OHIO alumnus David Wilhelm named as Konneker Medal winner

Internationally known entrepreneur and leader David Wilhelm has been named as the winner of the 2025 Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship. 

The Ohio University alumnus is the co-founder and chair of HGR Energy, a company that is developing solar and battery storage projects in places like Algeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Zambia, The Gambia and Botswana. 

HGR Energy is a spin-off of Hecate Energy, which Wilhelm joined as a start-up in 2013. Later this year, if all goes as expected, Hecate Energy will be a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange.

Wilhelm gained national acclaim in the fall of 1991 when he managed the political campaign of a long-shot presidential candidate named Bill Clinton. After Clinton won the election in 1992, he named Wilhelm as the chair of the Democratic National Committee, making him the youngest person ever to assume that post.

Prior to getting into the campaign management business, Wilhelm, while still in his 20s, turned a little-known public interest group called Citizens for Tax Justice into a major player in the 1980s battle over federal tax reform, and a major thorn in the side of large corporations that evaded taxation.

Also during his career, after noting that there was virtually no venture capital going into businesses located in Central Appalachia and the American Midwest, Wilhelm started two funds targeting investment opportunities in those regions. One of those funds, Adena Ventures, helped catalyze the strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in and around the region.

The Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship will be presented to Wilhelm during the Ohio University Inventors Dinner, which will be held in the fall semester.

Transforming the region and making a global impact

Each year, the Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship recognizes current or former faculty members, as well as students and alumni who have demonstrated excellence in innovation, invention, commercialization and entrepreneurship.

“This prestigious honor reflects David Wilhelm’s extraordinary career as an entrepreneur, venture leader and champion of innovation-driven economic development,” said Ohio University Vice President for Research and Creative Activity Eric Muth.

“Through the founding of Adena Ventures and Woodland Ventures, David Wilhelm helped demonstrate that high-growth, technology-based companies could emerge and thrive in Appalachian Ohio when paired with strategic investment and entrepreneurial support. His leadership was instrumental in building the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and advancing a culture of commercialization that continues to benefit Ohio University and Southeast Ohio today,” Muth said.

Wilhelm also has a long history of collaboration with Ohio University—including engagement with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, the College of Business and Center for Entrepreneurship, the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. That history, Muth explained, reflects the spirit and purpose of the Konneker Medal.

Jason Jolley, chair of the selection committee and associate vice president for research partnerships and innovation, said, “By helping connect University talent, research and ideas with entrepreneurial opportunity, David Wilhelm has played a transformative role in strengthening innovation-based economic development across the region.”

In addition, Wilhelm’s work in helping establish TechGROWTH Ohio, supporting the development of angel investment networks, and advancing venture development initiatives through the Ohio Third Frontier helped lay the foundation for one of the state’s most successful regional innovation ecosystems.

“More recently, David Wilhelm’s leadership in clean energy development through Hecate Energy and HGR Energy demonstrates his continued commitment to innovation and global impact,” Jolley said.

Wilhelm earned his bachelor’s degree in government from Ohio University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1977 and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. He later was awarded an honorary doctorate of public service from Ohio University in 2002 and was also honored with honorary degrees from the University of Charleston and Wheeling Jesuit University. He also previously served as the chair of the Ohio University Alumni Association.

He has taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of Akron. His father, Hubert Wilhelm, was a well-known geography professor at Ohio University, where he taught for 35 years.

The Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship

The Konneker Medal was established by the Ohio University Foundation to recognize current or former faculty members, as well as students and alumni, who have demonstrated excellence in innovation, invention, commercialization and entrepreneurship. Recipients are chosen based on nominations reviewed by a judging committee with representation from faculty, university leadership and the Technology Transfer Office.

Will Konneker was an Ohio University alumnus with a distinguished record in research and entrepreneurship. He graduated from Ohio University in 1943 with a bachelor of science in chemistry from the College of Arts and Sciences. He entered the military during World War II and was assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers’ secret Manhattan Project, working as part of the effort to develop the atomic bomb. After the war he returned to Ohio University, where he earned a master’s degree in physics in 1947. He went on to receive a doctoral degree in nuclear physics from Washington University in 1950.

Konneker founded the Nuclear Consultants Corp. in St. Louis, Missouri. He either founded or co-founded six additional high-tech start-up companies. Konneker was instrumental in the establishment of Ohio University's small business incubator, the Innovation Center, as well as the successful university biotechnology spin-off company Diagnostic Hybrids Inc., now a unit of QuidelOrtho. He was one of the principal architects of the Cutler Scholars program and a member of the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees. 

You can read more about the Konneker Medal for Commercialization and Entrepreneurship here.