Now in its ninth year, Solar Summit is GTM’s flagship annual solar conference that attracts leaders from across the solar value chain. Join us in Arizona May 11-12 for two full days of unrivaled networking opportunities and innovative, engaging panel sessions that will provide a unique mix of market intelligence and coordination among industry players.

Make sure to check out S3: Solar Software Summit, taking place right before Solar Summit.

#gtmss16

The premier conference for defining industry needs and creating new business opportunities

This conference will present deep dives by top industry executives and thought leaders that will help attendees navigate the challenges in the market, as well as offer high level networking opportunities that enable you to advance corporate business strategies

Speakers

Ken Zagzebski
President, AES U.S.

Mr. Zagzebski serves as President of AES United States, one of six strategic business units of AES.  As President, Ken leads 10 businesses across the U.S. with more than 12 GWs of electric generation.  The businesses include two utilities, Dayton Power and Light Company and Indianapolis Power & Light Company, delivering energy to one million customers in the Midwest.   The company also has nearly 4GW of natural gas generation in Southern California as well as coal based generation in Hawaii, Oklahoma and Maryland.  The portfolio also includes over 700 MW of wind.  He has responsibility for leading AES’ growth efforts in an evolving U.S. energy market, including deployment of distributed energy solutions and grid scale  battery storage.

Zagzebski is an experienced utility executive with operational and financial leadership experience, both domestically and internationally. Prior to joining AES in 2007 he was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Field Operations at Xcel Energy where he held a number of other leadership positions including the Executive Director of the company’s Asia-Pacific region with responsibility for the company’s regional investments primarily located in Australia.

Zagzebski has an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire.  Zagzebski currently serves as Chair, Board of Visitors, at the Marian University Academy for Teaching and Learning Leadership.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

Bill Magness
CEO, ERCOT

Bill Magness became ERCOT's president and chief executive officer in January 2016 after more than five years as general counsel and corporate secretary.

Prior to joining ERCOT, Mr. Magness was a partner in the law firm of Casey, Gentz & Magness, where he represented ERCOT in numerous cases before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), and was lead counsel in utility commission proceedings in 16 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has worked on utility issues for more than 20 years, held executive management positions at the Texas PUC and at a start-up telecommunications company, and served as a federal prosecutor early in his career.

Mr. Magness grew up in Orange, Texas, received his bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  He is the father of two daughters.

Tom Werner
President & CEO, SunPower

Tom Werner serves as SunPower’s CEO and chairman of the SunPower board of directors. Prior to joining SunPower, he held the position of chief executive officer of Silicon Light Machines, Inc., an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation.  Previously, Werner was vice president and general manager of the Business Connectivity Group of 3Com Corp., a network solutions company, and has also held a number of executive management positions at Oak Industries, Inc., and General Electric Co. He currently serves as a board member of Cree, Inc., Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and is a member of the Marquette University board of trustees. Werner holds a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University and a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University.

Trevor Houser
Energy Policy Advisor, Hillary for America

Trevor Houser is a partner with the Rhodium Group (RHG) and a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. His research focuses on both US and international energy market and policy trends. His publications include Economic Risks of Climate Change: An American Prospectus, Fueling Up: The Economic and Environmental Implications of America’s Oil & Gas Boom, Leveling the Carbon Playing Field: International Competition and US Climate Policy Design and China Energy: A Guide for the Perplexed. In 2009, Trevor served as a Senior Advisor at the US State Department where he worked on international energy, natural resource and environmental policy issues.

Alta Yen
Managing Director, Strategic Planning, GE

Alta Yen is the Managing Director of Strategic Planning for General Electric Company as of February 2018.  In this role, she is responsible for managing long-term strategic planning across GE.  As a 20-year veteran in the energy industry, Alta is a consummate analyst who seeks to maximize value and drive outcomes using data, numbers and good judgment.  Her experience spans several business cycles, multiple large-scale energy crises and the massive disruption currently undertaking the energy industry.

