William T. McCormick Jr. Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of CMS Energy Corporation

E=Mc(Cormick) William McCormick has driven Michigan-based CMS Energy to new heights as an international energy company. We have selected him as our Person of the Month for his dedication to brownfield issues and for his support of Michigan’s Consumer Renaissance Development Corporation, an outstanding example of a public/private partnership that works to educate the community and to restore brownfield sites.

Energy and being energetic are important attributes in William McCormick’s challenging world. Since 1985, he has successfully steered Michigan-based CMS Energy to a position of worldwide leadership as an innovative international energy company. Mr. McCormick is also chairman of Consumers Energy, CMS’ principal subsidiary and America’s fourth-largest combination gas and electric utility.

His business acumen is coupled with a keen awareness that successful 21st century companies also need to be good corporate citizens, which includes embracing environmental initiatives. “Corporate citizenship and environmental leadership are not only good things to do, they are the right things to do,” Mr. McCormick says.

Putting those words into practice led to the birth of the Consumers Renaissance Development Corporation (CRDC) in 1996. Supported by Mr. McCormick and various public and private groups, CRDC works to inform developers and communities of the tools available for developing investment opportunities at brownfield sites and for restoring the environment. To date, the group has successfully redeveloped 68 abandoned sites, returning $1.7 billion to the economy. Through 1999, CRDC has provided assistance to more than 300 communities and distributed more than 1,400 “how-to” primers on brownfield redevelopment.

Among Mr. McCormick’s other notable achievements is his position as vice chair of Detroit Renaissance. The private, nonprofit group was formed in 1970 by business leaders who want to revitalize Detroit and Southeast Michigan. Its success story is the Detroit Renaissance Center, one of the largest privately financed real estate projects in history. The “Ren Cen” has been a driving force in the rejuvenation of downtown Detroit’s waterfront area.

Mr. McCormick also chairs the Consumers Energy Foundation, the nonprofit, philanthropic arm of Consumers Energy. Founded in 1990, about 3 percent of the foundation’s $1 million annual budget goes to environmental causes. To date, nearly $9 million has been awarded to qualifying nonprofit groups.

Perhaps the crown jewel of Mr. McCormick’s environmental achievements is his leadership role in Bay Harbor Ltd. Beginning in 1994, Bay Harbor Ltd. co-developed property near Petoskey, Mich.—home to an abandoned cement plant—and turned the 1,200-acre eyesore and environmental liability into a successful, multi-million dollar residential/commercial community.

Before moving to Michigan, the Washington, D.C., native devoted his attention to governmental and public policy work. Between 1973 and 1976, Mr. McCormick held several senior posts with the federal government, including policy-level positions in the Energy Policy Office at the White House, the Office of Management and Budget, and the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration. He began his governmental work after receiving his doctorate in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969.

William T. McCormick’s philanthropic and environmental efforts have resulted in positive change throughout Michigan. Brownfield News thanks CMS chairman and CEO William McCormick for his diverse and varied environmental efforts and his energy and determination in putting them into practice.