NEFI Energy Leaders is an executive education program featuring courses, seminars, and networking sessions led by Dartmouth faculty in collaboration with industry experts and influencers. The program is open to business owners as well as current and future executives of companies all across the liquid heating fuel space, including dealers, wholesalers, equipment manufacturers and other industry partners.
The NEFI Energy Leaders Program was first held at the Revers Center for Energy at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business in spring 2019. The second iteration of the program was held virtually in October 2021 (see below).
See below a recap and testimonials of our past programs. Look for information soon on our upcoming NEFI Energy Leaders Program.
The 2021 iteration of the program, taught by Tuck faculty and industry leaders, was held as a four-week virtual session in October for a diverse group of retail energy executives. The program, previously held in-person on Tuck’s campus, was revamped in recognition of the major changes that have rocked the industry in the last two years.
The program’s structure allowed participants to zoom in on a number of impactful focus areas, including leadership, strategy, innovation, and disruption, which were sequenced to help participants make connections and reach critical insights.
"The Dartmouth Executive Program was life changing. The educational piece was fantastic and the professors at Dartmouth, and more specifically Tuck, are best in class. Just as important as the educational component was the opportunity to network with high quality individuals in the industry. I have stayed in touch with several and have leaned on them to help expedite my learning curve. The lesson on the wide lens theory is something I think about daily – looking at the whole picture and asking, ‘What Else, Who Else, and How Can They Be Aligned?’"
Brookes Townsend, Director of Sales and Marketing, Townsend Energy
"I found the Energy Leaders Program to be enlightening and enjoyable. As an industry leader I definitely got my money’s worth. The theme of the week focused on developing business strategies for anticipating disruptions in the market. The program had us approach our issues in an intellectually strategic way and gave us the opportunity to think about the broader picture of the market, take ourselves out of the day-to-day operations and look at the industry with a wider lens and long-term perspective."
David Singer, Chief Executive Officer, Robison Oil
"What we learned from the standpoint of leadership, disruption, innovation, strategic communications … it was transformational. It is a great opportunity for owners, young owners and aspiring senior management to look at your business and your challenges differently. To recognize, adapt and respond to change. The NEFI Tuck Leaders Program was both rigorous and dynamic, yet even when we had some downtime, our conversations came back to the program, what we were learning and how we could execute these ideas and strategies in our businesses. In my experience, that is very unique. Two things, specifically, resonated. One is the stunning pace of change going on around us, and what the next 2 or 5 years will look like. The other is the importance of leadership and the techniques which allowed me to implement some of these strategies immediately."
Jim Townsend, Chief Executive Officer, Townsend Energy
"Regardless of how satisfied you are with your current business operations, the program forces you to take a step back and look at your business in a new light. Reviewing case studies from both successful and unsuccessful companies, we then applied them to our industry’s current challenges. At MacFarlane, we are using many of these strategies to cultivate future leadership from within and mentoring staff for growth on all levels."
Scott E. MacFarlane, Vice President, MacFarlane Energy
