For many businesses, energy purchasing remains a transactional decision made a few times a year around contract renewals. Nathan Rice has spent his career arguing that convention leaves too much value on the table. As President and Co-Owner of Energy CX, Rice leads a firm that treats energy more like a financial asset: something that should be actively managed through data, market timing, and long-term strategy rather than approached as a static operating expense.

Built on five generations of family experience in the energy industry, Energy CX has grown into one of the fastest-growing energy brokerages in the United States, managing strategies across more than 2 billion square feet of real estate. In this conversation with The Consulting Report, Rice discusses the importance of “staying in the room” after a contract is signed, the role of AI in sharpening human judgment, and why deep specialization remains a competitive edge. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

“We aim to be the broker that stays in the room after the contract is signed.”

The Consulting Report: How does Energy CX help businesses approach energy purchasing more strategically?

Nathan Rice: At Energy CX, the data-driven energy brokerage redefining how businesses buy energy, we work primarily with commercial real estate, hospitality and manufacturing companies, namely any company whose energy spend is large enough that how they buy matters. Over time, managing strategy across more than 2 billion square feet of real estate has given us a unique level of market expertise. We recognize patterns, including what works in a volatile market, what doesn't, and what mistakes get made when companies aren't paying attention. 

Functionally, we're built around three things: helping clients make smarter purchasing decisions, staying actively involved in managing those strategies over time and relieving operational burdens so clients can focus on what really matters. We aim to be the broker that stays in the room after the contract is signed. We don’t just make one recommendation; we specialize in helping an energy purchasing strategy evolve over time to move with the market, not just react to it. 

“We’ve tried to build something closer to what a CFO would actually want: a broker that treats energy like a financial asset, not a line item.”

The Consulting Report: What sets Energy CX apart from traditional energy brokerage models?

Nathan Rice: The energy brokerage industry has operated the same way for decades; typically, brokers get you a rate, collect a margin, and move on. What we've tried to build is something closer to what a CFO would actually want: a broker that treats energy like a financial asset, not a line item. That means bringing real market data, a defined buying strategy and transparency into a process that's historically been pretty opaque. We built our own proprietary platform, Analytics Based Energy Logic (ABELTM), to support that. 

Beyond technology, what actually differentiates us is that we stay engaged. Our renewal rates are upwards of 98%, and that does not happen by accident. It happens because clients feel like someone is genuinely watching their back between transactions. That's a different relationship than what most customers have experienced before. We’ve built trust, and that’s something that doesn’t always happen in this industry. 

The Consulting Report: How would you describe your firm's culture? 

Nathan Rice: We're not a company that gets comfortable. There's always something being questioned, improved, or rebuilt. This way of thinking comes from our leadership team. We're still a family business at the core, and there's a long-game mentality that shapes how we operate. We're not optimizing for a quarter; we're building something that's supposed to last, and people want to be a part of that. 

In 2025 alone, we grew our workforce by 58%, that’s not growth that happens by accident. On the culture side, a lot of my personal energy goes into developing the sales team, not just hitting numbers, but actually making people better at their craft. I'd also say we have a high tolerance for honest feedback. If something isn't working, we'd rather know early and fix it than protect the status quo. That's easier said than done, but it's something we actively practice. 

The Consulting Report: How is AI changing the way your team supports clients?

Nathan Rice: It's changed how we work more than what clients are asking for. At the end of the day, clients still want the same thing: someone they trust to help them make a smart decision about a significant expense. What AI has done is made us faster and more precise in how we deliver our services. We're processing more data, modeling more scenarios, and having better informed conversations than we could a few years ago. 

I've been pretty vocal about where I think AI has real limits. There's a version of this where companies automate everything client-facing and call it innovation, which I think is a mistake. Energy procurement involves real stakes and real relationships, and the trust that makes those relationships work is still built between people. The way I think about it is that AI should make our people sharper by helping them interpret data correctly and make fewer mistakes. It’s not meant to replace that real human connection. The companies that figure out that balance are going to have a meaningful edge. 

“The companies that try to be everything to everyone usually end up being remarkable to no one.”

The Consulting Report: Is there a book, mentor, or mantra that has influenced how you lead your organization? 

Nathan Rice: There's a mantra I keep coming back to: master of one, master of none. In an industry that's constantly expanding what it claims to do, I think there's real danger in chasing every opportunity that looks adjacent to your core. We've stayed deliberately focused on commercial energy procurement, not because we couldn't stretch into other things, but because depth is what actually creates value for clients. 

When you truly specialize, you see things that generalists miss. You recognize patterns faster, you make better calls under pressure, and clients can feel the difference. That focus has also shaped how I think about building the team. I'd rather develop someone into a genuine expert in one thing than have a floor full of people who are pretty good at a lot of things. The companies that try to be everything to everyone usually end up being remarkable to no one. Staying narrow and going deep has been our competitive edge, and honestly, it's the discipline that's hardest to maintain when growth is creating pressure to expand.