Our Leadership

Adam L. Wright
President and CEO, MidAmerican Energy Company

Adam Wright serves as MidAmerican Energy Company’s president and CEO. MidAmerican Energy provides electric and natural gas service to nearly 1.6 million customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. The company owns and operates a diverse and growing portfolio of power generating assets, as well as an expanding transmission and distribution infrastructure. Wright began his employment with the Berkshire Hathaway Energy family of businesses in 1996, and in 2003, Wright joined Northern Natural Gas. From 2003 to 2009, Wright served in various management roles within Northern Natural Gas’ operations group and was responsible for the development of the company’s integrity management program for high-consequence areas and the completion of major pipeline expansion projects. From 2010 to 2011, Wright served as vice president of marketing, managing negotiation and execution of long-term service agreements and general customer satisfaction initiatives. In 2012, he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to lead expansion and operations of MidAmerican Energy’s wind generation fleet. In 2015, Wright assumed responsibility for gas delivery operations. Wright earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2002.

Rob B. Berntsen
Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Rob Berntsen is the senior vice president and general counsel for MidAmerican Energy Company. In this capacity, he oversees the legal, regulatory, rates, government affairs, compliance and energy efficiency divisions for the company. Prior to joining MidAmerican Energy in 2014, Berntsen held various leadership positions, including policy development, at the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. and was the primary liaison with governors and state regulatory and legislative policymakers in MISO’s service area. Prior to joining MISO, Berntsen was appointed a member and chair of the Iowa Utilities Board and served as chair until April 2011. Berntsen served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and was deployed to Iraq in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Iowa.

Thomas B. Specketer
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Tom Specketer is the vice president and chief financial officer for MidAmerican Energy Company. He has held his current position since 1999 and has been in the Berkshire Hathaway Energy family of businesses since 1980. His primary areas of responsibility include accounting, financial reporting, regulatory reporting, tax and budgeting, and forecasting activities for the company, as well as regulatory accounting oversight for all regulated domestic Berkshire Hathaway Energy entities. During his tenure, Specketer has held various staff and managerial positions within the accounting, tax and finance departments. He is a member of Edison Electric Institute’s Chief Accounting Officers Committee and the American Gas Association Accounting Advisory Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Morningside College in 1979.

Brian M. Cullenward
Vice President, Information Technology and Corporate Security and Resiliency
Brian Cullenward is the vice president of information technology and corporate security and resiliency for MidAmerican Energy Company. His responsibilities include overseeing the application, infrastructure, data center, and cyber and physical security for the company. Additionally, the information technology team provides infrastructure services to Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BHE Pipeline Group, BHE Renewables, BHE U.S. Transmission and MidAmerican Energy Services. He has been with MidAmerican Energy since 1998. Cullenward has spent over 20 years working in information technology in various roles, including programmer/analyst, senior engineer, application manager and director of energy applications before taking on his current role.

James W. Dougherty
Vice President, Generation

Jim Dougherty is the vice president of generation for MidAmerican Energy Company. His responsibilities include oversight of five major thermal electric generating facilities, a growing fleet of more than 2,000 wind turbines, three liquefied natural gas production facilities, three diesel-powered generating stations with more than 20 separate engines, and multiple combustion turbine sites. Dougherty also has responsibility for the electric trading operations, including fuel procurement and delivery. Dougherty has been with MidAmerican Energy and its predecessor companies since 1990. He has held a variety of engineering and management positions in electric operations, key account management, gas operations and substation operations. Dougherty earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dakota Wesleyan University, a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from South Dakota State University and a master’s degree in systems engineering from Iowa State University. He is a licensed professional electrical engineer in Iowa.

Michael C. Fehr
Vice President, Resource Development

Mike Fehr is the vice president of resource development at MidAmerican Energy Company. He has been with the Berkshire Hathaway Energy family of businesses since 2010. In his current role, Fehr is responsible for development and construction activities associated with new generation and major transmission projects. Prior to his current position, he served as the vice president of regulation where he was responsible for managing MidAmerican Energy’s regulatory, legislative and energy efficiency departments. Before joining MidAmerican Energy, Fehr was employed for 14 years by a consulting engineering firm, holding various design engineering and engineering management positions. Fehr earned bachelor’s degrees in animal science and mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Kansas. He is a licensed professional engineer in Kansas.

