Suzanne Dickerson leads North American operations for Phenogy Inc, a role she assumed in July focused on advancing battery energy storage solutions for the evolving U.S. energy grid. With degrees in international business and European studies from Indiana University, Dickerson brings extensive experience addressing critical infrastructure challenges.

“Today’s US Energy grid cannot keep up with population growth, extreme weather, and hyper-scale data centers’ strain on the grid,” Dickerson said. “We will need more power coming onto the grid and battery energy storage is a critical technology to achieve that goal.”

Her leadership has earned recognition including the SCRA Knowledge Economist honor, SAE Leadership Recognition, Clemson Women in Leadership honor, Charleston Women in Trade Woman of the Year and the German American Chamber of Commerce South Carolina Gateway recognition for SC Fraunhofer USA Alliance.

Dickerson serves on the South Carolina Aquarium board and has held numerous leadership positions advancing manufacturing and international trade. Beyond business, she has traveled three consecutive years to the Sahara Desert to run races while supporting local refugee communities.

Thomas Fischetti leads wind engineering initiatives at GE Vernova, overseeing the renewable energy solutions. Fischetti earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University, a Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

Under his leadership, GE Vernova has secured wind turbine orders across Germany, Romania and Kosovo. The company recently announced plans to invest nearly $600 million in U.S. manufacturing facilities and completed a hydropower modernization contract at South Carolina’s Saluda Hydro plant.

“In business, success is always defined by the customer, and for the long-term,” Fischetti said. “If a customer buys one of our wind turbines, that is a proud day. If they come back later to buy another one, that is success.”

His first job at a Christmas tree farm in upstate New York taught him that quality products require time and meticulous care. Fischetti balances his professional responsibilities with family life as a father of four, pursuing hobbies in cooking and photography.

Mike Fuller brings 31 years of cooperative experience to his role as CEO of Berkeley Electric Cooperative. He stepped into position of president and CEO of Pee Dee Electric Cooperative in Darlington in 2017, following 20 years at Consolidated Electric Cooperative in Mexico, Missouri, where he spent his final 11 years as top executive.

Fuller worked for cooperatives throughout college at Macon Electric Cooperative and Boone Electric Cooperative in Missouri, performing duties including building services, setting poles, right-of-way maintenance and installing equipment. After graduation, he was hired as an electrification advisor at Carroll Electric Cooperative in Berryville, Arkansas, in 1993. Four years later, he joined Consolidated Electric as director of member services.

Fuller graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Business Administration from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia College. He is a Credentialed Cooperative Director with certifications in management, key accounts, electrical distribution and human resource management.

John Intile serves as Vice President of Engineering for Gas Power at GE Vernova. He earned both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Intile’s career foundation began at a gas station, where he learned the importance of customer service—a principle that has guided his professional journey. “The best advice I ever received was to pursue a career in a field that I am passionate about, which for me is engineering,” Intile said.

In his leadership role, Intile serves as executive sponsor for the GE Vernova African Affinity Forum and the GE Greenville Next Engineer Program. He is an advisory board member on the President’s Industrial Council at Clemson University and previously served on the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences Advisory Board at Clemson from 2022 to 2024.

Intile defines success through customer satisfaction and trust, emphasizing that customer feedback serves as the ultimate measure of performance and innovation.

As the CEO of Georgetown-based Agru America, Robert Johnson oversees all operations of the company. The company, a U.S. subsidiary of Austria’s family-owned AGRU Kunststofftechnik GmbH, manufactures engineering plastics solutions, and has experienced record growth since Johnson took the reins in 1996. A dedicated and creative leader, Johnson has helped navigate the company from just 25 employees and one manufacturing facility to multiple manufacturing sites with more than 200 employees. Agru America’s materials can now be found in environmental, civil, and industrial applications all over the world.

Johnson is also focused on cultivating robust strategic partnerships and was recognized as Georgetown County’s Ambassador for Economic Development in 2014. Earlier this year, Johnson and his team at Agru expanded its ‘Global Company, Local Impact’ outreach program and instituted longstanding commitments with the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation and the Horry-Georgetown Technical College. In a 2025 statement he said, “Maintaining a healthy community and talent pool around our facilities is one of the first steps in ensuring we can keep up with customer expectations regarding quality, service, and reliability.”

Keller Kissam leads Dominion Energy South Carolina, overseeing approximately 3,500 employees. Born and raised in Creston, South Carolina, a town of 33 residents, Kissam earned a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, where he served as Regimental Commander of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Business from The Citadel in 2015 and is a member of The Citadel’s Business Hall of Fame.

Kissam serves as a board and executive committee member for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Palmetto Business Forum. He formerly served as Chairman of both the Central South Carolina Economic Development Alliance and the Southeastern Electric Exchange. His past board service includes the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and Clemson University Board of Visitors. He also served as President of the South Carolina Independent School Association.

Currently, Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper are constructing Canadys Station, a natural gas facility in Colleton County that will provide approximately 2,000 megawatts of electricity to power half a million homes.

Shane Long serves as vice president of global supply chain for GE Vernova’s Gas Power Business, overseeing operations for an 11,000-employee division within the $35 billion energy company.

A 1998 mechanical engineering graduate of Clemson University, Long began his career as a production engineer in Greenville, serving as liaison between design engineering and manufacturing.

Long leads supply chain operations during significant expansion, including GE Vernova’s nearly $600 million investment in U.S. facilities announced in January 2025, creating more than 500 new jobs in Greenville.

