Kent Wilkinson, vice-president of Natural Gas Ventures, the $1bn corporate venturing unit of power producer Chesapeake Energy, is responsible for finding, championing, funding and implementing strategies and infrastructure that increase demand for natural gas in the US.

He is also accountable for Peake Fuel Solutions and manages the company’s corporate venturing investments in Nasdaq-listed Clean Energy Fuels and Sundrop Fuels. He joined Chesapeake in 2006, serving as manager, midstream system development, and director, business strategy and development.

Before joining Chesapeake, Wilkinson worked in a variety of roles in the midstream segment of the natural gas industry at OGE Energy and as an engineering consultant. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from University of Oklahoma, where he went on to receive an MBA.

He currently serves on the boards of Wireless Seismic and several nonprofit entities.