Global CEO Excellence Awards 2020

CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020 41 , EnergyManagement Solutions CEO of the Year: Kelly Needles Just over three decades ago, The Energy Group was founded by Mr Kelly Needles, and remains under his sage stewardship and guidance to this day. With such a fantastic leader at the helm, The Energy Group has always subscribed to the mantra of economic development through energy efficiency, and has maintained an unbiased third-party approach towards guiding and advising its customers to that end. Mr Needles himself has always had a leadership role within the company, having served in many roles across human resources, A/P, A/R, marketing, sales, and corporate divisions within the company. Ultimately, the core belief that The Energy Group can change the way energy is used throughout the world comes from Mr Needles, and his passion continues to drive the business forward today. The Energy Group would not exist were it not for its customers, and that core belief continues to push forward Mr Needles’ desire to help the company succeed. For more than thirty two years, Mr Needles has worked in the field of project development and energy services, and his tenure at The Energy Group has seen the company deliver its innovative services to schools, hospitals, colleges, local governments, and many private businesses throughout Iowa and the Midwest. Under his visionary leadership, the company has grown significantly from where it Havingservedasutilityprogramimplementationcontractors andhavingworkeddirectly formany differentmulti-national companies serving as project developer andmanager, TheEnergyGroup iswell placedwithin the energymanagement industry. Energy efficiency is important tous all, as consumers inaworld that is rapidly running out of non-renewable energy sources. Thirty two years ago, oneman sawthe coming issues.MrKellyNeedles is theEnergyManagement Solutions CEOof theYear in2020, so joinus aswe take a closer lookat howshehas achieved that title. Jun20536 began, building on success after success to help more clients achieve energy efficiency in their daily business. Energy efficiency is a chosen career path that requires no small amount of passion, dedication, and determination; traits which Mr Needles has in abundance. Many of the staff that he has chosen to work with throughout the years have also displayed these traits, in particular a desire to see the world become more energy efficient. One of the other core beliefs that Mr Needles lives by, and conducts his business by, is that success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss only act as motivation. As part of using this belief as a principle for how The Energy Group does business, the approach to working with customers is based upon listening and relationship. The firm works diligently and thoroughly to understand what it is the customer expects, and how the firm can deliver on that. When the relationship is launched, The Energy Group typically exceeds the customer’s expectations, with the diversity of services being offered remaining critical to the firm’s sustainable levels of success. As specific markets continue to evolve, it is imperative for Mr Needles and his team at The Energy Group to recognize new opportunities, and learn to change directions quickly in order to meet the needs of those new opportunities. Energy efficiency services have largely been driven by the utility mandates. As utilities shift from a demand approach to a supply approach, many utility driven programs have been changed, or even dropped, and this affects The Energy Group in that the utilities will not need it to deliver and administer their programs. Despite his lengthy tenure as founder and CEO of The Energy Group, Mr Needles remains as involved as ever in most day-to- day operations of his company, and constantly makes himself available to staff. More than just another open-door policy, Mr Needles considers himself as much a worker at The Energy Group as anyone else, and is wholly focused on his goal of creating an organization that can one day become an employee-owned organization. His leadership continues to inspire his workforce on a daily basis, and demonstrate that the energy efficiency field is an excellent career path that is rewarding in helping building owners save energy and money. Company: The Energy Group Co., Inc. Contact: Kelly E. Needles Website: www.theenergygroup.biz