Meet Our Leadership Team

Chris Cummiskey

Chris Cummiskey is chief executive officer for PowerSecure, Southern Power and Southern Holdings.

As chief executive officer, Cummiskey is responsible for delivering growth and customer solutions across Southern Company’s subsidiaries. This role is customer focused, driving efficiencies and collaboration of Southern Company’s customers, marketing and branding strategies across the companies.

Cummiskey also leads Southern Company’s unregulated competitive businesses as he serves as Chairman and CEO of Southern Power, PowerSecure and Southern Holdings. In addition to these responsibilities, Cummiskey oversees the innovation functions for Southern Company, including Research and Development and New Ventures organization. Before becoming Group CEO for Southern Energy Resources earlier this year, Cummiskey served as executive vice president of external affairs and nuclear development for Georgia Power. Previously in his career, Cummiskey served as chief commercial officer of Southern Power and as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

From 2011 to 2013, Cummiskey served as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), where he led more than 500 company locations or expansions in Georgia, creating 46,700 jobs and nearly $9 billion in capital investment. Under his leadership, the tourism industry also registered $49 billion in total economic impact in Georgia in 2011 and the impact of the film industry reached a new record at $3.1 billion in the state in 2012. Prior to joining GDEcD, Cummiskey was a manager and director of energy and gas derivatives trading for companies including RWE Americas, Mirant and Mieco. He also served as a state director for U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and chief of staff for the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Cummiskey is a current member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and Trinity Presbyterian Church. He is a past member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia World Congress Center and the Georgia board of trustees for the Nature Conservancy.

Cummiskey earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Rebecca, reside in Atlanta with their two children, Addison and Jack.

James (Jim) Smith

Jim Smith serves as the president of PowerSecure, the nation’s leading distributed energy innovation company.

As an experienced executive in the field of distributed energy resource (DER) solutions, Smith oversees the company’s rapidly expanding microgrid business and its fleet of over 2 gigawatts of installed systems, which boasts a leading 98%+ reliability rating in the U.S.

Prior to his previous role, Smith served as the chief operating officer and served as president of energy efficiency services at PowerSecure from 2013 to 2018. In that position, he was responsible for delivering top-tier solutions in lighting, controls, water conservation, building envelope, mechanical/electrical upgrades and renewable energy to reduce energy costs, improve operations and provide the best life cycle cost.

Smith was executive vice president and group president of Lime Energy, a national clean energy solutions provider, from 2004 to 2012. From 1998 to 2004, he served as director, engineering and operations for Ameresco Inc., an independent energy services provider. Prior to that, Smith worked for Duke Solutions, a subsidiary of Duke Energy and Burlington Industries.

Smith began his career with Burlington Industries, where he worked for eight years in engineering, service and operations with overall responsibility for multiple large industrial and manufacturing facilities in the Southeast before joining Duke Solutions.

Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University as well as numerous licenses and certifications in construction, engineering, project management and safety.

Gary Kerr

Gary Kerr is senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of PowerSecure and Southern Power.

Kerr’s responsibilities include the oversight of accounting and finance functions, as well as the direction of project and market analysis activities for Southern Power. He was named to this position in 2022.

Prior to his current role, Kerr served as the vice president of system planning within Southern Company Services (SCS) Operations. As part of the system planning organization, Kerr supported the long-term planning efforts of Southern Company’s retail operating companies as well as the development of new generating assets. 

Kerr joined Southern Company in 2006 as part of SCS system planning supporting analysis around environmental strategy decisions for the regulated operating companies. 

In 2009, Kerr joined Southern Power as part of the market analysis & structuring group in Southern Power finance. During his time at Southern Power, Kerr held leadership positions in a variety of areas within finance, including serving as the vice president of financial valuation & structuring. In this role, Kerr led a team responsible for the development of Southern Power’s long-term financial planning projections, the development of Southern Power’s internal market price forecast and led the financial analysis of business development and acquisition efforts across all U.S. energy markets.

Kerr attended Tennessee Technological University, where he received his degree in mechanical engineering. He also has received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama.

John Pemberton

John L. Pemberton is senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer for PowerSecure and Southern Power.

Pemberton provides legal support and oversees compliance, technology, communications and external affairs for both companies. He was named to this position in 2019.

Prior to his current position, Pemberton served as senior vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel for Southern Power, where his responsibilities included contract compliance, environmental compliance, communications, real estate and coordinating with system federal policy efforts.

Pemberton joined Southern Company in 2003. During his career, he has held a number of leadership positions with Southern Company, including vice president of governmental affairs in Southern Company’s Washington, D.C., office, where he managed the company’s federal outreach activities.

Pemberton has also served as senior vice president and senior production officer for Georgia Power, where he was responsible for coal, natural gas and hydro generation. He also served as senior vice president and general counsel for Southern Company operations and Southern Nuclear. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing legal services, regulatory matters and external affairs for Southern Company’s operations organization and for Southern Nuclear.

Before joining Southern Company, Pemberton served as chief of staff for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation from 2001-2003, where he helped manage the office’s efforts on several utility-related policy issues. Pemberton also was counsel and then chief of counsel for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Pemberton is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, as well as the Creighton University School of Law. He serves as a member of the board and executive committee of American Clean Power Association. Pemberton also serves as a board member to the YMCA of Atlanta, the YMCA High Harbour and the Reach Georgia Foundation.

Andrew Wall

Andrew Wall serves as senior vice president and chief commercial officer at PowerSecure.

As a member of the executive management team, Wall is responsible for leading the commercial organization to achieve sustained, profitable growth. In this role, he leads strategic growth development and execution, corporate development, sales and marketing performance and ensures the delivery of a world-class customer experience.

