NEW ENGLAND LEGAL FOUNDATION
CEO Forum 2016 - Monday, December 5th
The Langham Hotel, Post Office Square, Boston


Reducing the Cost of Electricity in New England
 
Co-Chairs: 
James Messenger, Esquire, Gordon & Rees LLP
John A. Shope, Esquire, Foley Hoag LLP
 
 
About the topic:
 
Residents and commercial customers have long complained that New England has some of the highest retail prices for electricity in the country.  At the same time, state legislatures and the federal government increasingly mandate the use of renewable or “clean” power, often at prices higher than those of legacy resources.  Some advocate for additional natural gas pipelines and/or interstate electric transmission lines funded by ratepayers, others urge additional mandated renewable power, and yet others advocate letting the restructured and competitive wholesale market decide how New England gets its electricity without government intervention.  At the same time, private companies, many here in New England, are developing exciting new technologies in such areas as distributed generation, energy storage, and computerized conservation. Our distinguished panel of experts in the field  will discuss what the future holds and its implications for all electricity consumers in our region.
 
Our Moderator and Panelists on December 5 will be:
 
Moderator

 Joseph P. Kalt, Ford Foundation Professor (Emeritus) of International Political Economy & ​Co-Director, Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development
​
Mr. Kalt is a Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy. His research focuses on exploring the economic implications and political origins of the government regulation of markets. He also heads the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. Kalt has published widely in the area of natural resources economics and policy. He is the author of The Economics and Politics of Oil Price Regulation; Federal Policy in the Post-Embargo Era, Drawing the Line on Natural Gas Regulation (with F.C. Schuller); What Can Tribes Do? Strategies and Institutions in American Indian Economic Development (with Steven Cornell); and The State of the Native Nations (with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development).
​
Panelists

Dan Dolan, President, New England Power Generators Association
Mr. Dolan has served as President of the New England Power Generators Association (NEPGA) since the fall of 2011. NEPGA is the trade association representing 80% of the installed generation capacity in New England, approximately 25,000 megawatts. As President he is the principal spokesperson and oversees all activities for the largest trade association representing competitive electric generating companies in New England. Dolan leads a staff that represents the membership on electricity market rules development and expansion of wholesale electric competition and is a frequent speaker at legislative and regulatory hearings as well at industry conferences.

Zeryai P. Hagos, Director, U.S. Growth & Strategy, GE Power
Mr. Hagos is the Director of Growth & Strategy for GE's Power business in the U.S. region. Mr. Hagos’ responsibilities include leading in-region growth initiatives, translating expert knowledge of the power markets into GE’s business strategy and growing GE’s business with the large utility and independent power producer customers. Mr. Hagos has worked at GE for 13 years, including roles with GE's Energy Consulting business and Strategic Marketing for GE’s energy businesses. Mr. Hagos' responsibilities have included managing GE's long term power market forecast for the US region, advising banks, developers, power companies, governments, and GE on investment strategy including the impact of energy policy, emerging technologies and market design. Mr. Hagos has authored comments filed with state and federal governments for proposed energy policies and regulations.
​
Martin Honigberg, Chair, New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
Mr. Honigberg was appointed Chair of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commision in December 2013. He Came to the Commission from Sulloway & Hollis, PLLC in Concord, where he practiced administrative law and litigation, and was head of the firm’s government relations group.

Suedeen Kelly, Former Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Kelly is an internationally-recognized energy industry expert and former Commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Ms. Kelly’s knowledge of the national electricity and natural gas industries includes significant experience in infrastructure development and operation, market structures and financial products, emerging technologies, federal and state laws and regulations, impending policy changes and domestic/international market interrelations. She is an experienced litigator on energy and environmental matters in federal and state courts.

Gordon van Welie, Chief Executive Officer, Independent System Operator - New England
Mr. van Welie is President and Chief Executive Officer of ISO New England Inc. He joined ISO New England from Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution LLC, where he served as Vice President and General Manager of the Power Systems Control Division and was responsible for managing information technology solutions for electric companies. Before coming to Siemens, Mr. van Welie held several positions at ESKOM, South Africa’s electric utility based in Johannesburg. Mr. van Welie is a member of the Executive Committee of the US National Committee of CIGRE; the Member Representatives Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC); and seved on the Electricity Advisory Committee, a group that advises the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. In addition, he is chair of the ISO/RTO Council (IRC). 
 
Event Details, Tickets, and Sponsorships
CEO Forum:                                            5:30 – 7:30 p.m.    
Annual Reception And Buffet:             7:30 – 9:30 p.m.    

Cost: $175 per person (includes admittance to CEO Forum and Annual Reception and Buffet) (Reservations for eight or more persons will receive sponsorship designation.)

