David L. Sokol, 52, is chairman of the board of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
In 1989, Sokol was the chief executive officer of a billion-dollar corporation, Ogden Projects. Two years later, he took the management reigns as chairman, president and chief executive officer of CalEnergy Company, Inc., then a small energy company operating a single geothermal power plant in the emerging renewable energy sector.
Through acquisitions, CalEnergy became MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company in 1999. In 2000 in an unprecedented move, the publicly traded company went private. The company was acquired by an investor group including Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. which today owns 88.2 percent of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company.
Under Sokol’s leadership, the 17,000 employees of MidAmerican have grown the company into a leading global energy provider with seven million customers, $41 billion in assets and revenues exceeding $12 billion. This growth, driven by internal investment and a number of successful acquisitions, has formed a company with a broad range of energy services provided worldwide.
In March 2002, MidAmerican acquired Kern River Gas Transmission Company and, in August of that same year, Northern Natural Gas Company. This established MidAmerican as a leading operator of interstate natural gas pipeline systems, with approximately 17,000 miles of pipeline. Those companies currently transport nine percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States.
In 2008, investment opportunities included wind generation, high-voltage transmission and an investment in a high-tech company in China. MidAmerican Energy Company and PacifiCorp added 1,005 megawatts of wind generation. PacifiCorp started construction of the Energy Gateway Project, a $6 billion, 2,000-mile high-voltage transmission line project. Additionally, MidAmerican reached a definitive agreement to purchase approximately 10 percent of BYD Company Limited, a leader in battery development and manufacturing, solar power and environmentally conscious vehicles. Investment opportunities in 2009 include expansion of natural gas pipelines, the high-voltage transmission project and other renewable generating resources.
Today MidAmerican, through its utility subsidiaries, MidAmerican Energy Company and PacifiCorp, and its independent power production company, CalEnergy, contract and own interests in diversified generation facilities capable of producing more than 21,500 megawatts of electric power. Approximately 24 percent of that power comes from noncarbon, renewable resources such as geothermal, wind and nuclear. Sokol is a leading proponent of establishing an Apollo-like program to fund research and development of technology to respond to global climate change, and he has presented this model to Congress and business groups.
Sokol earned his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and holds an honorary doctorate degree from Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska.
He and his wife, Peggy, have a daughter, Kelly, and a son, D.J., now deceased. Sokol is active in community and charitable activities, and places a significant emphasis on mentoring students. Particularly important to Sokol is his service as president and chief executive officer of the Horatio Alger Association’s board of directors. Sokol is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, fishing, running and skiing.
Sokol’s business philosophy, based upon vision, strategy and principles, is described in a book he authored in 2008, Pleased But Not Satisfied. This simple business model and his focus on developing future leaders has helped create a successful global organization.
Other Board Memberships
Member of the National Petroleum Council
President & CEO of the Horatio Alger Association Board of Directors
Member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Leadership Advisory Board of Directors
Chairman of the Omaha Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority
Highlights and Achievements
CEO Coach of the Year Award, American Football Coaches Foundation, 2008
Lifetime Member, Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, April 2004
Omaha Business Hall of Fame Award, Greater Omaha Foundation, April 2004
Waite Medal for Leadership Award, Creighton University, April 2004
Volunteer of the Year, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, 2001
Individual Achievement Award, The Energy Daily, 2001
CEO of the Year, Financial Times Energy Global Awards, 2000
Mancuso Award, Omaha Sportscasters Association, 2000
Community Service Award, Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1999
Order of the Tower Award, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1998
Distinguished Graduate Award, National Catholic Education Association, 1998
Industrial Entrepreneur of the Year, Iowa/Nebraska Region, 1997
Honorary Doctorate Degree, Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska, 1997
Maverick Man of the Year, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1996
Viking of Distinction Award, Omaha North High School, Omaha, Nebraska, 1996
Silver Beaver Award, Boy Scouts of America – Mid-America Council, 1996
Lifetime Membership, Omicron Delta Kappa, University of Nebraska, November 1994
Heritage Patron Award, Boy Scouts of America – Mid-America Council, June 1993
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award, Boy Scouts of America – Mid-America Council, June 1993
Alumnus Achievement Award, University of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Association, May 1992
Included in Crain's New York Business Magazine, selection of "40 Under 40," January 1990
Voted "Executive of the Year" by Alternative Sources Energy Magazine, May 1988
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