George Sakellaris

Mr. Sakellaris is the President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC), a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company headquartered in Framingham, MA.

A visionary and entrepreneur, Mr. Sakellaris founded Ameresco in April 2000. He aspired to build an entirely product-neutral and supplier-independent energy company that had the skills, capabilities and foresight to create independent energy solutions that went beyond just conservation; one that addressed a customer’s entire energy stream including supply and demand, energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Early in his career, Mr. Sakellaris worked at the utility New England Electric System (NEES), where he welcomed the challenge to establish NEES Energy, a company that would promote energy efficiency, thereby avoiding the need to build new power generation plants. Mr. Sakellaris then purchased the business known as NEES Energy in 1991 and renamed it NORESCO. He built NORESCO into a an industry-leading independent energy services company before selling it to Equitable Resources in 1997, where he continued to lead NORESCO and was also appointed as a Senior Vice President of Equitable Resources (NYSE:EQT), a Fortune 500 Energy Company.

Today, Mr. Sakellaris leads Ameresco, a public company, employing over 1,000. Ameresco continues to grow and thrive, and currently supports more than 60 local offices throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

With more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, Mr. Sakellaris has worked to create budget-neutral business models for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Mr. Sakellaris’ dedication and influence in promoting energy efficiency dates back to his involvement with the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) where he championed the development of demand side management (DSM) programs that were widely implemented across the country. Additionally, he was a founding member of the National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) where he served as the first president and advocated for the new industry. He remains an active NAESCO member today.

Mr. Sakellaris earned both M.B.A and M.S.E.E. degrees from Northeastern University and a B.S.E.E. degree from the University of Maine – Orono. In May 2012, the University of Maine granted him an Honorary Doctorate for his lifetime of achievements, recognizing his dedication and exemplary leadership in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Mr. Sakellaris was the recipient of the 2015 Finance Monthly CEO Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 New England, Energy, Cleantech & Natural Resources Award. In 2012, he was named the Worcester Business Journal’s Business Leader of the Year for large businesses and also honored by The Boston Globe for Ameresco’s Globe-100 Top-performing Public Companies #29 ranking. The Boston Business Journal ranked Ameresco #31 in the Area’s Fastest Growing Public Companies and #49 in Massachusetts’ 150 Top Public Companies. In 2011, Ameresco was honored on the Forbes 100 list as one of America’s Best Small Companies and in 2010, as the New England Clean Energy Council Employer of the Year.