solar summit 2016

Leslie Barkemeyer is the Deputy General Counsel at Sol Systems, where she supports Sol Systems' solar project finance team during project negotiations, deal structuring, and transaction closings.

Prior to joining Sol Systems, Ms. Barkemeyer served as an Assistant General Counsel for a component of the Department of Justice, where her practice focused on third-party financed renewable projects for federal agencies. Dedicated to the Renewable Energy Initiative, she led negotiations on behalf of the federal government and pioneered innovative federal contracting vehicles. In addition to her transactional practice, Ms. Barkemeyer is an experienced litigator having served as an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County, New York and a trial attorney at a boutique civil litigation firm in Chicago.

Ms. Barkemeyer received a BA in medieval history from Cornell University and a JD from Temple University, where she was a Public Interest Scholar and served on moot court and trial team. She currently serves as the Chair of the Renewables Committee of the Energy Bar Association and the Washington, D.C. Board of the Women’s Energy Network. Additionally, she sits on the national Board of Directors for the New Leaders Council.

- See more at: [url=http://www.solsystems.com/our-company/our-team/staff#sthash.eBsF0eq2.dpuf]http://www.solsystems.com/our-company/our-team/staff#sthash.eBsF0eq2.dpuf[/url]

Mr. Belikoff joined Strata in 2014 as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for Strata’s EPC and O&M divisions.  During his time at Strata the company has successfully installed over 600 MWs over 50+ projects.  Mr. Belikoff also initiated programs which have improved safety and quality, while also reducing project cycle time by nearly half.

Prior to joining Strata Mr. Belikoff worked for First Solar as Vice President of Global Power Plant Engineering.  During his time at First Solar Mr. Belikoff initiated and lead the following efforts:

• Industry leading construction velocity (8X improvement in 4 years)
• EPC Infrastructure systems, allowing scale up of FS EPC business from 14 MW in 2008 to over 1000 MW in 2012
• Capabilities to optimize PV power plant design, resulting in dramatic improvement in LCOE and customer value with the same basic plant components
• Improvements to site layout and plant design which dramatically increased site density of DC power and AC energy output (upwards of 30% improvement), simultaneously reducing LCOE and improving NPV.

Prior to joining First Solar in 2008, Mr. Belikoff headed up the mechanical/electrical/energy division for Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor PS&S), a 250 person consulting A/E firm.   During his time at PS&S, Mr. Belikoff leadership enabled four-fold growth of the MEP/Energy division, broadening service offerings and industries serviced in the process.

Peyton is a Managing Director at EnterSolar, where he is responsible for solar project origination, development and financing activities for Commercial & Industrial clients. Before joining the EnterSolar team, Peyton led solar development activities for Fortistar, and was previously the founder of a renewable energy development firm based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to entering the solar industry, Peyton was an investment banking professional for 15 years with J.P. Morgan and Bank of America, primarily focused on private equity transactions, M&A advisory services, and the coverage of corporate clients across a range of industry groups.

Peyton is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has a NABCEP Technical Sales Certification. He earned a BA from Cornell University and holds an MBA from the Columbia Business School.

David Chang is the Director of U.S. Sales for LG Electronics’ Solar Business. Since joining LG in 2011, he has been an integral part of LG Solar’s growth in the U.S.  A 10-year veteran of the solar industry, David has experience in crystalline silicon, thin film, and multi-junction cells used in CPV. Before solar, he held sales and business development roles in the telecom and semiconductor industry.  David holds a BS in managerial economics from the University of California, Davis.

JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) is a global leader in the solar industry. JinkoSolar distributes its solar products and sells its solutions and services to a diversified international utility, commercial and residential customer base in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and other countries and regions. JinkoSolar has built a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated annual capacity of 8.0 GW for silicon wafers, 5.0 GW for solar cells, and 8.0 GW for solar modules, as of December 31, 2017

JinkoSolar (U.S.) Inc. works closely with top financial institutions and key stakeholders in the solar industry.  Publicly vetted by trusted industry third party laboratories, JinkoSolar is one of the fastest growing and most reliable PV suppliers in the United States and Canada. The North American headquarters is located in San Francisco with 5 regional sales offices.

Trevor d’Olier-Lees is a Senior Director in the Infrastructure practice, part of the Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Corporate and Government Ratings group.

