James Connaughton
President/CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies
James L. Connaughton is a globally distinguished energy, environment, and technology expert, corporate leader and prominent White House policymaker. He is currently CEO of Nautilus Data Technologies, a water-cooled, ultra-efficient, high performance data center company. From 2013-2016, Mr. Connaughton was Executive Vice President at the enterprise artificial intelligence company C3.ai. From 2009-2013, he was Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor at the leading clean energy companies Constellation Energy and Exelon.
In 2001, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. Connaughton to be Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he served for eight years as a Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush. In that role, Mr. Connaughton worked directly with the President, the Cabinet, the Congress and the states to develop and implement energy, environmental, natural resource, and climate change policies. Mr. Connaughton played a leading role in bi-partisan enactment of the Energy Security Act of 2005 and Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, legislation addressing brownfields cleanup, ending overfishing, and restoring forest health, and regulation cutting harmful air pollution and protecting wetlands. Mr. Connaughton led the creation of and represented the President in the Major Economies Meetings on Energy and Climate, laying the groundwork for new international agreement and cooperative action on energy security and climate change. Mr. Connaughton chaired the U.S. Cabinet Committee on Ocean Policy and development of the U.S. Ocean Action Plan and led the establishment of four of the largest and most ecologically diverse marine resource conservation areas in the world.
Mr. Connaughton is an Advisor to X (Google’s Moonshot Factory), Shine Medical Technologies, and the ClearPath Foundation. He serves on the Board of the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy and the American Conservation Coalition. Mr. Connaughton is a graduate of Yale University and Northwestern University School of Law.
Session
Presidential Executive Order 14629 aims to revitalize the U.S. maritime industry by establishing maritime prosperity zones, enhancing national security, and promoting economic growth. The order proposed the creation of maritime prosperity zones modeled after the opportunity zones established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. These zones will be geographically diverse, extending beyond traditional coastal shipbuilding areas to include river regions and the Great Lakes. The establishment of maritime prosperity zones is expected to enhance economic activity in the maritime sector, create jobs, and strengthen national security by ensuring a robust domestic shipbuilding capability. The initiative reflects a broader strategy to revitalize American manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign entities for critical maritime services and products.