Keynote Address


Keynote Speaker for IDEA2024 Announced

IDEA is pleased to announce that Brian Deese, Former Director of the White House National Economic Council, will serve as the Keynote Speaker for IDEA2024, “District Energy for Sustainable Cities” taking place in Orlando, FL, June 17-20.

Mr. Deese will deliver his remarks as part of our Keynote Luncheon, Tuesday, June 18.

A principal architect of the President’s economic agenda, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, Mr. Deese will offer his unique insights into the growing opportunities for district energy as a key driver of the clean energy transition.

Please join us at IDEA2024 for this invaluable conversation.

About Brian Deese

Mr. Deese served as the Director of the White House National Economic Council from January 2021 to February 2023, advising President Biden on domestic and international economic policy and coordinating the economic agenda of the BidenHarris Administration.

Deese spearheaded the Administrations effort to develop and integrate a modern industrial strategy into the Administration’s economic policy – with a focus on accelerating the clean energy transition, increasing energy security, bolstering the resilience of domestic supply chains, and promoting U.S. manufacturing. He coordinated the Administration’s efforts to increase competition and entrepreneurship, lower housing costs and increase housing supply, and strengthen labor protections.

A former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, Deese was instrumental both in engineering the rescue of the U.S. auto industry in 2009 and in negotiating the landmark Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. During the ObamaBiden Administration, Deese also served as Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.

Prior to the Biden Administration, Deese was Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock, where he worked to drive greater focus on climate and sustainability risk in investment portfolios and create investment strategies to help accelerate the clean energy transition.

Deese received his Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College, and his JD from Yale Law School.