In 1999, Alta joined GE Structured Finance Group as a portfolio manager where she ultimately managed and worked-out a $1.4 billion portfolio consisting primarily of distressed assets related to Enron, PG&E and Mirant.  In 2004, she helped launch GE Energy Financial Services, a debt and equity investor specializing in the energy sector through an operational role and in 2005, she returned to the investing side.  In 2007, Alta was promoted to Managing Director and served as the Chief Risk Manager for the $4 billion energy lending business. There she led or played a critical role in numerous transactions, most notably the ~$1 billion project finance loan acquisition from the Bank of Ireland.  In 2013, Alta became head of the Investment Strategy team responsible for developing long-term investing strategies based upon energy fundamentals and leading the unit’s new business development activities, notably in the commercial & industrial solar and storage sectors.

Prior to joining GE, Alta worked in New York City and Hong Kong before joining a Taipei-based freight forwarding company in business development. 

Alta earned a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University, a certificate in advanced Mandarin from the Inter-University Program (“The Stanford Center”) and received a M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from The University of Michigan.  In 2016, she co-founded the Greater New York City Chapter of the Women’s Energy Network where she remains a board member today.

Radford Small
Executive Vice President, Global Capital Markets, SolarCity

J. Radford Small is Executive Vice President, Global Capital Markets at SolarCity and is responsible for securing diversified sources of capital in the banking and institutional markets for SolarCity’s high quality solar assets. In addition to leading the company’s initial public offering and Goldman Sachs’ Tax Equity investment, Radford has managed multiple capital markets transactions and spearheaded several industry firsts – including the recent $160 million term facility with BofA Merrill Lynch, Key Bank and Silicon Valley Bank.

Radford joined SolarCity from Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he was a Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Clean Technology and Renewables group. Over his 17 year career in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, Radford served clients across multiple areas of the energy sector including regulated utilities, independent power producers and clean technology companies. He raised over $20 billion in financing and worked on over $25 billion of mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Radford holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from University of California at Berkeley, a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola Law School and Master of Laws (LLM) degree from New York University School of Law.

Lidija Sekaric
SunShot Director, U.S. Department of Energy

Dr. Lidija Sekaric is the Director of Solar Energy Technologies Office and its SunShot Initiative at the Department of Energy. In that role, she manages and balances a portfolio of nearly $1B in projects, and sets the near and long-term goals for the programs. Prior to joining SunShot, she served as a senior advisor in the office of the Under Secretary of Energy and as a technical and market advisor on some of the world’s largest distributed solar generation projects. Prior to joining DOE, Dr. Sekaric was on research staff at IBM T.J. Watson laboratory where she conducted record-setting research in nanoscale science and engineering. She holds 30 U.S. patents and has over 40 scientific publications. Dr. Sekaric received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Applied Physics from Cornell University and her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College.

Mathew Sachs
Vice President, Distributed Energy, National Grid Ventures

Mathew is driven by the opportunity to play a small part in the big changes undergoing how we use, generate and store energy. He leads National Grid Ventures efforts to originate, develop and advance opportunities that leverage the customer and grid benefits of distributed energy in the US.

Before joining National Grid Mathew led originations for KRoad DG, a PE platform focused on distributed generation. He was also a founding member of Yingli Green Energy’s American subsidiary, which grew to the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer during his tenure. Mathew also led teams within PriceWaterhouseCooper’s Transaction Services Strategy Group and worked at Honeywell (NYSE:HON), Praxair (NYSE:PX), and semiconductor equipment manufacturer Heller Industries, focusing on business development and product design.

He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from SUNY Buffalo. Mathew lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters, who consistently remind him that anything is possible.

Agenda Themes
  • Dynamics in the Global Solar Market
  • PV Inverter and BOS Advancement
  • Getting Solar Deals Done
  • The Evolution of the PV Module
  • The Mexico and Central America Solar Future
view full agenda

highlights from last year

  • 575 Attendees
  • 500+ Hashtag mentions
  • 2,600 Live stream viewers

Venue

Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia
4949 East Lincoln Drive
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
RESERVATIONS (480) 627-3200