Dennis Bakke

Dennis W. Bakke (born November 6, 1945) is an American chief executive officer (CEO) and business entrepreneur. He is president and CEO of Imagine Schools, the largest commercial manager of charter schools in the United States. In 1981 Bakke co-founded AES Corporation, a global energy supplier which earned $8 billion in revenues and employed up to 50,000 employees in a highly unusual, decentralized business model. Bakke was president and CEO of AES from 1994 to 2002. Dennis also established The Mustard Seed Foundation which provides grants to organizations worldwide and provides scholarships to Christians pursuing advanced educational degrees in preparation for leadership roles in society. Bakke is a Christian and proponent of social responsibility; he outlines his business philosophy in his 2005 best-seller Joy at Work: A revolutionary approach to fun on the job.

Bakke grew up in Saxon, Washington. He is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School, and also attended the National War College.

From 1974 to 1976 Bakke served as Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Federal Energy Agency (the predecessor of the United States Department of Energy) under President Jimmy Carter. From 1978 to 1981 he was Deputy Director of the Energy Productivity Center at Carnegie-Mellon University. He also worked in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Bakke and Roger W. Sant, who met in the Carter Administration, co-founded a consulting firm called Applied Energy Services in 1981. That company turned into AES Corporation, which went public in 1991. Bakke held various positions in the corporation, serving as Executive Vice President from 1982 to 1986, Treasurer from 1985 to 1986, Chief Operating Officer from 1987 to 1993, President from 1987 to 2002, and Chief Executive Officer from 1994 to 2002.

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