Michael A. Gehringer
Vice President, Customer Operations

Mike Gehringer is the vice president of customer operations for MidAmerican Energy Company. In 2001, he joined MidAmerican Energy as a safety supervisor and was a part of the safety organization for seven years. He currently oversees the customer operations team, which manages 12 customer office locations spread across Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota, plus a call center in Davenport. Gehringer’s other responsibilities include customer account support, which includes credit, billing, bill processing and office support. Customer operations also directs field operations areas of electric metering, customer field operations and customer project coordination. Prior to joining MidAmerican Energy, Gehringer worked at various companies performing environmental, health and safety work. He earned a degree in industrial technology from Iowa State University.

Jeffery J. Gust

Vice President, Business Optimization and Innovation

Jeff Gust serves as the vice president of business optimization and innovation, where he manages strategic business initiatives and has responsibility for corporate health and safety, facilities, human performance, leadership development and scorecard functions.

Gust has been with MidAmerican Energy since 1990 with leadership experience in human resources, transmission planning and development, reliability standard compliance, energy and capacity wholesale marketing, commodity trading, fuel procurement, fuel transportation, and plant engineering. Gust earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering science in 1985 from Iowa State University and is a licensed professional mechanical engineer in Iowa.

John A. Guy

Vice President, Electric Delivery

John Guy is the vice president of electric delivery and oversees the overall planning, construction, operation, maintenance and control of MidAmerican Energy Company’s electric distribution, substation and transmission systems. Guy has been with MidAmerican Energy since 2006. He has held a variety of engineering and management positions in electric operations and engineering. Guy earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State University and a master’s of business administration from the University of Northern Iowa. He is a licensed professional electrical engineer in Iowa.

Tina L. Hoffman
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs

Tina Hoffman is the vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for MidAmerican Energy Company. She joined the company as the director of corporate communications in 2016. In her current role, Hoffman oversees the areas of brand development, media relations, employee and customer communications. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Drake University.

Alicia R. Knapp
Vice President, Gas Delivery

Alicia Knapp is the vice president of gas delivery and oversees the overall planning, construction, operation, maintenance and control of MidAmerican Energy Company’s natural gas distribution and transmission systems. Additionally, Knapp oversees the procurement and management of gas supplies for our natural gas customers. She has been with MidAmerican Energy and its sister companies since 2001, holding a variety of roles in risk management, energy trading, renewable energy project development and gas operations. Knapp earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa.

Kathryn M. Kunert
Vice President, Economic Connections and Integration

Kathryn Kunert is the vice president of economic connections and integration for MidAmerican Energy Company. She joined the government affairs department as a legislative grassroots coordinator in 1996. During her career, she has had responsibilities in the areas of government affairs, community relations, economic development and corporate communications. In her current role, Kunert oversees key accounts, business accounts, business and community development, franchises, sponsorships and donations, and other special projects. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

Chelsea McCracken
Vice President, Training and Development

Chelsea McCracken is the vice president of training and development for MidAmerican Energy Company. McCracken joined MidAmerican Energy in 2012 and has held a variety of different human resources roles involving learning and talent development, employee and labor relations, and staffing and compensation. In her current role, McCracken is responsible for all employee training and development activities, training technology initiatives and registered apprenticeship programs. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

Ryan M. Sawyer

Vice President, Human Resources

Ryan Sawyer is the vice president of human resources for MidAmerican Energy Company. In this capacity, he oversees the talent recruitment, development and engagement of MidAmerican Energy Company’s employees. The human resources department also handles labor and employee relations, compliance, employee benefits, payroll, human resource information systems, and employee learning functions. Prior to joining MidAmerican Energy in 2016, Sawyer was responsible for labor and employee relations and human resources functions for a global manufacturing company and worked as an attorney in private practice. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wartburg College and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Damian Vallas
Vice President, Supply Chain

Damian Vallas is the vice president of supply chain and oversees the procurement, material management and logistics functions. He joined the company in 2013 and has held jobs with increasing responsibility in the supply chain. Prior to joining MidAmerican Energy, Vallas held a number of supply chain jobs at a Fortune 200 energy company and spent time as a management consultant with a focus on strategic sourcing. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.