President & CEO

Kevin M. Gaden

President & CEO Kevin M. Gaden became the President & CEO of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, the Illinois Public Energy Agency and the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association in January 2012.

Before joining IMEA, IPEA and IMUA, Gaden held positions of increasing responsibility at the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool (NMPP) starting in 1987 through 2011.

Gaden served as the Director of Wholesale Electric Operations for the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, known as MEAN (which is one of the four entities that comprise the NMPP). He also served as the Board Chair for the Public Power Generation Agency (a partnership of five public power utilities that commissioned the 220 MW coal-fired Whelan Energy Center #2 generation station in Nebraska). Gaden has extensive experience in electric power supply planning, utility operations and finance. He also served as the managing agent for the Whelan Energy Center #2 project located in Hastings, Nebraska and led contract negotiations on several long-term power purchasing contracts. Under his leadership, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska tripled in size over a 12-year period.

Gaden holds a B.S. in construction management and an M.S. in community and regional planning from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.