“If you want to grow and excel, focus first on delivering strong performance,” Long says. “But just as important is your willingness to stretch yourself.”

Long identifies the industry’s biggest challenge as industrializing power generation technology at scale while maximizing existing infrastructure to meet growing global demand.

His community leadership includes serving as executive sponsor for GE Vernova’s Latin American Alliance Network and supporting United Way.

Long defines success as delivering sustainable performance while growing people and fostering engagement. Colleagues might be surprised he was a semi-professional race car driver.

Jim Lovinggood began his career as a draftsman at Singer (now TTI), where he developed and patented a reversing hammer drill design, a game changer for the industry.

As president and CEO of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Lovinggood leads 178 employees serving Anderson, Greenville, Pickens, Oconee and Spartanburg counties. Following Hurricane Helene — the worst disaster in the cooperative’s 85-year history, leaving 95% of members without power — his team restored most service within days and rebuilt remote areas within 12 days. The cooperative recently completed a redundant transmission loop in Oconee County.

Lovinggood co-chairs the Upcountry Fiber Foundation Board, which has awarded $160,000 to 33 nonprofits since 2022. He chairs New Horizon Electric Cooperative and serves on boards for Central Electric Power Cooperative, Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply and Electric Cooperatives of SC.

“It is never as bad or as good as it seems,” Lovinggood said. “Stay focused on your goals.”

He graduated magna cum laude from Limestone College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

Pearson leads Duke Energy’s South Carolina operations, overseeing service to customers across the state as the company addresses unprecedented energy demand growth. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Lehigh University.

Duke Energy serves 26,000 employees worldwide and recently announced the combination of Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, projected to save customers over $1 billion in future costs. The company also proposed a milestone natural gas plant to strengthen South Carolina’s energy future.

Pearson serves on the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. He received the Order of the Palmetto for his contributions to the state.

His career began in constituent services at U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s Allentown, Pennsylvania office. “I learned early in my professional life just how real the challenges are that people face financially every day,” Pearson said.

Born in Australia, Pearson wakes in the middle of the night to watch the Australian National Cricket Team compete.

Jason Reagan leads GE Vernova’s Greenville operations, overseeing a facility within the global energy technology company’s 75,000-employee workforce. Reagan earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University in 2008 and later completed a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse in 2018.

Under his leadership, the Greenville site plays a central role in GE Vernova’s $600 million U.S. manufacturing expansion, announced in January 2025. The investment includes approximately $300 million toward gas turbine manufacturing and is expected to create more than 500 new jobs in Greenville alone as the company scales heavy-duty gas turbine deliveries. In March 2025, GE Vernova acquired Woodward Inc.’s heavy-duty gas turbine combustion parts business in Greenville, strengthening domestic supply chain capacity.

“The best advice I’ve ever received is to focus on what I can control,” Reagan said.

Reagan and his family have served as foster parents, an experience he credits with teaching compassion and perspective. He defines success through family stability, raising kind children and contributing meaningfully both personally and professionally.

Heather Smith leads regulatory affairs and policy for Duke Energy’s South Carolina operations, overseeing energy infrastructure strategy for the state’s growing demand. Smith earned her bachelor’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta before obtaining her juris doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Before attending law school, Smith worked in human resources in a warehouse environment, where she gained foundational knowledge in workplace safety, compensation programs and employment law — experience that shaped her legal career path.

At Duke Energy, which employs 26,000 people worldwide, Smith navigates the complex intersection of energy policy and infrastructure development. She noted that South Carolina’s growth requires strategic investment in power generation, transmission and distribution to address both expansion and aging infrastructure needs. “We are talking about building generational assets for our children and our grandchildren, and even their grandchildren,” Smith said.

Smith serves on the South Carolina Energy Advisory Council and is active with Sustain SC and Carolinas Women’s Energy Network. She received the James B. Duke Award in 2023.

Jimmy Staton leads Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility serving 1,600 employees and generating $1.9 billion in annual revenue. Staton holds a Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University.

In October 2025, the Santee Cooper Board of Directors approved ambitious energy infrastructure projects adding over 5,000 megawatts to South Carolina’s electric grid. The portfolio includes a 2,200-megawatt natural gas station with Dominion Energy South Carolina in Colleton County, dual-fuel combustion turbines at Winyah Generating Station in Georgetown County, a 300-megawatt battery energy storage system at Jefferies Generating Station in Berkeley County and a potential nuclear restart at two Fairfield County units offering 2,200 megawatts through Brookfield Asset Management.

Staton chairs The Energy Authority Board of Directors and serves on the executive committee of the Large Public Power Council. His board service includes Venture Global LNG, Hope Gas, Trident United Way and the Charleston Regional Development Authority.

“Success, to me, comes from leading a team so that the team achieves its goals and grows from the experience,” Staton said.

John Zuleger has led Integrated Power Services as president and CEO since June 2013. Under his leadership, IPS has grown into North America’s leading provider of aftermarket power management, electromechanical and rotating equipment services, employing more than 3,000 people across 101 service and field locations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe. The company, headquartered in Greenville, serves over 30,000 customers annually across diverse markets including data centers, renewable power generation, petrochemical, mining and commercial facilities.

Zuleger earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from Purdue University, where he was recognized as outstanding senior in economics and inducted into the Golden Key National Honor Society. He completed Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business industrial marketing program. His career began at Mobil Oil Company, where he learned the value of organization and productivity.

“Chasing World Class while trying to deliver an Unmatched Customer Experience by offering employees an Unmatched Employee Experience,” Zuleger said, defining his approach to success.