Jay Stein is one of the smartest people you’ll ever meet, which makes E Source pretty lucky—he’s both an executive and an owner of the company! Although there’s a laundry list of things that our staff admires about Jay, the thing at the top of my list is the importance he places on his family. At the beginning of this year, he and his wife Lynn (who also works at E Source!) took their two daughters to live in Israel for six months. I very much admire their incredible sense of adventure and that they gave their family such an unforgettable experience. Of course, we missed him terribly while he was gone, and I’m sure he’s still digging out of his e-mail inbox.

Nickname: None that I’m aware of.

Hometown: I grew up in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

What you do at E Source: I manage new product development, expertise development, and quality control.

Why you like working at E Source: I’m delighted every day to have a chance to do work that makes the world a better place to live in. I also love working with so many smart and creative people.

Something most people don’t know about you: When I got out of college, I hitchhiked all over America. During that time, I slept under bridges, in abandoned drive-in movie theaters, and in derelict campers. Once, I got a ride from Spearfish, South Dakota, to within about 10 miles of my parents’ house in New Jersey. I finally settled in Colorado, where I got a job as a laborer on a crew installing solar water heaters.

For more info on Jay, including what he sees as the top three trends in the energy industry, watch this video: