Chris Debenham

Chris Debenham is a technologist, servant leader and is passionate about educating business partners on the many exciting possibilities that Digital can make a reality for the Utility sector.  Chris’ current role is Executive Director of Application & Analytics, Gas & Work Management at Consumers Energy.  In this role, Chris leads the teams that support the Company’s Gas and Work Management Applications while also serving as an extended staff member of the Company’s Gas Leadership team.

Chris has spent the entirety of his 19-year professional career at Consumers Energy.  Chris started his career as a Network Engineer and moved into a Leadership role in the Infrastructure space where he led numerous transformative projects that included establishing the Company’s Dark Fiber rings, modernizing the Contact Center Infrastructure, migrating the Company’s collaboration systems to the M365 suite and migrating the Company’s Radio Communications system to the State of Michigan’s Public Safety Communications System.  Chris moved into his current role in the Applications area in 2022 and is currently leading the transition to a software development centered approach through the implementation of Agile teams and practices.

Chris is passionate about advocating for women in the workplace and women in technology.  Chris was heavily influenced and inspired by his Grandmother, who was one of the first women to hold a leadership role during her professional career at the Provincial Government of Alberta, Canada. She imparted on him the importance of women having an equitable stake in the workplace and gave Chris insight into the challenges of being a working woman in what she described as “a man’s world”.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Kettering University.  Chris’ previous volunteer experience includes Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the Pride Alliance at Consumers Energy (PACE) business employee resource group.