Trevor joined Standard & Poor’s in 1998 and has been involved in all analytical aspects of the Infrastructure practice. His responsibilities include chairing rating committees, also as the primary analyst for new credit ratings such as Solar Star, WVB East End Partners (S&P’s first rating of an availability public-private partnership project in the U.S.) and surveillance of existing ratings. In addition, Trevor has been significantly involved in the world’s first three rated solar securitization transactions (SolarCity 1, 2 and 3) and the rating of the first rooftop solar loan portfolio (SolarCity FTE 1).

Trevor was also involved in writing the project finance methodology such as “Project Finance Construction Methodology”, Nov 15 2013.  Recent thought leadership articles Trevor has authored include “How Standard & Poor’s Views The Credit Risk Of Energy Efficiency Projects”, Nov 16, 2016,  “How Environmental And Climate Risks Factor Into Global Corporate
Ratings”, Oct 21st 2015,  “Placid Turbines Fan Concerns About Wind Energy Reliability In The US”, Sept 15 2015, “US Public-Private Partnerships Encounter New Road Bumps As Political Appetite For The Projects Waxes and Wanes”, Sept 9, 2015, ”Standard & Poor's Approach To Rating Renewable Energy Project Finance Transactions” 20th April 2015, and “Renewables Start To Shape U.S. Utility Decisions; Stable Outlook For Utilities, But More Changes To Generation Portfolios Are Expected” 10th Dec 2014.

Trevor holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from University College, Swansea, U.K. and a master of business administration degree from Manchester Business School, U.K.

Adam Gerza is the VP of Business Development at Energy Toolbase, an industry leading software platform that specializes in modeling and proposing the economics of solar + storage projects. Adam has worked in the solar + storage industry for 12 years, working in various project development and policy related roles. Adam has spent most of his cleantech career studying the effect of utility rate designs and net energy metering frameworks on the economics of distributed energy projects. Prior to solar, Adam traded energy commodities for a natural gas trading company and a hedge fund. He has a B.S. in finance from the University of Southern California.

Terry Grant is Managing Partner and head of the solar market practice for Marathon Capital. He is based in San Francisco and focuses on the power, alternative energy and energy technology sectors.

Prior to joining Marathon Capital, Mr. Grant was a Managing Director with FBR Capital Markets focused on alternative energy and power portfolio restructurings in the Energy Group. Mr. Grant originally joined FBR in 1997 and founded the equity research practice in energy, covering the IPP and non-utility generation sub-sectors. From 2000-2005, Mr. Grant was involved in energy technology investment ventures both investing, and offering financial advisory services for energy technology and power asset companies. He founded and served as Portfolio Manager in a hedge fund focused on the energy sector.

Prior to FBR, Mr. Grant held a variety of positions at US Generating Company – a PG&E and Bechtel partnership in the energy sector. He was involved in project financings totaling over $2 billion, corporate M&A work, and was responsible for project development for the South Western Region of the United States.

Mr. Grant received his BA from Wake Forest University and his MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Business at Wake Forest University. Mr. Grant holds Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses.

Jan Grimberg is currently Global Business Director at Royal DSM B.V. and is responsible for DSM’s activities in the Solar PV industry. He has a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Processing.
Jan Grimberg joined DSM in 1988 and since then has held various technical, marketing and sales, and business positions in both Material Science and Life Science businesses of DSM. He has lived and worked in a number of different countries around the world.

Nathan Homan has over two decades experience as an entrepreneur, more than half of which focused on the solar industry.  With a passion for strategic thinking and sea change technology, Nathan currently serves as the Managing Partner of Wiser Capital, a technology centric financial services firm. Wiser has developed a web based platform to facilitate project credit rating, investment and cost of capital competition in third-party owned unrated mid-scale commercial solar projects.  Mr. Homan has a proven track record in international business and project finance. Prior to joining Wiser, Nathan was the CEO of a polysilicon brokerage firm which he founded from the ground up.  Through that venture Mr. Homan obtained insights into the solar supply chain, inefficiencies in the solar landscape and bottlenecks to increased solar deployment - issues he aims to dissolve through Wiser Capital.

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.

Patrick King brings over 25 years of business development, sales and channel management experience working in high-technology companies ranging in size and diversity from Apple, start-up enterprise software companies, to Earthlink and now Suniva.

