015), and the Economic Development Quarterly.

Prior to joining E4 Carolinas, Brun worked for a decade with the Global Value Chains Center at Duke University where he led 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, lithium-ion battery energy storage, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency, and the oil and gas services sector. Before moving to study and work in North Carolina, he was an energy economist for a Los Angeles consulting firm supporting expert witness testimony in Federal court. Lukas received his Ph.D. from the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University, M.P.A and M.A. degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a B.A. in Economics and B.S. in Political Science from Texas Christian University. He is married with three children and resides in Winston-Salem, NC.

Senior Project Analyst 818-235-2055

Todd Royal is the Senior Project Analyst at E4 Carolinas where he analyzes and researches federal, state and local initiatives on hydrogen and advanced nuclear technology, and how this impact global, domestic and specifically the Southeastern United States value chains. Prior to joining E4 Carolinas Royal was a consultant on energy and economic development projects advising clients on renewable diesel fuels, fossil fuels, industrial solar farm applications, lithium-ion battery storage systems and his master’s thesis on hydraulic fracturing was published in the U.S Library of Congress. His largest project was for the American Society of Civil Engineers where he was tasked with understanding the cost, scope of work, and timelines to construct a smart-electrical grid for California.

Royal is the co-author of three books on energy, electricity and the technical facets of renewables and is the author of over two-hundred published pieces on energy, U.S. national security, foreign policy and state and local government. Todd received his master’s in public policy (MPP) from Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy in Malibu, California and his Bachelor of Science in Economics from Texas Christian University. He is married with two children and lives in McKinney, Texas.

Project Analyst 803-960-1149

Allyson Barbier is a Project Analyst for the Economic Development Administration Advanced Nuclear Technologies Grant awarded to E4 Carolinas in the spring of 2021. Allyson interned for E4 Carolinas the last semester of her senior year. She worked on research related to Professional Continuing Education Programs as well as Economic Development within the Green Hydrogen Industry. Allyson graduated from the University of South Carolina in May of 2021 with a degree in Spanish and Global Studies with a focus in Sustainable Development and a minor in Business Administration.  

Allyson is responsible for the administrative duties of the EDA Advanced Nuclear Project. She regularly communicates with members of the Southeast Nuclear Advisory Council in regard to Billing, Project Progress, and General Communication. Allyson also assists Project Manager, Lukas Brun, and Senior Project Analyst, Todd Royal, in Economic Development Research related to the Nuclear Industry.