Entrepreneur

A Bit of a Revolutionary

No matter where in the world you travel, it’s often said, you’ll likely run into an MMA graduate. High on the list of people you may meet is Ed Scott ’89.

Scott is the Chief Operating Officer of Excelerate Energy, which has pioneered unique LNG importation projects. He was instrumental in shaping the company into its present model that utilizes self-contained ships (or FSRUs), which serve as terminals to receive and store LNG and then regasify and inject it into distribution networks as a high pressure natural gas. This eliminates the need for traditional LNG import facilities in many places in the world, saving time and significantly reducing capital costs. Projects range from Brazil and Argentina to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Pakistan, Israel, and the latest project in Bangladesh.

Scott has a lot of frequent flyer miles.

“Having grown up around the world in a service family,” he says, “the possibility of continuing to travel and see more of it was a big appeal when I enrolled at Maine Maritime. There was a ‘village’ of mentors who helped me along, including Coach Morse, Dick Youcis, Paul Mercer, Len Tyler and dozens of others.”

Upon graduation with a marine engineering degree, his early career included sailing with Texaco, then working as a mechanical inspector for shipyard construction projects under the tutelage of MMA classmates Tom Norton and Dana Grant. This work led to bigger roles in different parts of the industry.

“The saying ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,’ is a resoundingly true statement,” Scott notes. “I was available at just the right moment when the idea, the basis of our company, gained traction and I had the good fortune to join the design and construction team for the vessels and other infrastructure which formed the foundation of Excelerate Energy in 2002.
“None of that would have been possible without the experience and knowledge gained in the completion of a number of highly technical and commercially complex global projects in the preceding years of my career,” he says.

“In the intervening 15 years, I have overseen our engineering, business development, and now, overall operations, and been part of growing a company into a fully mature and successful, by any metric, enterprise that operates on a global scale.”

“Every place we go,” he says, “we’re displacing more expensive, much less environmentally friendly fuel to power generation from natural gas. It’s been a bit of a revolution in the industry and fascinating to be part of.”

As for how MMA shaped his future: “I’m not alone in saying it was many years after graduating before I truly began to understand the unique experience MMA provided and really appreciate its impact on my life.”

Photo: courtesy of Ed Scott

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