John W. Welch

Vice President of Technology

Mr. Welch has over 35 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience.  He has held senior executive positions in the fields of natural gas distribution, transmission, and production;  alternative fueled vehicles; fiber optic telecommunications networks;  clean energy technologies, energy plant development, and demand and supply side energy services; and software development and commercialization.  In addition to P&L accountabilities, Mr. Welch was directly responsible for over 20 acquisitions, multiple company divestitures, 5 start-up companies, and served as an associate of an investment banking firm specializing in the energy, engineering and environmental sectors. 

He has industry experience in the privatization of utility assets in Australia, the Pacific Rim, South America, and Europe.  Mr. Welch has spoken both domestically and internationally in areas related to competitive marketing, data retrieval technology, and corporate development.  He also has been published in  numerous energy industry magazines. His career began in 1974 with Equitable Gas Company, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based gas distribution, transmission, storage and production company founded in 1887.  After 21 years of service, he left Equitable Gas Company as president to launch DQE Holdings into several new complementary energy related businesses.  DQE Holdings, through its subsidiaries, delivered electricity, gas, water, energy efficient technologies and communications services to more than one million customers.

Mr. Welch was responsible for the formation and development of the nation's 14th largest propane gas distribution company, the construction of a 60,000 fiber mile dark fiber metropolitan telecommunications network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the formation of OnDemand Energy (energy services company).  He assisted in creating DQE Energy Services (built and operated energy plant for large industry), and was  instrumental in the founding of the first energy related weather risk mitigation company (WeatherWise USA) in the US. 

Mr. Welch has served on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Gas Association, National Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, Research Advisory Committee of the Institute of Gas Technology, the Advisory Board of the Ford Motor Corporation Alternative Fuel Vehicle Initiative, and the Marketing Advisory Board of Duquesne University.  He has a B.S. degree from Pennsylvania State University in Environmental Resource Management and completed the Ventures and Mergers graduate program at Northwestern University.