Keynote

During his tenure as the longest-serving Governor in Texas history, Rick Perry was steadfast in his belief that the soul of innovation lies within the hearts and minds of the people we entrust with driving it, not an overreaching, impractical federal government. To that end, he devoted himself to the task of restoring a proper balance between the bureaucracy of Washington and the will of the citizens he had sworn to uplift and advocate for. In doing so, he transformed the lone-star state into a bonafide economic powerhouse and a testament to the kind of prosperity possible when government chooses to empower those committed to American ingenuity.

Allen Nye is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Oncor, the largest electric utility in Texas, and the largest pure-play wires Company in America. Nye became CEO of Oncor in early 2018, after the close of a successful transaction with Sempra Energy. Nye previously served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, responsible for overseeing all of Oncor’s legal, regulatory, government affairs, and compliance matters.

From June 2008 until joining Oncor, Nye practiced law as a partner in the Dallas office of Vinson & Elkins LLP, where he focused on the representation of regulated energy companies before state and federal government agencies, including the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the State Office of Administrative Hearings and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Prior to Vinson & Elkins, Nye was a partner in the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP from January 2002 until May 2008. Nye graduated from Texas A&M University in 1989 and earned a J.D. at St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1993. Texas Monthly named Nye a “Texas Rising Star” in 2005.

Nye is an active community leader, presently involved on the President’s Advisory Board at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Texas A&M’s SmartGrid Advisory Board, and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas as well as an Ex-Officio board member of the Dallas Citizens Council. Previously, Nye served on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.

Nye is a graduate of Leadership Dallas and lives in Dallas with his wife and two children.

Tom Deitrich was appointed president and chief executive officer and named to Itron's board of directors in August 2019. He joined Itron in 2015 as executive vice president and COO and has played a major role in shaping the company’s strategy to partner with cities and utilities to deliver industrial IoT solutions.

Tom has more than 25 years of experience in global operations at leading technology firms and has held numerous executive management positions where he led business-level strategies that transformed and significantly improved business results. He has extensive experience in product management, research and development, supply chain management, and business development in several industries, including industrial equipment, telecommunications, and semiconductors.

Before joining Itron, Tom was senior vice president and general manager for Digital Networking at Freescale Semiconductor. Prior to Freescale, Tom worked for Flextronics International, Ericsson Mobile Communications, and General Electric Corporation.

Head of FPT Industrial – North America