Jesse Berst

Jesse Berst is Executive Director of Energy and Environment Prizes for the X PRIZE Foundation. The X PRIZE Foundation is the world's pre-eminent prize institute whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

Jesse is a recognized authority on the emerging clean energy/smart energy revolution and the market opportunities it represents. He previously served as Managing Director of GlobalSmartEnergy, a company that provides high-level, strategic consulting to large corporations, utilities, investors and government agencies. Clients included Lockheed Martin, the U.S. Department of Energy, Global Environment Fund, the GridWise Alliance, Avista Utilities, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, the State of New Mexico, the Province of British Columbia, and Prize Capital.

Jesse serves on the Advisory Council of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He chairs the sub-committee responsible for the Energy & Environmental Science Directorate, where more than 1,000 scientists and staffers work to uncover solutions to the nation's energy and environmental issues.

Jesse has keynoted dozens of energy-related events in the U.S. and abroad. Recent speeches have included:

* Host, Discovery Showcase (Toronto, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.)
* Keynote, U.S. DOE Grid Planning Conference
* Keynote, Primen Outlook Conference (utility executives)
* Plenary, Powering Forward Conference (with WA Senators Cantwell and Murray)
* Keynote, Washington Public Utility District Association Annual Convention
* Keynote, Western Power Delivery Automation Conference
* Keynote, Grid Conference, James Baker Institute, Rice University



In the '80s and '90s, Jesse was one of the country's most high-profile technology analysts. He was a featured columnist at a succession of leading magazines, including Computerworld, Computer Reseller News, InformationWeek and PC Week. He authored more than 700 columns and articles analyzing technology and business trends. He authored or co-authored ten books on personal computing and software, and one on high-tech business concepts, titled The Magnet Effect (McGraw-Hill, 2001). His analysis and commentary were featured widely on national radio and television, including CNNfn, Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, CBS Radio News, Business Talk Radio and NorthWest CableNews.

During this period, Jesse founded or co-founded three high-tech publishing companies, New Riders Publishing (acquired by Macmillan), Micropublishing (acquired by Cygnus Business Media), and CompuTh!nk (acquired by Ziff-Davis). He then became a Vice President and "intrapraneur" at Ziff-Davis, where he conceived and founded "AnchorDesk," which became the company's most popular and profitable Internet property, reigning for many years as the world’s largest email newsletter with nearly 3,000,000 daily subscribers.

Jesse was born in eastern Washington and graduated with highest honors from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in business administration.