2025 Top 40 Under 40: Kara Wills

Kara Wills began her journey at Enertech Global in 2008, when the company was still in its early days, gearing up to manufacture and develop its own product line. Drawn to a company centered around clean energy and sustainability, she started drafting in design — but that didn’t last long.
“Over the years, I challenged myself to learn as much as I could,” Wills said. “As such, I quickly found myself taking on many different responsibilities within the engineering department. Wearing multiple hats, from design to electrical to certification, allowed me to gain great insight into what is required to take a project from conception to production.”
That accumulation of cross-functional experience is what’s kept her with Enertech for 17 years and allowed her to rise through the ranks to certification and lab operations manager.
Among her proudest career accomplishments: certifying Enertech’s labs to conduct in-house safety and construction testing — giving the company a competitive edge. She also served as lead engineer on Enertech’s fluid cooler series and was part of the team that designed the industry’s first variable-speed water-to-water geothermal heat pump.
In line with evolving regulations, Wills recently helped guide Enertech through a full product transition from A1 to A2L refrigerants, to comply with new EPA requirements.
In the future, Wills can be seen pushing the boundaries of what geothermal thermal can do by developing and releasing innovative, high-efficiency, dynamic products. She also plans to continue to advance Enertech’s safety testing program.
“By achieving the highest status level through our third-party, we will have expanded capability and be able to deliver Enertech products to the market faster,” Wills said.
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Oh, and she’ll be enhancing her skills as a manager to better serve her team, while embracing the new opportunities and experiences that come along the way.
“Enertech Global has had a lot of great leaders over the years,” Wills said. “Most recently, a new CEO (Derek Dwyer) was appointed in 2024. With his vision and support, the company is stronger than ever. Our focus has been on collaboration and open communication throughout all departments. I cannot express how grateful I am to have such an awesome team, and I look forward to what we will accomplish in the years to come.”
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