Paying It Forward at Ameren
August 5, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET | 1:00 PM CT | 11:00 AM PT
Duration: 60 minutes
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Summary
From meter reader to Chairman and President of Ameren Illinois, Patrick Smith has decades of experiences. He was mentored throughout his career, and today, he is paying it forward by mentoring young craft and professional protégés.
Bring your questions and take part in this engaging discussion about career development, mentorship, and the opportunities ahead.
Join us to:
- Go inside the mindset of a leader who has reached the highest levels of an organization.
- Learn the key traits, decisions, and experiences that shape leadership success.
- Discover how effective leaders mentor talent and build future leadership pipelines.
- Submit your questions and gain insights you can apply to your own career.
Speakers
Mike Beehler
National Spokesperson
Power Delivery Intelligence Initiative
Mike Beehler P.E. is the national spokesperson for the Power Delivery Intelligence Initiative and the chief opportunity officer for Mike Beehler & Associates LLC. He started his career designing and building transmission lines and substations for Tucson Electric Power and the Hawaiian Electric Co. and then spent more than 20 years designing T&D infrastructure and consulting on emerging trends at Burns & McDonnell. He has written, presented, and consulted on reliability-centered maintenance, critical infrastructure protection, and program management.
In addition, he is a well-known industry writer and speaker on the early definition of the smart grid, 3-D and building information modeling applications in T&D, and development plans for smart cities. Most recently, he is sought for his strategic leadership and vision on the application of emerging technologies in changing business models to include the integration of distributed energy resources, augmented/virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. He authored the book, The Science of the Sale.
Beehler is a registered professional engineer in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama. He also is a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of IEEE and CIGRE.
Patrick E. Smith, Sr.
President and Chairman
Ameren Illinois
Patrick E. Smith, Sr. is chairman and president of Ameren Illinois, where he is responsible for energy delivery to more than 1.2 million electric and more than 800,000 natural gas customers encompassing 1,200 communities across 43,700 square miles. Smith was promoted to Illinois' top position on Jan. 1, 2026.
Smith has been with the company more than 40 years. In his previous role, as senior vice president of Operations and Technical Services, he was responsible for the oversight and support of all electric and natural gas field operations; including subtransmission and distribution maintenance, engineering design, safety and training, reliability planning, dispatch operations, electrical and natural gas emergency response, and construction services for Ameren Illinois.
He has held various leadership positions in several areas including vice president of Economic, Community and Business Development, and vice president, Division Operations for Ameren Missouri. He joined Union Electric, now Ameren Missouri, in 1985 as a meter reader, and soon after completed a 4-year apprenticeship, leading to his promotion to journey Lineworker. Since then, Smith has worked in progressively responsible leadership roles.
Smith is a native of East St. Louis. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial and organizational psychology and an Executive MBA from Washington University. He is active in the community and passionate about youth sports. He sits on the board of the United Way of Greater St. Louis, and serves on various other committees, including the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer efforts.
