Clean energy trade group CEBA refreshes its leadership

Mike Mattera, director of corporate sustainability for data center company Akamai Technologies, is taking over as chair of the newly rebranded Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA). 

Mattera succeeds Michael Terrell, head of advanced energy at Google, who’s been the trade group’s chair since it became an independent organization in 2019. “It’s time to give other folks a voice,” said Terrell. “It’s a sign of organizational health that we can do that.”  

Emily Williams, vice president of sustainability and clean energy at advisory firm Trio, was named vice chair. She succeeds Rob Threlkeld, director of global energy strategy at General Motors.

Both Terrell and Threlkeld will remain on the CEBA board.

The leadership transition marks CEBA’s adoption of new governance policies, along with term limits for its board leadership, as it matures. 

New governance, new name

Mattera led the trade group’s membership committee for the past several years. CEBA’s membership has quadrupled to more than 300 members, and its board includes representatives from more than 30 companies including Amazon, Cargill, ExxonMobile, GM, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nucor, Nvidia, Walmart and The Walt Disney Co. 

The group, originally known as the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, was created by four environmental nonprofits to help corporations interested in buying renewable energy create the relationships and contract structures to make that possible.

It changed its name to the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance in 2021 to reflect a broader focus on low-carbon electricity sources. The “Clean” was quietly changed to “Corporate” in March 2026.

“Commitments haven’t wavered,” Terrell said. “The companies of CEBA are still very committed to the ideals that we signed up for many years ago.”

The rebrand sharpens the trade group’s focus on corporate buyers who have a stake in the clean energy transition. “I think the corporate addition also helps resonate more in boardrooms, as well,” Mattera said. “You know that this organization is highly focused not only on the transition but the seriousness of what we all have ahead.”   

The market dynamics of corporate energy procurement are shifting quickly, and CEBA is focused on advocating for broader market access to clean energy, grid modernization and collective impact.

Corporations seeking to support emissions reduction targets signed contracts for more than 27.3 gigawatts of clean energy for the U.S. grid in 2025. The cumulative capacity influenced by corporate buyers is more than 130 gigawatts since 2014. Tech companies including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have dominated those deals.

Projects are closing quickly ahead of incentive deadlines in July and amid booming demand for electricity that can power massive AI data centers. “We all suspect that this will be another blockbuster year,” Mattera said.