Author: Jesse Berst

Jesse Berst is Managing Director of GlobalSmartEnergy and one of the private-sector leaders of America’s transition to clean, smart energy. GlobalSmartEnergy is a recognized authority on the smart energy revolution and the market opportunities it represents. Clients include Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Department of Energy, Global Environment Fund, the GridWise Alliance, Avista Utilities, Southern California Edison, the State of New Mexico, the Province of British Columbia, Prize Capital and many others. GSE services include strategic research, white papers, mergers and acquisitions advisory and management of regional and national projects. GSE is also the publisher of SmartGridNews.com, the Internet’s top-ranked site for information about the ongoing $1 trillion remake of North America’s electric power infrastructure. Over the past few years, Jesse has led projects such as: • Constructing a national communications campaign for the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Modern Grid Initiative. • Building an energy & environment strategy for the X PRIZE Foundation. XPF is the world's pre-eminent prize institute whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. • Creating a strategic plan for a regional coalition of economic development agencies to find jobs and economic development in the smart energy sector • Mapping out a partnering and acquisitions strategy for the entry of a large corporation into a smart energy sector • Chairing the Advisory Council of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Energy & Environment Directorate, where more than 1,000 scientists and staffers work to uncover solutions to the nation's energy, environmental and climate issues. Jesse has keynoted dozens of energy-related events in the U.S. and abroad. Recent speeches have included: • Host, Discovery Showcase (Toronto, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.) • Keynote, U.S. DOE Grid Planning Conference • Keynote, Primen Outlook Conference (utility executives) • Plenary, Powering Forward Conference (with WA Senators Cantwell and Murray) • Keynote, Washington Public Utility District Association • Keynote, Western Power Delivery Automation Conference • Keynote, Grid Conference, James Baker Institute, Rice University • Keynote, Areva T&D User’s Group Meeting • Keynote, Comverge User's Group Meeting In the '80s and '90s, Jesse was one of the country's most well-known technology analysts. He was a featured columnist at leading magazines, including Computerworld, Computer Reseller News, InformationWeek and PC Week, authoring more than 700 columns and articles analyzing technology and business trends. He authored or co-authored ten books on personal computing and software, and one on high-tech business concepts, titled The Magnet Effect (McGraw-Hill, 2001). His analysis and commentary were featured widely on national radio and television, including CNNfn, Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, CBS Radio News, Business Talk Radio and NorthWest CableNews. During this period, Jesse founded or co-founded three high-tech publishing companies, New Riders Publishing (acquired by Macmillan), Micropublishing (acquired by Cygnus Business Media), and CompuTh!nk (acquired by Ziff-Davis). He then became a Vice President and "intrapraneur" at Ziff-Davis, where he conceived and founded "AnchorDesk," which became the company's most popular and profitable Internet property, reigning for many years as the world’s largest email newsletter with nearly 3,000,000 daily subscribers. Jesse was born in eastern Washington and graduated with highest honors from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in business administration.