Tesla China President Veronica Wu, responsible for operational command in a prime EV market, is leaving the firm just nine months after her hire from Apple, according to the electric-vehicle maker in a report in Bloomberg. Her replacement, Tom Zhu, joined the firm in April and now heads Tesla’s charging network in China. The carmaker began shipping its Model S electric sedans to China earlier this year.
Comverge, a provider of demand management for electric utilities, named Art Beckman as chief technology and information officer. Beckman was program director for Hewlett Packard's Software Innovation Program and led teams at Indus International and Pacific Gas & Electric.
Stem added Randy Palombi as VP of sales. Prior to joining Stem, Palombi was VP in Constellation’s Load Response group. Previously, Randy served in senior sales positions at CPower, APX, and Sempra Utilities.
Mark Abrams is now VP of product management and business development at SPARQ Systems. Until recently, he was director of product management at microinverter competitor Enphase Energy. In October, SPARQ raised $11 million led by ArcTern Ventures, a cleantech-focused VC. Enphase's CMO, Bill Rossi, left the company in September.
Proterra, a VC-funded builder of battery-powered electric buses, added former California Air Resources board member and Los Angeles World Airports executive Lydia Kennard to its board of directors. She currently serves as the CEO of KDG Construction Consulting and is the founding principal of Airport Property Ventures, a developer of general aviation facilities. Proterra has raised more than $180 million in VC funding from investors including KPCB, GM Ventures, Hennessey Capital, NMT Capital, Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, 88 Green Ventures and Vision Ridge Partners. Proterra buses have logged more than 700,000 miles of revenue service.
Soltage, a developer and operator of U.S. solar energy projects, named Sripradha Ilango as executive VP of finance and Steve Goodbody as senior VP of operations and engineering. Ilango previously worked within the energy investment groups of GE, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and El Paso Merchant Energy. Prior to joining Soltage, Goodbody worked for Northrop Grumman, Johnson Controls, and the BOC Group. Earlier this year, Soltage announced a JV with the Libra Group for a $40 million equity fund led by John Hancock Life Insurance Company to build and operate a portfolio of solar plants on the Eastern Seaboard.
Scott Hublou, the founder and SVP of product and customer operations at thermostat software and services firm EcoFactor, has left the VC-funded startup. The firm recently added Matthew Plante as CEO. Plante joined EcoFactor from Bidgely, where he served as VP of sales.
Albie Fong is now national sales director at Solar Frontier Americas, the second largest thin-film solar panel manufacturer. Previously, Fong was Cogenra Solar's director of commercial development.
Cyan, a maker of mesh-based wireless products for utility metering and lighting networks, named Mark Coyle as VP of sales and business development in Europe, Africa, Americas and Australasia. Prior to Cyan, Coyle was managing director of U.K. and Ireland at Silver Spring Networks.
Avantha Group Company CG Global appointed Jean-Michel Aubertin as president of its Power Business Unit. Aubertin was previously CEO at Doosan Power Systems. CG provides electrical products, systems and services for utilities and power generation.
Bill McKibben, an opponent of the Keystone XL pipeline, is resigning as chairman of greenhouse gas awareness organization 350.org.
A survey released by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute finds that the advanced energy industry in California provides 431,800 jobs, making it a larger employer in California than the "motion picture, television, and radio industries; mining and quarrying; semiconductors; and aerospace." The building, homes and business efficiency business employs more than 300,000 Californians according to the survey results, which can be found here.