Excellent Renewable Energy Careers

At the dawn of the 21st century, gas prices soared, and analysts around the world saw firsthand that the future would need renewable energy if we as a species plan to continue consuming as we do. Something would eventually need to replace fossil fuels as our primary energy source for two reasons. One, the global supply of oil and natural gas is finite, and we’re running out faster than we think. The other reason is the damage that fossil fuels cause to the environment. There is no doubting at this point, fifteen years after the turn of the millennium that global warming and climate change are real. There are already irreversible side effects of the rise in temperature around the globe, but there is still time to save the planet from ecological disaster.

With the need for renewable energy rising every day, there are many career opportunities in the growing renewable energy industry for people who want to make a difference in the world. With an increase in public and private funding, the renewable energy industry is on the rise, leading to many new careers in this fast-growing field. As it is, renewable energy is already a huge market, including solar energy, wind energy, bio-fuels, and more. Expansion is almost assured in this area as well, because the need for renewable energy will increase in the foreseeable future.

Michael Kimner is a twenty-year veteran of the energy industry, and he says that renewable energy is the wave of the future.

How to Start a Career in the Energy Industry

The energy industry in the United States has been rising for decades now and remains poised to provide many people with long and lucrative careers in the future. Many recent college graduates covet a position in the energy industry because of the potential for growth and the promise of ever-improving career prospects. To get into the energy industry, however, you have to compete with many other applicants for the same positions. Sometimes, getting even an entry-level position at an energy company can be extremely difficult.

The first step to starting a career in the energy industry is to develop marketable skills. Entry-level jobs are the best way to gain a foothold in the energy industry and start developing the kinds of skills that will take you far with a company. Unfortunately, everyone else is doing the same thing as you for the same reasons. Usually, energy companies have no interest in hiring candidates who have little skills to offer their bottom line and the line for these positions is long. If you can’t get an entry-level position, you can volunteer within the industry to develop your skills. Some CEOs of prominent energy companies have started in this way. Getting into an energy company is all about bringing something to the table. These companies want to hire individuals who can help them immediately.

Michael Kimner has worked in the energy industry for over twenty years and eventually turned his marketable skills he developed over time into a CEO position at Duke Energy Merchants.

How to Break into the Energy Business

Whether you’d like to focus on green energy or traditional energy, the market for cheap and available energy will continue to grow over the next decade and beyond. If you can get into the energy business now, you can have a lucrative, long-lasting career. Breaking into this industry is difficult, however, because so many people are competing with each other for the same jobs. The first thing you can do to break into the energy business is to stop telling companies what you’re interested in. Serious energy companies don’t care about what you’re interested in working with. They only care about what you can offer them. Come to the door with something to offer or you will find it closed.

Michael Kimner

Some career coaches tell prospective recruits that they can’t “break into” an industry per se. The truth is, to make it in the energy industry, you have to get hired at a position, work hard to create a personal brand for yourself, and develop your own position in the industry. With the advent of green energy, traditional energy sources and companies have gotten more competitive with each other, looking for every small advantage they can gain over their competition. They are not in the business of giving bright-eyed workers fresh out of college a start in the professional realm. The best way to start crafting your own brand within the energy industry is to bring something to the table.

Michael Kimner has worked in the energy business for fourteen years, primarily with Duke Energy.

Joining the Ranks

Michael Kimner can claim over 20 years as a successful business executive. Twenty years and still counting as he continues working with his independent Charleston, South Carolina Company. With a Business Science degree in Administration, Michael Kimner has joined the ranks of other successful University of Maine alumni.

Michael Kimner graduated from this flagship university that started out as a land grant college in 1864. He joins a host of other alumni who have made great contributions to our nation and have made a difference in the world. In reviewing ‘Notable Alumni’ on the University of Maine’s website, one can see that the alumni have gone into all facets of our society, not dissimilar to other universities. Several reality ‘starts’ graduated from the university. More importantly, Michael Kimner joins the ranks of Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winners, important military leaders, film and television stars, Oscar and Tony winners and more. It is apparent that Michael Kimner got off to a good start in his career with the help of the University of Maine. What he did with his education, though, separates him from many others with degrees in business and administration. Michael Kimner took his degree and threw himself into the Energy Industry. If they had a prize for fasted climb to CEO, it would have to be awarded to Michael Kimner His drive and determination resulted in a company presidency before he hit 40 years old, and he continues to drive himself. He is going to continue making contributions of one kind or another throughout his life, and we may yet see the name Michael Kimner joining the University of Miami’s ‘Notable Alumni” page.

