AIB 2009 San Diego Conference Program - Academy of ...

Executive of the Year
Opening Plenary, June 27, 4:30pm-7:00pm, Grande Ballroom C
Donald E. Felsinger
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer
Sempra Energy
Donald E. Felsinger is chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors of
Sempra Energy, a San Diego-based Fortune 500 energy services holding company whose
subsidiaries provide electricity, natural gas and value-added products and services. The
Sempra Energy companies’ 13,500 employees serve 29 million consumers worldwide.
In his current position, which he has held since Feb. 1, 2006, Felsinger directs the strategic operations of all
the Sempra Energy companies.
Felsinger previously was president and chief operating officer of Sempra Energy, when he was responsible
for implementing Sempra Energy’s growth strategy and for overall management of the Sempra Energy
companies. He has been a member of the board of directors since 2004.
Before that, Felsinger was group president of Sempra Global, the umbrella for Sempra Energy’s businesses
operating in competitive energy markets. In that position, Felsinger led Sempra Energy’s expansion into
successful businesses in power generation, energy-infrastructure development, energy trading and
marketing, and liquefied natural gas development.
Prior to the merger that formed Sempra Energy, beginning Jan. 1, 1998, Felsinger served as president and
chief operating officer of Enova Corporation, the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).
Previously, Felsinger was president and chief executive officer of SDG&E from 1996 to 1998. He also was
a board director of SDG&E and executive vice president of Enova Corporation. Prior to that, Felsinger was
executive vice president of SDG&E, a position he held from 1993 to 1996.
After Felsinger joined SDG&E in 1972, he held a variety of officer positions with responsibility for all aspects
of the utility business.
Felsinger is a graduate of the Stanford University executive program and also has a bachelor’s degree in
mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona. He serves as the director of the Northrop Grumman
Corp. and as a member of the Conference Board, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, and
the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce. Felsinger has also served on the green Foundation and was cochair
of the Forum Fronterizo Council of the San Diego Dialogue.
AIB 2009 Annual Conference San Diego, USA June 27–30 Is the World Flat or Spiky? Implications for Global Strategies 21