Before joining PowerSecure, Wall was senior vice president and chief commercial officer at NN, Inc., a diversified industrial company that designs and manufactures high-precision components for global markets using advanced engineering and materials science.

Prior to joining the NN, Inc., Wall served in numerous leadership positions for ABB, a global manufacturer of heavy electrical equipment and automation technology, with roles spanning corporate strategy, business development, marketing, sales and business unit general management over an 18-year tenure.

Wall serves on the board of directors for the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, an industry-funded organization focused on accelerating the growth of the cleantech economy. This organization leverages the unique concentration of industry, academic and government leaders in North Carolina's Research Triangle to create benefits through innovation, deployment and talent.

Wall holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration from Elon University.

Eric Dupont

Eric Dupont is the senior vice president of Customer Care at PowerSecure. 

As a member of the executive management team, Dupont leads the Customer Care division.  In this role, he focuses on enhancing PowerSecure system operations through commissioning of systems, premier service and maintenance, PowerControl 24/7 services, managing investment in PowerSecure systems, warranty management and product support. 

PowerSecure’s Customer Care division ensures that the value of our products and services is fully realized, leading to an exceptional customer experience. Over his 13 years at PowerSecure, Dupont has held various leadership roles within the business. 

Most recently, Dupont was the chief development officer, concentrating on new business growth opportunities, especially with utilities, partner network development and the evaluation of new technologies and services. Prior to that, he held positions including vice president of finance, executive vice president, treasurer, secretary, chief financial officer and chief commercial officer.

Before joining PowerSecure, Dupont served as president of Lime Energy Asset Development and held leadership roles at Ameresco and Duke Energy.

Dupont holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration in accounting from Appalachian State University and a Master of Taxation from Denver University.

Andrew B. Capps, PE

Andrew Capps, P.E., is senior vice president of Distributed Infrastructure – Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) at PowerSecure. 

PowerSecure’s EPC Distributed Infrastructure division delivers industry-leading distributed generation, energy storage, microgrids and utility infrastructure solutions to utilities and their large commercial, industrial and mission-critical customers.

Capps joined PowerSecure in 2011 and served as senior vice president of market development for the Healthcare Division until 2017. For the next year and a half Capps served as president of the Distributed Infrastructure business segment of PowerSecure, before taking his current position as senior vice president of the EPC Division.

Prior to joining PowerSecure in 2011, Capps spent 22 years in the engineering and consulting field, where he designed and managed healthcare, institutional, data center and industrial projects, focusing on the technically complex. The last 15 of those years were spent leading four offices and 150 employees in the Florida division of a large national consulting engineering firm.

Capps has a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Florida Atlantic University and is a registered professional engineer.

Scott Kolek

Scott Kolek is senior vice president of Manufacturing at PowerSecure.

In this role, Kolek leads the manufacturing, supply chain, new product development, product management and project engineering groups and holds responsibility for the cost, quality and delivery of all in-house manufactured equipment.

Kolek joined PowerSecure in 2018, bringing over 30 years of experience in power generation. He has a strong background in product management, engineering and manufacturing.

Throughout his career, Kolek has led the development and introduction of innovative new products and driven the operational excellence and process development necessary to improve profits and deliver sustainable growth. He has also successfully transformed businesses and manufacturing processes from low-volume, highly customized products to higher-volume, standardized products.

Prior to joining PowerSecure, Kolek served as senior vice president and general manager of 3Pi, a manufacturer of generator sets, switchgear and control solutions for critical power backup and utility grid-interactive applications. Before joining 3Pi, he held engineering management roles at Cummins Power Generation in the U.S. and Europe and product and sales management roles at GE Industrial in the U.S. and Asia.

Kolek holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota

David Condon

David Condon is senior vice president of Energy Efficiency Services at PowerSecure.

In this role, Condon is responsible for reducing energy consumption and utility spending for clients, while leading a dedicated team of professionals committed to promoting energy efficiency across the United States. His focus includes ensuring financial benefits for customers and maintaining the stability of the energy efficiency services organization.

Condon and the EES team spearhead forward-looking energy reduction and sustainability initiatives. The goal is to transition to more efficient and climate-friendly solutions such as facility lighting, mechanical systems, electrical distribution, weatherization and water conservation. These initiatives are designed to minimize resource use within federal, educational and commercial facilities.

Condon brings over 30 years of industry experience to his current role, with a diverse background spanning aviation, military service and energy efficiency sectors. Most recently, he served as a plank owner at AEM, where he helped launch the Energy Efficiency Services group, which later evolved into PowerSecure Energy Efficiency Services. Prior to that, Condon worked in the electrical industry, managing energy-efficient installations at Legget Electric.

Earlier in his career, Condon served as an avionics systems technician in the United States Air Force. He began his professional journey with Pan American Airways, where he held several positions, including Sales and Marketing, passenger service agent, shift supervisor in Departure Services Control and aircraft schedule and maintenance planning.

Condon completed airframe and powerplant training at the Academy of Aeronautics, followed by specialized avionics systems training at the Airforce Training Academy. Additionally, Condon received certification in aircraft weight and balance from the Pan American Training Academy.

Sheila Breckenridge

 Sheila Breckenridge is the vice president of Human Resources at PowerSecure.

In her role, Breckenridge oversees the full Human Resource function for PowerSecure, ensuring that the company attracts, retains and develops top talent.

Breckenridge joined PowerSecure in 2015 as a Human Resource generalist. Since then, she has led the Human Resources department, starting as the Human Resources manager in 2016 and Director of Human Resources and Payroll. 

Before joining PowerSecure, Breckenridge held various Human Resource positions. Bringing over 20 years of experience in the field, she has worked at BNSF Railway in the benefits department and the leave administration. She also has experience as a generalist at Hotels.com and managed benefits and pension plans for 24 accounts with Aon.

Breckenridge holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Texas at Dallas.