Levi Tillemann is an energy and technology executive, strategist, entrepreneur, and author whose career has focused on a central question: how do transformative technologies move from ideas to markets—and ultimately to scale?

For two decades, he has worked across business, government and international institutions at the intersection of emerging technology, energy, transportation, global markets and public policy.

Most recently, Levi served as Senior Advisor to CERAWeek 2026 at S&P Global, where he helped develop the substantive agenda for one of the world's leading gatherings of energy executives, policymakers, investors and technology leaders. His work focused on emerging issues including electricity demand, data centers, electrification, mobility and industrial transformation. He also moderated flagship discussions on industrial AI and the future of EV infrastructure.

Previously, Levi served as Vice President for Policy and International Outreach at Ample, a Silicon Valley technology company pioneering modular battery swapping for electric vehicles. He established and led the company's policy and international outreach function and helped translate regulatory strategy into commercial deployments across the United States, Europe and Asia.

During his tenure, Levi secured and oversaw more than $50 million in non-dilutive public funding. In Japan, he helped establish a consortium including Toyota, Daimler Trucks/Mitsubishi Fuso, Mitsubishi Motors and Yamato Transport that secured approximately $20 million for a multi-OEM battery-swapping network. In Europe, his work helped secure €10 million for deployment in Madrid in partnership with Uber. In the United States, he advocated for technology-neutral treatment of battery swapping in the Inflation Reduction Act and helped secure a $15 million California manufacturing grant.

Before Ample, Levi led the World Economic Forum's Circular Cars Initiative, where he assembled a coalition of more than 60 companies, governments, research institutions and international organizations. Working with McKinsey, Accenture Strategy and global industry leaders, he led research and roadmaps examining how technology, policy and new business models could transform the automotive sector.

As founder of Valence Strategic, Levi has advised organizations including Apple, BP, Toyota, IHS Markit/S&P Global and LexisNexis on energy, mobility, emerging technologies, investment and policy. His work with BP included developing frameworks for evaluating strategic investments and acquisition opportunities across clean energy, mobility, robotics and related technologies.

Earlier, Levi served as a Special Advisor for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama Administration. He worked on batteries, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, energy systems, industrial policy and international technology issues. He established DOE's Autonomous and Connected Vehicles Energy Working Group and served as lead author of Revolution Now, examining the rapid deployment and falling costs of emerging clean-energy technologies.

Levi's career as an operator began even earlier. As founder and CEO of IRIS Engines, he built a multidisciplinary team of approximately 20 engineers, technologists, lawyers and advisors to develop and commercialize a novel high-efficiency engine architecture. The technology received U.S. and international patents and won awards including the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize, NASA Create the Future Design Competition and DOW Sustainability Award.

He is the author of The Great Race: The Global Quest for the Car of the Future (Simon & Schuster), which examines automotive innovation, industrial strategy and technological competition among the United States, China and Japan. His writing and analysis have appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, WIRED, Fortune and other publications.

Levi holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Yale University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan and has advanced proficiency in Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese.

He is based in Washington, D.C., where he lives with his wife and daughter.