As Founder, Chairman and CEO of JBB Advanced Technologies, John delivers the creative architecture for the company, offering more than seven decades of successful entrepreneurship. A recognized pioneer in renewable energy development and operation, John believes that merging innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain with the power and sustainability of renewable energy will build a path to a successful energy transition and better future for generations to come. While ensuring JBB Advanced Technologies executes on strategy and maximizes revenues, John also challenges the leadership team on a daily basis to innovate and continually redefine success.
While John’s most recent focus has been building out his vision for a renewable energy company and as an industry leader in the U.S. energy transition, from an early age, John’s business has always been business. John attended Texas Tech University, graduating in three years with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1961. Before age 25, he founded an accounting firm that grew into one of Texas’s largest independently owned CPA firms which he later sold to Arthur Young. In 1976, he purchased Western State Bank of Midland, where he served as Chairman of the Board and President for six years. During his tenure, deposits grew from $10 million to $150 million. John also has been successful in real estate development, including developing 2.5 million square feet of mostly green-field space into office buildings, shopping centers and a retail mall between 1978 and 1982.
John also believes that good business is business that is good for the planet. In 2009, John founded and became Chairman and CEO of Tri Global Energy, LLC, a renewable energy company specializing in utility-scale projects to develop clean energy via wind and solar power. Tri Global Energy was founded after John was motivated to find a fairer approach to renewable energy projects than the customary land lease model incumbent in the wind industry, and as a result, devised an innovative model to develop wind energy projects by involving both landowners and community stakeholders as partners. By early 2021, John had grown Tri Global Energy into the 3rd largest wind developer in the United States, having developed almost 40 wind, solar and energy storage projects in Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming, which generate over 8,400 megawatts of power. These projects paid more than $105 million to landowners and community investors, $800+ million in tax and royalty benefits to local communities and realized $9.02 billion in capital investment over 30 years of operation.
In September 2022, Tri Global Energy successfully was sold to Enbridge, Canada’s largest energy company, for a very substantial consideration. John exited Tri Global Energy as part of the transaction.
John also has deep expertise in residential, commercial and industrial solar projects, such as the engineering and installations for:
- American Airlines Federal Credit Union headquarters building
- San Jacinto College in Houston, TX (multiple buildings)
- Multiple Chevrolet dealerships in North Texas, including solar-topped canopies to protect inventory from hail damage while generating power
- Cistercian Preparatory School
- Green office space development in downtown Dallas
- LBJ Infrastructure Group (multiple locations)
A pioneer and industry leader for his vision and contributions to the development of renewable energy, John has been recognized by the White House, the United States Congress, the Texas State Legislature and noted business media. John‘s numerous recognitions include:
- Named to the Dallas 500 by D CEO Magazine (2022, 2023)
- Received D CEO Magazine’s Renewable Energy Impact Award (2022)
- Awarded Renewable Energy Executive of the Year by D CEO Magazine (2021)
- Recognized by Texas Tech University for support and participation in the multi-year HUMS Project, testing multiple climate and utilities-resource variations in order to design a system for use in a variety of regions and circumstances; renewable energy research (2018-2020)
- Recognized by the Texas Legislature for Tri Global Energy’s significant contributions in renewable energy to the state of Texas and its local communities (2019)
- Recognized by the United States Congress for contributions to renewable energy and the energy transition in the U.S. (2016, 2019, 2021, 2022)
- Invited and participated in the Obama Administration’s United States Business for Climate Action Summit at the White House (2015)
- Recognized among Who’s Who in North Texas Energy by the Dallas Business Journal (2014-2016)
- Interviewed and profiled by noteworthy press, including Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Mother Jones, Lester Brown’s The Great Transition, RECHARGE: North American WindPower, Renewables Now, E&E News, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Business Journal, Reuters, and Texas Tech Alumni Magazine, Chicago Tribune, McClatchy News, Wall Street Journal, among others
In 2020, John completed his first book, Texas Wind Force, which can be purchased on Amazon.