EUFMC KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Peter Waldrab

Vice President-Electric Distribution, LG&E and KU

From the Grid to the Garage: How Industry Disruption Is Reshaping Utility Fleets will be the focus of the EUFMC 2026 Keynote Address by Peter Waldrab. The Vice President-Electric Distribution at LG&E and KU will lead off the conference General Session discussing how challenges from explosive load growth to more volatile and destructive weather, heightened customer affordability concerns, and a rapidly shifting regulatory landscape are transforming how utilities equip the people who build, maintain, and restore the grid.

“This keynote will explore how challenges translate directly into vehicle fleet strategy,” Waldrab said. “As utilities balance reliability, cost, safety, and sustainability, fleet leaders are being asked to rethink long-standing assumptions about vehicle mix, infrastructure, and lifecycle management. From ICE to EV to hybrid, from mobile power to storm response readiness, from traditional maintenance models to data-driven fleet management, fleets need to be an enabling extension of grid strategy.”

Waldrab, a 20-year veteran of utility industry leadership roles across electric transmission and distribution operations, was named to his current position in 2022. Prior to joining LG&E and KU, he worked for PPL in leadership roles supporting development and implementation of the utility’s distribution smart grid system, and in the digital transformation of field work.

SAFETY SPEAKER: Mike Lutzenkirchen

EUFMC 2026 Safety Speaker to Focus on the Dangers of Distracted, Impaired & Unsafe Driving

Mike Lutzenkirchen, Executive Director of the Lutzie 43 Foundation, will address EUFMC 2026 as the Safety Speaker during the conference educational program. His presentation— Philip's Legacy...what legacy are you leaving?— will focus on the foundation’s mission to end distracted, impaired, and unsafe driving.

The Lutzie 43 Foundation was established in memory of Philip Lutzenkirchen, shortly after his death in 2014 at the age of 23. The former Auburn University student-athlete and star football player was killed in a single-vehicle crash. Mike Lutzenkirchen, the father of the late Philip Lutzenkirchen, founded the Lutzie 43 Foundation to encourage safe driving by using Philip’s life and legacy to inspire change.

During the safety presentation, Lutzenkirchen will detail the Lutzie 43 Foundation’s 43 Key Seconds to Educate and Reinforce Safe Driving Behaviors. Companies can take advantage of the customizable program to help make sure employees arrive to work each day and return home again safely. Each EUFMC attendee will receive the Lutzie 43 Foundation 43 Key Seconds Essential Package.

Kyle Scheele to Headline EUFMC 2026 as Dinner Speaker

He’s been called "the patron saint of crazy ideas” but when Kyle Scheele addresses EUFMC 2026 as the conference dinner speaker his authentic humor will be coupled with some inspired advice about how to harness your capacity for innovation and tips on how to get more and better ideas out of yourself and your team.

Known for projects like having a Viking funeral, hosting the world's first fake marathon, or gaining a million TikTok followers in just 25 hours, Scheele’s crazy ideas have produced wildly outsized outcomes. His presentation — Becoming an Idea Factory: How to Turn Yourself (and Your Organization) Into an Innovation Machine — will be sponsored by International, Leadership Sponsor.

Fleet attendees will also receive a free copy of Scheele’s best-selling book, How to Host a Viking Funeral: The Case for Burning Your Regrets, Chasing Your Crazy Ideas, and Becoming the Person You're Meant to Be.