Portland, OR: Cascade Energy announced today that Dan Brown will be succeeding Marcus Wilcox as Chief Executive Offer, effective January 1, 2022. The company also shares that it has established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), making Cascade Energy a 100 percent employee-owned firm.

Dan Brown joined Cascade Energy in 1998 as the first full-time employee to be hired by its three founders, and becomes CEO after serving as Vice President of Customer Engagement for five years. He will rely on his talent for understanding customers’ needs to help Cascade broaden its focus from industrial energy efficiency to more comprehensive support for utility and corporate clean energy goals.

“During my years at Cascade Energy, I have witnessed the evolution of utility and corporate attitudes towards energy efficiency and climate action, and it has become clear that we are entering a new phase – one in which our customers are setting big, bold greenhouse gas reduction goals and putting in place serious action plans to meet these new goals,” says Brown. “Our customers are asking for our support – and we are ready to work side by side to ensure these goals are met.”

Cascade Energy established the Employee Stock Ownership Plan to distribute ownership to employees while enhancing its culture and maintaining its focus. Employee ownership allows the company to continue to attract top talent, and to chart its own course towards ever larger positive impacts on the environment and the economy.

“Since our founding 28 years ago, Cascade has had a culture centered on shared success. This is so important to us that Seek Shared Success is one of our five named company values,” says Wilcox. “The ESOP model not only aligns with our values but ensures the continuity and strengthening of our culture. It is with great confidence that I hand off the role of CEO to Dan Brown and depart from Cascade under the banner of employee ownership.”

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