Peter W. Davidson

Peter W. Davidson was appointed by the Obama Administration to serve as the Executive Director of the Loan Program Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy. In this position, Mr. Davidson leads the Department’s multi-billion dollar federal loan program for traditional and alternative energy, financing a wide range of fossil, nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, efficiency and biomass energy projects. He also heads the federal loan program for U.S. advanced automotive manufacturing technology projects. As Executive Director, Mr. Davidson provides leadership and strategic direction to the Department’s Loan Programs and articulates the Department’s policy and program decisions before government, private and public sector audiences.

Prior to leading LPO, Mr. Davidson was Senior Advisor for Energy and Economic Development at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Before this, from 2009-2011, he was the Executive Director of New York State’s economic development agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, where he oversaw such public/private partnerships as the Moynihan Train Station, Lower Manhattan Development Corp, Columbia University’s’ Manhattanville expansion, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the Javits Convention Center.

Prior to his government service, Mr. Davidson was an entrepreneur who founded and managed six companies in the newspaper, broadcasting, out-of-home, advertising and marketing research businesses, many of which focused on Hispanic consumers. From 1989-2000, he was the owner and President of el diario/La Prensa, the leading Spanish language newspaper in New York. Earlier in his career, Mr. Davidson was an executive in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley & Co.

Known as a creative business leader, Mr. Davidson has piloted complex deals, structured numerous equity and debt-raising transactions, handled labor negotiations, and acted as lead negotiator in multiple financings, acquisitions and asset sales. Since 2001, Mr. Davidson has also been Chairman of the JM Kaplan Fund, a leading family foundation. Under his leadership, grant making has focused on reducing New York City’s carbon footprint; supporting immigrant integration in the U.S. and archeological conservation world-wide.

Mr. Davidson is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration.