Richard A. Vaccari

Richard A. Vaccari is vice president of mergers and acquisitions for Sempra Energy, a San Diego-based Fortune 500 energy services holding company whose subsidiaries provide electricity and natural gas products and services.  The Sempra Energy companies' 13,800 employees serve more than 29 million consumers worldwide.

In his current position, Vaccari is responsible for all Sempra Energy’s strategic development activities.

Previously, Vaccari was vice president managing development and mergers and acquisitions for Sempra Energy’s competitive energy businesses.  He also was the managing director of Sempra Partners, an equity fund with financial and energy counterparts to acquire attractive gas and power assets. 

Prior to joining Sempra Energy in 2003, Vaccari spent more than 20 years in investment banking, focusing primarily on the power sector.  He began his career at Goldman Sachs as vice president of the Public Utility Group, and served as a managing director in the Global Power Group at Merrill Lynch.  He also worked for Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was a senior managing director in the energy group and responsible for some of the largest client relationships in the Midwest.

Vaccari holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.  He currently serves on the board of CleanTECH San Diego.