Keynote Speakers

Renewable Energy Speaker

Andris E. Cukurs

Chief Executive Officer – North American Subsidiary of Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation

As CEO for Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, Mr. Cukurs provides strategic direction for the North American Operations which includes more than 450 employees across 20 offices. Under his leadership the company has become an authority in delivering wind power projects, with cumulative installtions totalling more than 1700 MW in 14 states across the nation.

As a senior executive, Mr. Cukurs has nearly 25 years of management and engineering experience, with the last 11 years in the wind energy industry.  Before joining Suzlon in 2004, Cukurs served as CEO of NEG Micon Wind Energy Corporation of North America, where he oversaw sales and construction. Prior to that, Cukurs focused on providing design, engineering, and construction services to the food processing industry.

A Chicago native, Mr. Cukurs graduated from University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. 

As a recognized expert and veteran in wind, he is frequently invited to speak at events sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association, serves on Chicago’s Renewal Energy Board and recently joined ACORE’s Leadership Council.

Sustainability Keynote Speaker

Ray Anderson

Founder & Chairman, Interface, Inc.

The story is now legend; the “spear in the chest” epiphany Ray Anderson experienced when he first read Paul Hawken’s “The Ecology of Commerce” seeking inspiration for a speech on the company’s environmental vision. Fourteen years and a sea change later, Interface, Inc., is nearly 50 percent up “Mount Sustainability,” the journey towards a vision that no one would have imagined for the company, or the petroleum-intensive industry of carpet manufacturing which has been forever changed by Anderson’s vision. The once captain of industry, now environmentalist, has authored a book chronicling his journey, “Mid-Course Correction,” and become an unlikely screen hero in the 2004 Canadian documentary, “The Corporation.” He’s a sought after speaker and advisor on all issues eco, including a stint as co-chairman of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development. He was named one of TIME International’s Heroes for the Environment in 2007.