Pat has been instrumental in building Suniva's worldwide distribution channels since 2011. Under Pat’s leadership, Suniva's has developed strategic relationships with the largest and most influential wholesale, residential, and electrical supply channels in North America.  He has also been responsible for several key distribution model innovations, previously underutilized within solar manufacturing – including developing a Vendor Managed Inventory program that set the standard now offered by other manufacturers’.

While at Apple, Pat managed over $600 million in revenue across business, enterprise, retail and indirect multi-tier distributors.  At EarthLink, Pat managed all new channel development running new indirect channels, subscriber acquisitions and small-medium business teams accounting for over 40% of new subscribers annually.

Pat holds degree a degree in Economics from Indiana University.  He has served on the board of prominent charities supporting the fight against pediatric cancer.   He is the father of three and resides in Roswell Georgia with his wife Tracy of thirty years.

Dr. Alexander Levran was appointed Head of ABB’s Group Industry Segment, Solar in January of 2015. Prior to his current position, he became Global Product Group Manager, Solar after ABB acquired the Renewable Energy Solutions business of Power-One Inc. in September of 2013. Prior to the ABB acquisition, Dr. Levran had been President of Renewable Energy Solutions SBU at Power-One Inc. since July 2010. He joined Power-One, Inc. in January, 2007 as Chief Technology Officer and served as its Senior Vice President of Research & Development. During that time, he oversaw the design and technology management functions of Power-One, Inc., including intellectual property, power conversion, and alternative energy.

He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Magnetek, Inc. from July, 1993 to December, 2006. Prior to joining Magnetek Inc., Dr. Levran served as Vice President of Engineering and Technology at EPE Technologies, Inc., from 1991 to June 1993. From 1981 to 1991, Dr. Levran served various engineering management positions with Teledyne Inet, a subsidiary of Teledyne, Inc., including as Vice President of Engineering.
Additionally, he is a Director of the Power Sources Manufacturers Association, and is active in other industry associations and standards bodies.

Dr. Levran holds a number of U.S. and foreign patents in the field of power conversion and electronics. He received his B.S.E.E in 1973 and M.S.E.E. in 1979 from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. Furthermore, Dr. Levran received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1982 from Polytechnic Institute of NY.

Erica Mackie is the CEO and co-founder of GRID Alternatives, the nation's largest nonprofit solar installer. She started the organization with co-founder Tim Sears in 2001 while working as a professional engineer implementing large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects for the private sector. Their vision was to make the benefits of clean energy available to low-income communities that need the savings and jobs the most, but have the least access. GRID Alternatives trains and leads teams of job trainees and other community volunteers to install solar electric systems exclusively for low-income families and communities. Every project generates “triple bottom line” results: financial benefits for low-income families struggling to keep up with monthly expenses; real-world, hands-on solar workforce training for local workers; and reduced greenhouse gas emissions along with more support for solar power as a solution for all our communities. Ms. Mackie has received numerous awards for her leadership including the Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in 2008, the New Leaders Council Energy Leadership Award in 2009, the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award in 2010, the US Green Building Council’s Green Building Super Hero Award in 2010 and the 2013 Clean Energy and Empowerment Award from C3E.

Ravi is the head of solar research at Wood Mackenzie, where he focuses on solar-plus-storage, solar integration on the grid and related power markets issues. Prior to his current role, he was the head of Wood Mackenzie’s energy storage research practice and covered global storage markets and value chain analysis. As an industry expert, Ravi has been quoted in various publications including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes, Bloomberg, National Public Radio, BBC, Christian Science Monitor, Wired, and Verge. Ravi has over 10 years of experience in renewables as a consultant, analyst and engineer. Ravi holds a Master of International Business degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering degree from University of Washington, Seattle and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India.

David Mead is director of operations for Array Technologies, Inc., where he is responsible for overseeing operations including logistics, project management, supply chain, and service. Dave has years of experience in managing manufacturing operations. Prior to joining Array, he was the manufacturing manager for a high-tech prototype and production operation for GE Fanuc which he helped move from having no quality assurance certification to achieving AS9100. Before working for GE, he was general manager of an optical disk drive company and president of a contract manufacturer that specialized in electromechanical assemblies. Dave received his degree in business with a concentration in finance from Oregon State University.