Michael Kimner – Philosophy and Golf

Michael Kimner, previously President and CEO at Duke Energy Merchants and current resident of Charleston, South Carolina, plays golf. A lot of businessmen and women play gulf. But Michael Kimner really plays golf. He brings an enthusiasm and intensity to his golf game in a way that separates him from other lovers of the game.

As a successful businessman, Michael Kimner brings much of his business philosophy to his golf game. As he worked his way from one company to another, from less responsibility to more, Michael Kimner took no shortcuts. He learned from every position he held and then applied that knowledge to the next position and the next, keeping his eye on the next opportunity, the next ‘hole.’

Michael Kimner knows that a serious golfer learns from each swing he or she takes. They learn from each arc the ball takes, each landing it takes whether it be in water, sand, or on the blessed green. In the middle of the constant learning, as it comes down to the player, the ball, and the club, it becomes less of a studied game and more of an organic thing. The golfer swings, watches the ball fly through the air, and moves on to the next hole. It has been said that it doesn’t really matter what kind of path your swing takes, so long as you make solid contact and it produces desired results.

It is clear that throughout his career Michael Kimner made solid contact with each opportunity, producing the results that propelled him up the ladder of success

Michael Kimner – Strength of Character

Michael Kimner was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Energy Merchants in 2001, just six years after initially joining the company in 1995. This is somewhat of a metaphoric rise, though he had also held upper management positions in previous jobs. Leadership is not a foreign concept to Michael Kimner. Throughout his entire career he has displayed leadership qualities, successfully supervising traders and other employees. In actuality, he would not have progressed as far and as quickly as he had were it not for the qualities he displayed in each progressively responsible position.

Michael Kimner knows that taking on the responsibilities of leadership is not an easy task. But then he has never taken the easy way, always challenging himself in business as well as in his personal life. His bike riding is a good example of how Michael Kimner challenges himself. In a time when he could be engaging in low-key activities, Michael Kimner keeps himself busy, riding the many miles of bike paths throughout Charleston. He possesses two bikes, a mountain bike for local terrain, and a road bike for longer trips. It is certain he favors rougher rides than the typical city bike rider, and the fact that he takes long bike trips speaks to his desire to challenge himself, push himself just a bit further, riding a bit longer than the last time.

It is this same strength of character that made Michael Kimner a valuable President and CEO. And it is this strength that enabled him to quit his secure job at Duke Energy Merchants in favor of running his own business and taking more time to connect with his children.

Michael Kimner: Becoming Chief Executive Officer

Michael Kimner was named Chief Executive Officer for Duke Energy Merchants in April of 2001. It was the culmination of many years of dedication and hard work.

A Chief Executive Officer is the highest-ranking executive manager in a corporation or organization, and one of the most coveted but least understood jobs in a company. As Michael Kimner knows from first hand experience, the duties of a CEO vary from company to company. But by its very nature, the job means meeting the needs of employees, customers, investors, communities, and the law.

Michael Kimner

When Michael Kimner began climbing the corporate ladder at Duke Energy, he already had years of experience in corporate culture. He had been the Director of Portfolio Services at PanEnergy Trading and Marketing in Houston, Texas, where he coordinated all risk exposures within the company, and developed many new risk control measures. Before that, Michael Kimner was a partner at Risk Management Limited Associates in Bel Air, Maryland, where he created an executed a business plan to establish and manage the company.

Michael Kimner arrived at Duke Energy in 1997. His first position there was as the Vice President for Trading and Portfolio Management with Duke Energy Trading and Marketing in Houston, where he was the lead person in charge of all derivative trading. He became the Chief Trading Officer in 1999, and was responsible for all financial and risk trading activity within the company.

Michael Kimner began his tenure as the Senior Vice President for Petroleum and Risk Management at Duke Energy Merchants in 2000.

Today, Michael Kimner is an Independent Investment Management professional.

Michael Kimner: The Energy Industry

Michael Kimner has held many jobs within the Energy industry in the United States. It began just a few months out of the University of Maine, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance.

