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Cascade Team

Upcoming Transitions at Cascade Energy

November 18, 2021

We are excited to announce two big changes coming up for Cascade Energy.

After 28 years as CEO, Marcus Wilcox has announced that he will be retiring at the end of the year. Dan Brown, our current Vice President of Customer Engagement, will take the helm as our new CEO in January of 2022.

Additionally, Cascade has established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), and we have transferred 100% of our ownership into the plan as of November 18, 2021. We are proud to begin a new chapter as an employee-owned company.

 

A Familiar Face in a New Role

 

Dan Brown isn’t new to Cascade Energy – he started with the company in 1998 as the first full-time employee hired by our three founders. In 2007, he joined Marcus, Rob Morton, and Mike McDevitt as a Principal Owner and Board Member. Dan has spent the past five years serving as Vice President of Customer Engagement and will rely on his talent for understanding clients’ needs to help Cascade broaden its focus from industrial energy efficiency to more comprehensive support for utility and corporate clean energy programs. Cascade Energy’s leadership team has high confidence in Dan and has been working closely with him on preparations for this new role.

 

What does Dan want to share as he takes on the title of CEO?

During my years at Cascade Energy, I have witnessed the evolution of utility and corporate attitudes towards energy efficiency and climate action, and it has become clear that we are entering a new phase – one in which our customers are setting big, bold greenhouse gas reduction goals and putting in place serious action plans to meet these new goals. Our customers are asking for our support – and we are ready to work side by side to ensure these goals are met.

 Now is the time for us to collectively take bold action on climate change. We have no time left to waste. I am passionate about doing what is right for our planet so we can all enjoy the beauty and bounty this world offers us today. This collective effort will be immense, and the business opportunity to support this transition is massive. I’m excited for this opportunity to use business as a tool for good.

 I wouldn’t be stepping into this role if not for the great people of Cascade Energy. This team is the one I want to lead. I love the people of Cascade Energy, and I want to see each of us stretch and succeed together.

 I am honored to lead Cascade Energy as we support our customers in their increasingly urgent efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will continue to innovate to better serve our customers and to make our planet a better place to live.

– Dan Brown

An Ownership Model Aligned with Cascade’s Values

Cascade Energy established our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to distribute ownership to employees while enhancing our culture and maintaining our focus. We have had ample opportunities to sell Cascade Energy to a third party. After careful reflection, our Board decided to remain independent, and to do this through an employee ownership model. We have begun by transferring full company ownership into a newly formed ESOP Trust set up for the benefit of the employees.

We are doing this so we can keep Cascade as Cascade. That doesn’t mean we stagnate, it means we continue our journey toward better: building a better company for the benefit of our customers, our employees, and our planet.

“Since our founding 28 years ago, Cascade has had a culture centered on shared success. This is so important to us that Seek Shared Success is one of our five named company values,” says Marcus. “The ESOP model not only aligns with our values but ensures the continuity and strengthening of our culture. It is with great confidence that I hand off the role of CEO to Dan Brown and depart from Cascade under the banner of employee ownership.”

We believe the employee ownership model aligns well with our mission, while further enhancing our culture and allowing us to continue attracting top talent. Going forward, we will all be responsible for Cascade Energy’s success, and for the success of every one of our clients.

We are grateful to Marcus for his leadership over the past 28 years and look forward to a new chapter for Cascade with Dan as CEO. We thank all our customers, employees, and partners – past, present, and future – for working with us towards our mission.

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