ACORE's Eckhart to step down

The American Council On Renewable Energy announced that founding President Michael Eckhart will retire Feb. 28 and join Citigroup in New York as managing director and head of environmental markets and sustainability.

Eckhart co-founded ACORE in 2001 with a commitment of an hour a day of his time, but quickly forged the Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with collaborators who pledged to create a group that is “for renewable energy and against nothing,” dedicated to “bringing renewable energy into the mainstream” and willing to “assume lead responsibility for the success of renewable energy in America.” ACORE has grown in under 10 years from an idea to a $4 million per year operation with 650 organizational members, 42 members of the board of directors and advisory board, and 25 staff and interns.

“Renewable energy has come a long way since 2001,” Eckhart said. “It has been an honor and the pleasure of a lifetime to build ACORE with our great leadership, members and staff. We have achieved our founding goals, and I am looking forward to my successor building on what we have achieved and taking ACORE to the next level.”

One of the founding members of ACORE in 2001 was Dan Reicher, now co-chairman of ACORE’s board of directors and executive director of the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy & Finance at Stanford University. “I have enjoyed working with Mike at ACORE over the last decade and believe we have achieved a great deal. Mike put serious work into launching and building ACORE and has been very successful in bringing the diverse renewable energy community together and advancing its interests in Washington, D.C., on Wall Street, and in Silicon Valley. He can be proud of leaving the organization with a strong program, great people, and excellent reputation.”

ACORE has retained the executive search firm Korn/Ferry in Washington, D.C., to conduct a search for Eckhart’s successor as president. “I am committed to the success of ACORE and will continue to advise the new management as they request. I regret leaving before the new president is in place, but the opportunity at Citigroup requires me to make the change at this time,” Eckhart said.

Eckhart will be joining Citigroup on March 1 in New York City. It is an executive staff position with a mission to build a world class content group; establish a global thought leadership network within Citi on environmental markets and sustainability; and advise Citi’s worldwide clients in these areas which include environmental trading, cleantech investments, renewable energy and energy efficiency, smart grid, advanced transportation, clean water, forestation and related areas.

In a parallel press release from Citigroup, James Forese, CEO of Citi Securities and Banking said: “Mike is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on environmental markets and sustainability. His extensive experience and global network will complement and add to what differentiates Citi as a trusted advisor in this strategically important growth area.”