He started as the Assistant Manager of Supply and Distribution at Champion Energy. Champion Energy companies sell, service and install heating, cooling and plumbing equipment. The company operates one of the largest fleets of delivery trucks in the industry and maintains some of the largest oil storage depots in the region. Michael Kimner rose to become Champion’s Manager of Supply and Trading. His responsibilities included managing all activity around the total supply system.

Michael Kimner

In April of 1990, Michael Kimner became the manager of Risk Management for the Mid Atlantic Company of Virginia. While he was at Mid Atlantic he passed the Series 3 exam and obtained his license and registration with the National Futures Association. Michael Kimner developed and executed trading strategies for a private hedge fund.

From the Mid Atlantic Company of Virginia, Michael Kimner moved on to positions with the Louis Dreyfus Energy Corporation, MG Refining and Marketing, Risk Management Limited Associates, and PanEnergy Trading and Marketing. In 1997 he began working at Duke Energy Trading and Marketing in Houston, the start of a long involvement with Duke Energy. By 2001, Michael Kimner had risen to become the President and Chief Executive Officer at Duke Energy Merchants LLC, where he coordinated a staff of two hundred twenty people, including all traders, operations, accounting, and legal and support personnel for seven offices around the world.

Today, Michel Kimner is an independent Investment Management professional.

Michael Kimner: Life in Charleston, South Carolina

Michael Kimner currently lives and works in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, where he is an Independent Investment Management professional.

Charleston is the oldest city in South Carolina, and among the oldest cities in the United States. It was founded in 1670 as Charles Towne, and became Charleston in 1783. Charleston is known for its rich history, well-preserved architecture, distinguished restaurants, and mannerly people. It was named “America’s Most Friendly” city by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2011.

Michael Kimner

But Michael Kimner already knew that. He relocated from Houston, Texas to Charleston in order to increase his family time and to work independently in investment management. Michael Kimner and his family find life in Charleston very agreeable. Michael Kimner has coached little league baseball and youth football for his two children’s teams, and has seen many of their games as a spectator. He is active in Boy Scouts Troop 519, to which he is the Assistant Scoutmaster. He loves to take his family around Charleston’s many historic attractions.

Michael Kimner also loves getting on his mountain bike and exploring the area’s natural beauty. He rides his mountain bike almost every single day. There is a lot of flat terrain in and around Charleston. Michael Kimner also likes taking long rides on his road bike, but not nearly as often as his mountain bike. Charleston is an agreeable place for bike riding. Bicycling magazine named it #48 on its list of fifty of America’s most bike-friendly places.

Michael Kimner also enjoys golfing, fishing, boating, and other outdoor sports. He has been active as a coach on the baseball and football teams his two children played on, and has seen many other games, including basketball and volleyball. In addition to seeing the sites of Charleston, he likes to take family vacations and international travel.

Michael Kimner: Risk Management

Michael Kimner enjoyed a twenty-year career in the Energy industry, with a focus on risk management and trading. He worked long and hard hours to climb the corporate ladder, finally making his way up to senior management.

Risk management is the process of identifying the uncertainties in investment decision-making. Essentially, risk management occurs whenever an investor or fund manager analyzes and attempts to quantify the potential for losses in an investment, and then takes the appropriate action given their investment objectives and risk tolerance. As Michael Kimner knows, poor risk management can lead to severe consequences for both companies and individuals.

Michael Kimner

Michael Kimner performed well in risk management. He developed and executed trading strategies for the Mid Atlantic Company of Virginia, and actively traded futures and options on NYMEX and IPE. Michael Kimner was later the Chief Analyst for Risk Management for MG Refining and Marketing, where he developed strategies for trading and marketing of the company’s refined products all over the United States.

Next, Michael Kimner was a partner at Risk Management Limited Associates in Bel Air, Maryland, where he creatred and implemented a business plan to establish and manage the company. He was the Director of Portfolio Services at PanEnergy Trading and Marketing in Houston, where he was responsible for all risk exposures within the company.

It was during his tenure at the Mid Atlantic Company of Virginia that Michael Kimner took and passed the Series 3 exam, entitling him to sell commodities and futures contracts. He leveraged that experience into his present career as Independent Investment Management professional.