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July 7, 2025 - July 8, 2025 • 6:00 pm edt

Third Annual Energy Opportunity Forum

This year, the Third Annual Energy Opportunity Lab (EOL) Forum will take place July 7th and 8th in Washington, DC, offering a chance for the Washington policymaking community...

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Third Annual Energy Opportunity Forum

James Connaughton

CEO, Nautilus Data Technologies

Biography

James Connaughton is the CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies, a high-performance, ultra-efficient, and sustainable data center infrastructure company powered by its proprietary water-cooling system. Before joining Nautilus Data Technologies, he served as executive vice president of C3.ai, a leading enterprise AI software provider for accelerating digital transformation.

From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Connaughton was executive vice president and a member of the management committee of Exelon and Constellation Energy, two of America’s cleanest, competitive suppliers of electricity, natural gas, and energy services. In 2001, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Mr. Connaughton served as President George W. Bush’s senior advisor on energy, environment, and natural resources, and as director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy. During his eight-year service, he worked closely with the president, the cabinet, and congress to develop and implement energy, environment, natural resource, and climate change policies. An avid ocean conservationist, Mr. Connaughton helped establish four of the largest and most ecologically diverse marine resource conservation areas in the world.

He is a member of the advisory board of the ClearPath Foundation and serves as an Advisor to X (Google’s Moonshot Factory) and Shine Technologies, a medical and commercial isotope company. Mr. Connaughton is also a member of the board of directors at Resources for the Future and a member of the advisory boards at Yale University’s Center on Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia University’s Global Center on Energy Policy.

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