Kern Energy (refinery and transportation fuels producer)
When Jennifer Haley took the helm of Kern Energy as CEO in 2018, she became one of just a few female CEOs in the refining industry—and the first in California. Haley stepped into an incredibly dynamic and challenging operating environment as she guided Kern to a more public and collaborative approach to navigating California’s energy evolution.
As a former D-1 athlete, Haley is not one to shy away from a challenge. Where many leaned out and pivoted to different business models, Haley and her team embraced the opportunity to evolve, moving to invest further in renewable and low carbon fuels and leveraging Kern Energy’s relatively small size in the market to serve as a catalyst and incubator for innovative solutions.
Under Haley’s leadership, Kern Energy has gone from being one of the first refineries in the nation to produce renewable diesel to now having produced more than 57 million gallons of renewable diesel while continuing to provide 1% of the state’s gasoline and 3% of its diesel fuel. Haley also oversaw a rebranding of the company from “Kern Oil & Refining Co.” to “Kern Energy” to better represent their all of the above approach to achieving California’s climate goals while continuing to reliably supply the transportation fuels that drive the state.
Haley credits many leading women in her life for lifting her up and helping her to advance. She drives this same ethos at Kern Energy and through her leadership positions on the Board of Directors for the California Chamber of Commerce, as an at-large member of the Chamber’s Executive Committee and on the Foundation Board of the California Science Center.
Haley was recently described as having “a way of organizing people such that they feel like they collectively have a purpose” and has established herself as a courageous leader and force for good. A driving principle for Haley is to leave things better than she found them, especially for her two sons, Luke and Jake.