DAVE GESCHWIND, SOUTHERN MINNESOTA MUNICIPAL POWER AGENCY
CEO Profile
CEO Profile: Dave Geschwind with Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency Taking an in-depth look at Geschwind's career path, progression, and achievements. A discussion with Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency's Executive Director & CEO.
Tell us about your career path to becoming the Executive Director & CEO of Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA)? I should acknowledge that many people aren’t familiar with SMMPA or what we do. We are a wholesale power and energy provider to our member municipal utilities. In other words, we generate or acquire and then transmit electricity to our member cities that they in turn sell to their retail customers. Our members in the Rochester area include the cities of Rochester, Austin, Owatonna, Lake City, Spring Valley, Preston, and Blooming Prairie. We even provide to our member cities as far north as Grand Marais. I first became interested in working in the electric utility industry when I was studying electrical engineering in college. After graduation, I worked for a large engineering consulting firm in Kansas City for ten years, primarily working for electric utility clients. Then, in 1998, I had a chance to work directly for an electric utility when I came to SMMPA, joining the company as the Director of Planning, Contracts, and Wholesale Energy Marketing. By sticking around long enough, my title eventually changed to Chief Operating Officer, and then I became the Agency’s CEO in 2011. What experiences have had a significant impact in shaping you as a leader? I’ve been fortunate to have worked with many inspiring people. I’ve tried to pay attention over the years to how people I respect react to the challenges we all face in our careers. How a person treats other people and how they respond to challenges are a big part of how we’re all viewed as leaders, and even how we’re viewed as just another co-worker. I don’t pretend to have it all figured out, but I hope I’m able to emulate some of the many good examples I’ve seen over the years.
What changes in trends and needs within the energy industry have you seen? I suspect every industry would say they are experiencing major changes, and the energy industry is no different. Fifteen years ago, we were responding to big changes in the availability of low-cost natural gas for electrical generation as a result of improvements in horizontal well drilling. That was in stark contrast to national energy policy of the ‘70s and ‘80s that prohibited the use of natural gas for generation and encouraged power plants to use coal or nuclear fuel. Today, the energy industry is figuring out how to reliably deliver more renewable energy and carbon-free energy to our customers as we transition away from the traditional electrical generation we’re all familiar with. Of course, that energy needs to be affordable for everyone, too. And very recently, add the complexity of serving the large electrical loads associated with data centers and artificial intelligence, and there is plenty to work on each day.
14 | ROCHESTER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE — OCTOBER 2025
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