John Hatsopoulos

Founder and CEO, AmericanDG Energy, Inc. (ADGE), Waltham, Massachusetts CEO, “Northeastern allowed me to go work with my brother at MIT,” Hatospoulos says. “He did the research and I did the math for what became Thermo Electron.” Hatsopoulos clearly got the math right, helping raise close to $5 billion over the years through an innovative “spinout strategy” that won him acclaim from Wall Street and ultimately resulted in 24 public subsidiaries. With products ranging from heart-assist devices to energy-saving technologies, these companies enjoyed a winning combination of entrepreneurial culture backed by Fortune 500 parent with 25,000 employees worldwide. Six years ago, he retired from Thermo and found a new entrepreneurial outlet, ADGE, reclaiming heat wasted during power generation and selling it as energy, typically to customers with a high need for hot water—hotels, for example. The business offers a highly efficient alternative to buying power from central power plants. Hatsopoulos is also CEO of Tecogen, a leading manufacturer of cogeneration equipment used in such applications.Tecogen Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts