Emeka Anyanwu

Chief Executive Officer
Lincoln Electric System (LES)
Anyanwu became CEO of Lincoln Electric System (LES) – the municipal public utility serving Lincoln, Nebraska and surrounding communities – in January 2024. Prior to LES, he served as Energy Innovation & Resources officer at Seattle City Light, one of the nation’s largest community-owned, not-for-profit utilities. In that role, he was responsible for leading strategic functions that included utility technology (IT/OT), information security, electrification, grid modernization, and current and future power resource strategy. Earlier in his career, Emeka spent 16 years at Kansas City Power & Light (now Evergy) in various roles, starting out as a Distribution Engineer, moving into progressive leadership roles in T&D operations. 

Emeka has been an active participant and contributor in industry discussions throughout his career. He has spoken at a variety of industry events and engaged with several technical and trade organizations. He has served on industry Boards including the Public Power Council, the Public Generating Pool, and Energy Northwest, as well non-profit Boards for Genesis School and The Family Conservancy. He has also served on the External Advisory Committee for the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at Iowa State University. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors for GridForward and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. Recent awards for him include the Smart Electric Power Alliance’s Individual 2021 Power Player of the Year and the Energy Thought Summit’s 2023 Thought Leader of the Year.

Emeka has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University. He and his wife Brandy have been married since 2015 and have 3 energetic kids.