Dirk Michels, a partner in Ballard Spahr's Energy and Project Finance Group, is one of the leading energy technology and renewable energy attorneys in California. He represents energy technology and renewable energy companies, as well as investors, developers, lenders, and equipment vendors, in developing and financing solar, biomass, wind, thermal, transmission, storage, smart grid, and other energy projects in corporate, M&A, energy project development and financing, debt and equity financings, tax equity financings, joint ventures, and other strategic alliances within the United States and abroad.

During a 20-year career practicing law in California and Germany, he has advised publicly traded and privately held clients in venture funding, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and project financing transactions worth billions of dollars. A recognized leader in the domestic distributed solar energy industry, Mr. Michels has been at the forefront of representing solar, wind, and energy storage projects involving collaboration between U.S., German, and Canadian companies.

Eddy Moore is an Administrative Law Judge at the Arkansas Public Service Commission.   As an attorney advisor to the Commission since May, 2010, he has helped develop and implement policies to expand utility-funded energy efficiency programs and meter aggregation for net metering, and has participated in the resolution of many other dockets, from rate cases and power plant environmental retrofit proceedings to rulemakings.  Eddy previously represented Audubon Arkansas in proceedings before the Commission and helped develop the Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy.  Eddy also previously worked for five years at the Planning and Conservation League, a non-profit group in Sacramento, California, where he specialized in transportation, water, and energy policy.  From 1989 through 1998, Eddy worked for U. S. Senator Ernest F. Hollings as an education, health and transportation policy analyst.  Eddy earned a B. A. from Yale University in 1988, an M.A. in US History from American University in 1999, and a J. D. from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law in 2008.

Scott Moskowitz is the Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence at Hanwha Q CELLS America Inc., where he heads market research and leads communication and policy initiatives. Prior to Q CELLS, Scott was a Research Manager at GTM Research and head of the Renewable Technologies Group, leading a team of analysts covering technology trends in the solar, storage, and wind energy markets. Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and mathematics from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of California, Davis.

Clara Nagy, PE, leads SunLink's Sales team, driving sales and account strategy across the company and focusing on customer adoption of the most compelling solar energy solutions in today’s commercial and utility PV market. Clara earned her master’s degree in structural engineering and bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a registered professional engineer in California.

Andrew Nichols is Senior Vice President of Sales, USA, at APsystems. With over 30 years in high technology and alternative energy sales, he most recently served as Vice President of Worldwide Sales for SolarBridge Technologies through its successful acquisition by SunPower Corporation. Prior to this he served as Vice President of Sales and Customer Support for Enphase Energy, as it went from zero revenue to over $200 million in annual sales and an eventual IPO. He also ran North American Renewable Energy Sales for Xantrex Technology (acquired by Schneider Electric).He began his career at IBM/ROLM and then Apple, before committing the last 11-plus years to the renewable energy industry. He holds a BA in social sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

Julia Pyper is a Senior Editor at Greentech Media covering utilities, grid issues, electric vehicles, the solar industry and energy storage. Find her on Twitter @JMPyper.

Rick originates and manages investments for the Energy vertical in the Power & Water and Energy Management space. Distributed energy resources including generation, storage, load management and supply management are specific areas of focus.

Since joining the GE Venture’s team in 2013, he has been involved in GE Venture’s investments in Sungevity, Stem and kWantera. He also manages GE’s investments in Trilliant, Tendril and Ioxus. Rick has been with GE for ten years, first from 1999-2003 in GE’s distributed generation business and most recently since 2007 with GE’s Renewable business where he held various roles in strategy, marketing and product management. Rick earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He lives in upstate NY with his wife and 4 children and is co-located with GE’s Power & Water business in Schenectady, NY.

Doug Rose joined SunPower Corporation in 2002 and currently holds the position of vice president, technology strategy.  Previous roles at SunPower include cell product engineering manager, director of module R&D, and technology development director.  Prior to joining SunPower, he held positions in technology assessment and manufacturing technology development at GTE, PV research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and thin-film PV research and management at First Solar.  Dr. Rose has degrees in mechanical engineering from Iowa State and Stanford University and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  He is author or co-author of more than 60 publications and 12 US patents in the field of solar energy.

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.

