Weeks after concluding his tenure leading the Dallas Regional Chamber, Dale Petroskey has begun a new gig as CEO of a Dallas-based energy conservation firm.
The company, now known as Cenergistic, was founded around 40 years ago by Dr. William Spears, an energy conservation expert and prominent Southern Methodist University benefactor. It uses patented technology to help its clients reduce their energy and water consumption.
Cenergistic is based in north Dallas and has worked with organizations, including numerous school districts, universities, churches and local governments, around the country. (Cenergistic has also been a vendor of the corporate parent for The Dallas Morning News.)
In an interview, Petroskey said he was contacted by the firm after he announced in July that he would be stepping down from the DRC. He eventually decided to accept the new leadership role because he was drawn to Cenergistic’s work as well as the chance to work alongside Spears.
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“I loved the mission,” he said. “It’s good for the world — it’s saving energy and saving water as both of those are becoming scarcer … and saving companies and organizations money in the process.”
Petroskey has also long admired Spears — who launched his own career in energy consulting decades ago by reducing costs for the Wichita Falls Independent School District — and was excited by the chance to learn from him, he said.
Before leading the DRC for 12 years, Petroskey served in a number of high-profile roles, including as a press secretary under President Ronald Reagan, president of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and an executive with the Texas Rangers.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, he also served as an executive with the National Geographic Society, a position he credited with reinforcing the values of conservation and “not using more than we need.”
When he announced last summer that he’d be stepping down from leading the chamber, Petroskey cited personal reasons, including his wife’s recent pancreatic cancer diagnosis. However, Petroskey noted that in recent months she has been doing well, which allowed him to think more seriously about the new role.
“In the fall, as she started to get better and better, I said, ‘What do you think?’ Petroskey recalled. “She said, ‘Sure. I know how you’re wired.’”
Petroskey was succeeded on the chamber by Brad Cheves, a former executive at SMU.