Gary Connett

BEL Board of Directors Chair

Great River Energy (retired)

Gary is a recently retired electric utility executive with a long-standing and demonstrated history of working in the national electric utility industry. Prior to his retirement, Gary was the director of demand-side management and member services for Great River Energy, a generation and transmission cooperative located in Maple Grove, Minnesota. In that capacity Gary was responsible for the organization’s nationally recognized demand-side management programs, which included demand response, conservation and energy efficiency, and beneficial electrification initiatives.

Today Gary remains actively engaged in the electric energy business as a consultant to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and as co-chairman of the Beneficial Electrification League. Gary holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Bethel University, St. Paul, MN, and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from St. Thomas University, St. Paul, MN.