Who will replace nuclear scientist Ernest Moniz as the U.S. energy secretary?
We've already reported on the possibility of Oklahoma fracking tycoon Harold Hamm assuming the role. The Associated Press, referencing "transition-planning documents," reported that Trump is also considering North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer (R), investor Robert Grady, and The Nuge to lead either the energy or interior department.
Mercedes-Benz Energy Americas has added Boris von Bormann, former CEO of Sonnen, as its new CEO. As GTM's Julian Spector just reported, parent company Daimler AG has created Mercedes-Benz Energy Americas to sell stationary storage to the U.S. market. Like Tesla, this is a car company that developed EVs and then put its battery expertise to work in a stationary storage product.
Howard Wenger, SunPower's president of business units and an executive officer at the firm for almost a decade, will be leaving the company. He was on the executive team of PowerLight, which was acquired by SunPower in 2007.
Alex Bradley has been appointed as First Solar's new CFO after serving as interim CFO since July, and before that as head of project finance and treasury.
Carlos Abreu, previously First Solar's director of distributed generation solutions, is now senior director of strategic partnerships at Sunverge Energy. Sunverge's 6-kilowatt/19.4-kilowatt-hour energy storage system provides utility-facing grid services and can provide homeowners with backup power for essential loads in the home.
Mosaic, a provider of financing solutions for homeowners, just raised $220 million in financing led by Warburg Pincus. The firm added Steve Controulis, previously with Triton Container International, as CFO. Shahzad Kazi joined Mosaic as chief risk officer from SunTrust Bank, and Chris Phillips joined the company as VP of home improvement lending. Heather Houston, previously with Five9, joined as VP of people.
Dana Olson was promoted to technology manager at DOE's SunShot Initiative. He was most recently SunShot's technology manager on next-generation PV cell and module technologies.
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Enertech Search Partners, an executive search firm with a dedicated cleantech practice, is the sponsor of the GTM jobs column.
Among its many active searches, Enertech is looking for a Senior Account Manager -- Energy Efficiency.
The client provides the leading DSM Operations Platform for utilities and energy-efficiency program implementers, exclusively focused on cloud-based DSM solutions. After nearly nine years in business, they are proud to maintain 100 percent customer reference ability.
Currently, the client is seeking a Senior Account Manager that can retain and maintain strong relationships with prospect clients and utilities. The candidate will need to demonstrate past sales success in the enterprise software application environment and will be reporting to the VP of Business Development. 5+ years in software sales and 4+ years in selling to utilities are required for this position.
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Brian Marrs was promoted to director of policy and strategy at NRG Energy.
Siva Power, a thin-film solar technology aspirant, wants to build a "solar gigafactory in Brazil," according to a release. Siva hired Antonio Granadeiro, previously with Arco Solar and Kyocera Solar, and Kurt Hameeuw, former COO for two thin-film solar companies, Calyxo and VHF Technologies, to spearhead the operation.
Joseph Matamoros is now part of the S&C Electric Company's enterprise software product management team. He was previously principal of utility services at Enphase Energy, and before that, VP of commercial operations at Stem.
Former editor-in-chief of Fierce Energy Group/Smart Grid News, Barbara Vergetis Lundin, is now utility business strategist at Oracle.
From the previous jobs column:
The UBS Evidence Lab has detected a slowdown in solar hiring, noting "a decline in the intensity of online job postings at an accelerating rate for both solar installations and solar sales positions. The deceleration is more significant for sales postings than installer postings, which reverses the boom in sales postings."
FIGURE: National Solar Sales and Installation Positions
Source: UBS Evidence Lab
Green Charge named Tanya Willacy as its general counsel. Most recently, Willacy was head of legal for SunEdison’s distributed generation division. Prior to SunEdison, Willacy spent 13 years with Pacific Gas and Electric, where she helped launch the utility’s first energy storage solicitation. Green Charge, now part of Engie (a large independent power producer), claims to have more than 55 megawatt-hours of energy storage projects in operation or under construction.
Vivint Solar, a residential solar installer and financier, promoted Chance Allred to chief sales officer, Paul Dickson to chief revenue officer, and Bryan Christiansen to chief operations officer.