Please RSVP by Monday, November 28, 2016*, by emailing shannonflynn@nelfonline.org or by calling NELF at (617) 695-3660. Tickets and sponsorships may also be purchased online at www.nelfonline.org.
 
*Full payment is expected for any cancellations after November 28, 2016.

The New England Legal Foundation held it's 18th CEO Forum on May 14, 2015. The aim of this event is to present a substantive discussion on a topic of vital importance for the New England legal and business communities that will advance debate and awareness.

The 2015 Forum featured a panel discussion led by Joseph L. Bower, Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. The discussion was based on extensive global research described in the book that Professor Bower and two of his Harvard Business School colleagues published in 2011 entitled Capitalism at Risk: Rethinking the Role of Business. The conversation focused on the threats to market capitalism and the need for business to step up to meet these threats and save the capitalist engine of prosperity for future generations. The panelists shared examples of how their companies are tackling these issues.

Co-Chaired by:
Nelson G. Apjohn, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
Pauline M. Booth, Duff & Phelps, LLC 

Panelists:
Joseph L. Bower - Donald K. Davis Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, Harvard Business School
William P. Flanagan, PhD, LCACP - Director, Ecoassessment Center of Excellence, Resource & Environmental Strategies, General Electric Company 
Akbar Sheriff - Global Head of Strategy, Senior Vice President, Office of Regulatory Initiatives, State Street Corporation
​Irina Simmons - Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, EMC Corporation

Our 2012 CEO Forum took place a month after the 2012 Presidential Election, and presented a panel discussion on the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision and the issue of corporate speech in the political context. 

Co-Chaired by:
Mark W. Freel, Esquire, Edward Wildman Palmer LLP
John A. Shope, Esquire, Foley Hoag LLP

Moderator: 
The Honorable Margaret H. Marshall, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Panelists: 
Heather Gerken, J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Michael W. Macleod-Ball, Esquire, Acting Director, American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office
Brian C. Mooney, Reporter, The Boston Globe
The Honorable Christopher H. Shays, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Our 2011 CEO Forum brought together a panel of experts from the private sector and government enforcement to discuss the most recent developments in the field, including risk management approaches and best practices for businesses facing cyber attack.

Co-Chaired by:
Paul T. Dacier, Esquire, EMC Corporation
 James L. Messenger, Esquire, LeClairRyan

Moderator:
Dr. Herbert H. Thompson, Chief Security Strategist at People Security and an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University in New York

Panelists: 
Arthur W. Coviello, Jr., Executive Vice President, EMC Corporation and Executive Chairman, RSA, The Security Division of EMC 
Stephen P. Heymann, Esquire, Chief of the Cybercrimes Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts
Stuart D. Levi, Esquire, co-head of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’s Intellectual Property and Technology Group
Carl S. Young, Managing Director and Chief Security Officer at Stroz Friedberg.

Moderator:
Professor Charles J. Ogletree, the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and the Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School

Panelists:
Alice S. Fisher, Esquire, Deputy Managing Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins 
Michael K. Loucks, Esquire,  partner in the Boston office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Deborah Platt Majoras, Esquire, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for Procter & Gamble
Hon. F. Dennis Saylor IV, United States District Judge for the district of Massachusetts 
Jay B. Stephens, Esquire, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Raytheon Company 

​Moderator: 
Lena G. Goldberg, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (formerly Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Fidelity Investments)

Panelists: 
Christopher Cox, Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLP (formerly Chair, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
William Longbrake, Executive in Residence at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland (formerly CFO, Washington Mutual) 
Jonathan R. Macey, Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law at Yale Law School
Robert C. Pozen, Chairman of MFS Investment Management®

Co-Chaired by:
Mark Beaudouin, Esquire, Waters Corporation
Joseph Blute, Esquire, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo PC

​Moderator: Henry Lee, Harvard Kennedy School

Panelists: 
Laurie Burt, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Ann R. Klee,  Vice President of Corporate Environmental Programs, General Electric Company 
Mary G. Powell,  President and Chief Executive Officer, Green Mountain Power Corporation
Timothy Smith,  Director of Socially Responsive Investment at Walden Asset Management

Co-Chaired by:
Lynda Harbold Schwartz, CPA CFF CGMA, Ernst & Young
Jason A. Tucker, Esquire, Putnam Investments

Panelists:  Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger; Paul Hastings Professor of Corporate and Securities Law, UCLA School of Law, Lynn A. Stout; and John A. Hill, Vice Chairman of First Reserve Corporation and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Putnam Mutual Funds.  Moderator:  Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP partner Louis A. Goodman, member of NELF’s Board of Directors.