Andrew Schmid

The institute is run by its founder, Andrew Schmid, an energy economist and consultant.  Andrew has over a decade of experience in energy, serving for many years as Head of Strategic Development, reporting to the deputy CEO, for CEZ, one of Europe’s top 10 energy companies.  His experience spans virtually all parts of the energy sector, from virtually all forms of conventional and renewable generation to retail and distribution, from power to gas to heat, from mining to biofuels and biomass, from storage to energy services, from energy venture capital to electric vehicle charging.  For several years he mainly focused on renewables, working on investment in onshore and offshore wind, solar, geothermal, and even tidal.  And as an energy consultant, activities have ranged from helping launch a Central European renewable development business to serving as acting CEO of a crowd funded distributed energy startup targeting less developed nations.

Prior to working in the energy sector directly, Andrew worked in private equity and in consulting, for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and McKinsey, where his work included heavy industrial and other sectors.  An economist by background, he taught his own classes in microenonomics and related subjects at two universities and has degrees from Harvard and the University of Chicago.

Andrew’s sector expertise and economic background came together in surprising insights revealing significant, novel opportunities for many large countries to significantly improve their efforts to fight climate change.  As a vehicle that would enable himself and others to make a greater difference in such areas, as opposed to in his other endeavors such as investing in renewables, he founded the Institute.