For more than 30 years, Mr. Sakellaris has persevered in the energy industry, working to eliminate regulatory barriers to investing private capital into energy efficiency and renewable initiatives. Mr. Sakellaris is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ameresco, Inc. (NYSE:AMRC), a leading North American energy efficiency and renewable energy company, which he founded in 2000. Today, Ameresco, headquartered in Framingham, Mass., has 900 employees in 66 offices across North America. Early in his career, Mr. Sakellaris helped establish New England Electric System (NEES) Energy, a company that would promote energy efficiency. Mr. Sakellaris purchased NEES Energy in 1991, renamed it NORESCO and built it into an industry-leading company before selling it to Equitable Resources in 1997. Thereafter, he continued to lead NORESCO and was appointed as a Senior Vice President of Equitable Resources (NYSE:EQT), a Fortune 500 energy company. 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. Mr. Sakellaris was the recipient of the 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 was honored by The Boston Globe for Ameresco’s Globe-100 Top-performing Public Companies #29 ranking.