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Who

Kevin Burke is head of power monopoly Con Edison, which means he's the one to blame for your utility bill and the name to curse when your power goes out.

Backstory

A native of the Glendale section of Queens, Burke has spent plenty of time in school over the years: After earning a BA in electrical engineering from Cooper Union and a master's in electrical power engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he went to law school at Fordham and then earned a master's in business policy from Columbia University. (He later completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard.) Burke joined Con Ed as an engineer in 1973, and over the next two decades he held various positions in the engineering, planning, nuclear power, and legal departments. He ascended to the CEO spot in 2005, succeeding Eugene McGrath. Known as relatively conservative when it comes to Con Ed's business ventures, Burke became a political voodoo doll following the slow-footed response to the 2006 blackout in Queens.

Drama

The 2006 blackout left Queens residents without power for more than a week. Residents and borough officials—including Assemblyman Michael Gianaris and City Councilmen Eric Gioia and Peter Vallone—immediately called for Burke's head, but Mayor Bloomberg backed him, even after the finding by the state's Public Service Commission that Con Ed was guilty of "unacceptable and gross disservice." More recently, Burke was on the firing line after a steam pipe explosion on Lexington Avenue in July 2007 killed one woman and injured a dozen; he drew even more criticism when he skipped a City Council hearing on the matter.

Keeping score

As Con Ed's CEO, Burke earns $1 million a year. When benefits and stock options are added to the mix, his annual compensation approached $5 million in 2006.

Personal

He and his wife Patricia have a daughter named Allison. The Burkes live on East 86th Street.

Off hours

An amateur pilot, Burke owns a single-engine Cirrus plane.