John Burkhart

Quantifying Energy Globally

Manchester, Massachusetts, United States

About

I lead technology strategy, quantitative analysis, and organizational transformation in complex, high-stakes environments. My career spans hands-on analytical modeling, enterprise governance, and senior leadership roles—giving me a uniquely non-linear perspective on how modern digital organizations actually work. Across Statkraft, Citadel, and earlier research leadership roles at the University of Oslo, I’ve built and governed large-scale analytical systems, led FinOps and strategic portfolio processes, and driven cross-functional change programs in data-driven, fast-moving settings. I combine deep technical understanding of modern cloud and analytics ecosystems with practical experience aligning diverse stakeholders around clear priorities, operating models, and measurable business outcomes. I have personally built advanced models and analytical frameworks, but have also built and led teams to industrialize algorithms, improve decision quality, and accelerate insight generation. My expertise draws on a foundation in geophysical and energy-systems analysis—spanning energy markets, weather and climate processes, water resources, and risk evaluation. My work is inherently international and interdisciplinary. I’ve operated across India, Europe, Greenland, Svalbard, and the US, consistently at the intersection of energy systems, climate, technology, and operational risk. Core strengths: • Technology Strategy & Governance • Leadership & Change Management • Quantitative Modeling & Time-Series Analysis • Energy & Climate Systems • Cloud-Based Analytics, Kubernetes & Modern Dev Environments • Statistical/Numerical Modeling (Python, Fortran, C/C++, Bash) • Renewable Energy, Risk & Systems Thinking I thrive in environments where analytical rigor, operational clarity, and strategic coherence must come together to drive real business impact.

Experience

  • Statkraft ()
    • Vice President Quantitative Analysis
      Jun 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 2 mos

    • Head of Quantitative Development
      Oct 2022 - Jun 2023 · 9 mos

      Building out a team of quants for Trading & Origination. This has been a 'grass roots' initiative to revamp fundamental analytics and quantify risk in order to enhance Statkraft's risk deployment capabilities. Analytics are the foundation of our positions, and require extensive modeling, data ingestion, and compute requirements. We are covering all resources at this time related to the challenges of creating robust market views.

  • Professor of Hydrology at University of Oslo
    May 2014 - Present · 12 yrs 3 mos

    Innovating in the field of hydrology and geophysical data science. My research has focused on the development of a new platform for operational forecasting for the energy market in Norway. Together with Statkraft, my research group at UiO has developed a modern, open source modeling tool box that enables highly efficient computing and characterization of uncertainty driven by variability in geophysical processes. Applications of the framework have included uncertainty assessment, validation of data assimilation methods, and novel algorithms to assess satellite products of radiative forcing in snow.

  • Citadel (4 yrs)
    • Senior Energy Analyst
      Jun 2020 - Jul 2022 · 2 yrs 2 mos

      Within Citadel Energy Marketing, developed research on geophysical processes within energy and power markets. Developed novel model heuristics and analytics for geophysical components of a production cost optimization framework.

    • Senior Data Scientist - Commodities Platform
      Aug 2018 - Jun 2020 · 1 yr 11 mos

      Data engineering and scientific workflow development for efficient and scalable access to high dimensional products. Development of modeling and visualization pipelines.

  • Owner at Hawthorne House Operations
    Jan 2001 - Sep 2013 · 12 yrs 9 mos

    Hawthorne House Operations (H2O) is a sole proprietorship providing consulting services for model development of hydrologic surveys and environmental engineering related to climate risk management, commercial real-estate transactions, and reinsurance risk-assessment. Services include: * report preparation * data analysis and visualization * risk management * hydrologic modeling * data discovery and presentation.

  • Senior Hydrologic Data Scientist at Statkraft
    Oct 2011 - Aug 2013 · 1 yr 11 mos

    With a total energy production of over 60 TWh (91% renewable) Statkraft is the third largest energy producer in the Nordic region and the largest energy producer based on renewable energy sources in Europe. In the Hydrology Group, I have worked on the implementation and development of a new generation of distributed hydrologic models and data analysis routines for Nord Pool Spot price forecasting. Specifically, my responsibilities have been at the interface of the rigid IT security infrastructure and the 'big data' demands of the new models. We are also working to develop new and improved stochastic prediction routines and other tools for improved energy production prognoses.