MJ Shiao currently serves as the Director of Community Solar at Arcadia Power, where he works to connect residential customers with community solar projects developed by Arcadia Power's partners. Before Arcadia, MJ held various positions at Greentech Media and Wood Mackenzie, including leading GTM Research, a 30-person team tracking, analyzing and forecasting the evolution of the solar, energy storage and grid edge industries.  MJ is a leading expert in the transformation of the electricity sector. He has spoken at numerous conferences, testified in front of the U.S. International Trade Commission on solar trade issues and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg and Buzzfeed. Before joining GTM Research, MJ managed and designed several MWs of residential and commercial PV projects. He holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware, where he was named a National Truman Scholar. A believer in the social benefits of solar power, MJ has also researched, installed and tested rural off-grid PV in India and Thailand.

Varun Sivaram is the Douglas Dillon fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also a strategic advisor to the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Reforming the Energy Vision (REV).  He is a member of the advisory boards for both the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy.

Before joining the Council, he was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he counseled Fortune 500 companies on adapting to the modern competitive landscape in energy. Prior to this role, he served as senior advisor for energy and water policy to the mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and oversaw the city’s Department of Water and Power.

His work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Physics, the Journal of Physical Chemistry, Nature, Nature Climate Change, Scientific American, and the World Economic Forum. A Truman and a Rhodes scholar, Dr. Sivaram holds degrees from Stanford University in engineering physics and international relations, with honors in international security. He holds a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from St. John’s College, Oxford University, where he developed third-generation solar photovoltaic coatings for building-integrated applications. He lives in Washington, DC.

Colin Smith is a Senior Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, where he leads coverage of U.S. utility PV with a focus on the competitive landscape and market fundamentals. Prior to working at Wood Mackenzie, Colin worked for Photon Consulting leading report sales, sales operations and marketing. Colin was also the sales and operations lead for Next Step Living, a residential solar startup. Colin holds a Bachelor of Science with honors from Queen’s University in Ontario in sustainability and biology.

Robert began his career in the energy industry in the year 2000. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) recruited Robert out of grad school into a management rotation program in their Commercial Operations Department. There he spent 6-month terms on each of the real-time, day-ahead and term-trading desks and in the Commercial & Industrial Sales Division. PG&E's National Energy Group, based out of Bestheda, MD, brought Robert to the U.S. in 2002 where he traded term energy contracts in the Ontario IMO, NYISO, and MISO power markets. In 2004, Arizona Public Service (APS) brought Rob to Phoenix where he worked extensively on the development of renewable wholesale generation and large distributed energy projects. Leaving the utility space in 2008, Robert joined SOLON Corporation and was responsible for the development of both distributed and utility scale solar PV power plants. In 2012, Robert was recruited by M+W Group to develop the EPC power plant business unit. Today Robert holds the position as Vice President, National Accounts and works with select key clients such as BHE, Duke Energy, EDF-RE, E.On C&R, First Solar, MN Power and Xcel Energy on EPC power plant solutions.

Claudia Wentworth is co-founder and CEO of Quick Mount PV, a solar roof mount manufacturer based in California. As CEO, Claudia leads the effort to create the guiding vision and strategic direction for the company. Claudia serves on numerous industry association boards and is a passionate advocate of consumer and professional education in the solar industry. She also serves as the company's lead ambassador to the solar industry and was recently named as of the “Top 10 Women in Solar Energy” by theenergycollective.com. Claudia has been active in the solar industry since 2000 and in the green building and construction industries for more than 20 years. Claudia co-founded Quick Mount PV in 2006, and is co-inventor on multiple utility patents on mounting technologies.

Jack West is president and CTO of Zep Solar, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting and grounding equipment based in San Rafael, California. West is also an inventor, entrepreneur and musician. He is most known for inventing rail-free mounting technology and leading Zep Solar’s commercialization of that technology. Zep Solar was acquired by SolarCity in 2013. West founded Zep Solar in 2009 along with Christina Manansala and Daniel Flanigan and helped to grow the company into the market leader in residential solar mounting equipment. In 2014, one in three residential solar systems installed in the United States contained Zep Solar technology.

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.

Mizhi Zhang, CEO of Sungrow North America, joined Sungrow in 2012 with a background in leadership in areas including R&D, product development, and project management. Before joining Sungrow, Mizhi was the engineering manager at Satcon Technologies Corporation where he successfully helped to launch PowerGate and Equinox series products that once had the largest market share in the utility market in the US. Mizhi is a Professional Engineer and holds a M.A.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.