Michael J. Doniger

Chief Operating Officer

In his role as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer for Chaberton Energy, Mike leads the company’s development, engineering, and business operations teams. 

Committed to Lean/Operations Excellence principles, Mike began his career in the U.S. Navy culminating in service as Chief Engineer of a nuclear-powered submarine. In 2008, realizing the growing need for leadership in the clean energy industry, Mike joined a young biomass-to-energy start-up that grew to be the world’s leading supplier of utility-grade wood pellets. Mike held a number of senior engineering, operations and development positions as the company grew to a $1B market capitalization deploying over $500M in growth capital and implementing the processes necessary to operate 7 manufacturing facilities, 4 ports, and nearly 600 people. Subsequently, Mike led a 1,200+ person Amazon distribution center outside Richmond, Virginia, implementing same-day delivery service in 2019.  

Mike holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering with merit from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master’s in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Georgetown University. He lives outside Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Luan, and two sons, Benjamin and Aden.