Former federal regulator and Yale professor Daniel C. Esty is the governor’s choice to head the proposed new agency that combines utility oversight and environmental regulation.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Thursday that Esty will be  the commissioner of the new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
The state departments of Public Utility Control and Environmental Protection would be combined into DEEP
The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and its program Save the Sound applauded Esty’s hiring.
“The state is undoubtedly in a period when we need to make serious changes to our energy policies that are fully engaged with a target of lowering costs for both individuals and businesses,” Esty said in a statement. “The job creation benefits that will result from fixing the state’s energy system are a significant factor in boosting economic development here at home.”
Esty has advised top executives from dozens of companies worldwide on environment and sustainability issues, and served as an advisor on energy and environmental issues for President Obama’s campaign and as a member of his Presidential Transition Team.
A former senior official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Esty is the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale. He is also the Director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale.
Esty has written books and articles on environmental strategy, competitiveness, policy reform, and regulation.
Esty’s recent prize-winning book with Andrew Winston, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, argues that sustainability has become a critical element of corporate strategy.
He holds a B.A. from Harvard, an M.A. from Oxford, and a law degree from Yale.Â
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