Christopher Rousseau is Vice President of Power Generation at WSB. Chris brings a well-rounded perspective to the WSB Power Division. He has 30 years of experience including almost two decades in hydro engineering, dam safety, and renewable energy development. He has held several prominent positions in the industry, including COO at Mavel America’s, Inc., Renewable Energy Market Leader at J.F. Brennan Company, Inc., and Manager of Renewable Business Operations at Minnesota Power. His extensive experience with complex project management and alternative project delivery has helped support the nation’s call to transform our energy landscape. His mentoring and team optimization skills are helping to drive innovation on WSB renewable energy projects.
Prior to joining the hydro industry, he was a Vice President at MSA Professional Services with regional responsibilities for the State of Minnesota. His work at MSA was focused on Municipal Engineering with special emphasis on water and wastewater systems.
During his career, Rousseau has enjoyed the opportunity to see the construction industry from a variety of viewpoints, including Engineering Consulting (from Project Engineer to Vice President), Asset Owner (from Senior Engineer to Manager of Renewable Business Operations for Hydro & Biomass at Minnesota Power, and Construction (with J.F. Brennan Company). This diverse background has provided him with specialized experiences in contracting, strategic planning, alternative project delivery, legislative affairs, public policy, project management and project financing.
Beyond his professional work experience, he has been engaged in volunteer professional service his entire career. Since 2000, Rousseau has been active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) beginning with Section level leadership. He served on the Duluth Section board in all roles (president, vice president, treasurer and secretary). He has also participated on several ASCE National level committees including the State Government Relations Committee, the Public Policy Committee, and the Infrastructure and Research Policy Committee. He served two terms as ASCE Region 3 Governor representing engineers from the states of Minnesota and North Dakota prior to being elected to the NHA Board of Directors in 2019. He was advanced by ASCE to the membership grade of Fellow in 2019.
Rousseau graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1996, with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and is a registered Professional Engineer in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
