Jimmy Jia has a multi-disciplinary background, as an entrepreneur, professor, and speaker. As founder and CEO of Distributed Energy Management, he helps companies create corporate strategies that align energy consumption with financial strategy. This helps corporations “right-size” their consumption, thereby reducing wasted energy expenditures. In acting as a “Chief Utility Officer” for companies, he helps CFOs manage the life-cycle costs of their utility line-item to save money, reduce exposure to volatile pricing, increase profitability, and improve competitive advantage.
He teaches graduate business and engineering students at George Washington University and Presidio Graduate School. He looks at consumer needs to examine the societal influences on the energy infrastructure decision-making process. His book on the topic, Driven by Demand: How Energy Gets its Power has been sold in over 15 countries. It was in Harvard Business Review where he first proposed the creation of a Chief Utility Officer as a new leader who manages corporate utility resource strategy.
Jimmy received his BS and MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Oxford. He is on numerous boards, including the Center for Sustainable Energy and the CleanTech Alliance. He holds 5 patents, authored numerous publications, and is a frequent speaker on topics of energy futurism and leadership.