Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Chris Wright was nominated by President Trump on November 16, 2024, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 17th Secretary of Energy on February 3, 2025.
Wright describes himself as an energy enthusiast and humanitarian, with a career spanning multiple energy sectors including oil and gas, nuclear, solar, and geothermal energy.
He holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and completed graduate work in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley and MIT.
Wright founded Pinnacle Technologies and served as its CEO from 1992 to 2006, contributing to the hydraulic fracture mapping industry and supporting the emergence of commercial shale gas production in the late 1990s.
He has also chaired Stroud Energy and held leadership roles expanding shale technology to oil production and geothermal applications, as well as involvement in small modular nuclear reactor innovations.
As Secretary of Energy, Wright aims to advance American energy leadership by accelerating innovation and supporting all affordable, reliable, and secure energy sources for the public.