solar summit mexico 2018

Carlos is a goal-oriented, ingenious, and proactive professional with extensive experience in the area of renewable energies. He is a multifaceted, advanced, and decisive leader with a track full of success in the renewable energy sector in Latin America.
His architectural and electrical background has opened the doors for him to navigate through the solar industry in numeral of positions such as: sales, distribution, integration, training, and knowing manufacturing of solar inverters for KACO new energy. His 11-year experience in the Latin American countries has permitted him to understand the different challenges, solar business models, legislations and grid requirements. All this accumulated experience has impulse him to be innovated and have an edge on the decision making on what are and should be the correct products lines for any of these countries.
Carlos is currently certified as a (NABCEP PV INSTALLATION Professional licensed: #PV-102216-010747).  On his spare time he teaches interconnection to the grid for a Mexican solar school (CCEEA centro de capacitacion electricas y energias alternas) and also runs as a director for a non-for-profit organization called (We illume) that installs PV systems in rural areas in all throughout the Americas.

• Over 30 years of experience in the Energy and Power sector
• COO of Sunnova Corporation (4th largest residential DG player)
• COO of Nuclear Innovation North America (NRG + Toshiba Nuclear program)
• VP of development for NRG and TXU (Luminant)

As Sunnova COO, John oversaw sales, fulfilment and customer commitments for Sunnova’s channel partners, including the commissioning, installation, operation and maintenance of solar systems. He was responsible of 30,000+ residential solar PV systems
spread throughout 15 states.

Prior to Sunnova, he held various positions at NRG. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of Strategic Alliances for NRG Renew LLC, where he was responsible for the development of key partnerships, launch of the distributed generation division, development of international business growth and the supply chain. Main projects include:
• Development of ~1.5GW of both distributed generation and utility-scale solar, including the 400 MW Ivanpah project
• Raised U$300 MM in equity and U$700 MM in debt from IFC and FMO to develop a JV between NRG and Digicell to bring
renewable energy to the Caribbean
• Development of two 750KW combined-cycle plants
• Other important projects include: development of ~150MW of community solar, acquisition of a 300 MW windfarm

Bates was the chief operating officer of Nuclear Innovation North America, a joint venture between NRG Energy, Toshiba Corporationand the Shaw Group where he raised US$1,500 MM in equity to develop two 1.3GW nuclear units. He also served as vice presidentof development for Luminant Energy, where he lead EPC negotiations of a 7GW coal project. He began his career at Chevron, wherehe spent 10 years in different shipping, supply and trading roles before starting his own supply-chain solutions company.

He received an undergraduate degree from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and earned his MBA from the University ofHouston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business.

Enrique García Basterra, 39, is Head of Facilities Management for HSBC Latin America since November 1st 2015.

Mr. García Basterra has a career of over 15 years in the facilities management sector and over 8 years in the financial sector both in Mexico and abroad.
During this time in HSBC, the directive has leaded the sustainability agenda and implementing the corporate sustainability strategy across the Real Estate portfolio in LAM & Mexico including the signature of a Power Purchase Agreement for the consumption of renewable energy in 2016.

The directive was born in Mexico City on October 19th, 1978.

García Basterra studied Civil Engineering at Instituto Politécnico Nacional, obtaining a master’s degree in Business Administration from the same University in Mexico City.

Enrique García Basterra is married to Cindy Villalobos; together they have one child.

Raquel Bierzwinsky advises clients in the areas of project development and finance, international finance and mergers & acquisitions, with a particular emphasis in Mexico and Latin America. Ms. Bierzwinsky represents project developers, sponsors, commercial lenders, and multilateral and bilateral agencies in the structuring and negotiation of complex, multijurisdictional energy and infrastructure project financings, as well as in acquisitions and dispositions of projects.

She recently advised Enel Green Power S.p.A. on the sale of a majority stake in a 1.7 GW portfolio of eight renewable energy projects, including 1 GW of solar projects under construction and .7 GW of wind projects, of which three are operating and two are under construction. Her recent experience also includes advising the Inter-American Investment corporation (IIC), International Finance corporation (IFC), The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Banobras and Bancomext as senior lenders in the US$235 million financing of the 150 MW Solem 1 and 140 MW Solem 2 solar PV projects, located in Aguascalientes, Mexico, which are the first solar projects under Mexico's long-term clean energy auctions to obtain project financing.

Ms. Bierzwinsky is admitted to practice law in Mexico and New York.

Lionel Bony is in charge of the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean region for Neoen, a leading solar, wind and storage IPP. He started up Neoen’s operations in Latin America four years ago, playing a key role in securing 850 MW of projects in the area. Before working at Neoen, Lionel spent five years at Rocky Mountain Institute, a think-and-do-tank focusing on the global energy transition. He holds a Master’s degree from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

With more than ten years of executive experience in the renewable energy sector, Jaime Burguete has developed over 700 MW of wind and solar projects. Prior to joining Invenergy, he led the development in Panama of over 300 MW of wind power, 180 MW which ultimately awarded PPAs in public tenders and 55 MW of which entered into private PPAs. Jaime also developed 320 MW of solar projects in Panama and Colombia.  35MW of those pv projects were awarded PPAs. Jaime has a Bachelor Honours of Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge, University) and an Executive MBA from IE Business School (Madrid, Spain).

In his current role, Mr. Campbell leads the Americas business for SunPower Solutions, a business unit that offers SunPower’s leading solar technology directly to solar developers and EPCs. In his 13 years at SunPower, Mr. Campbell has held a variety of business and product development roles including the development of the SunPower Oasis Power Plant platform, the creation of SunPower’s original power plant LCOE reduction program, the acquisition of four PV power plant technology companies, and supporting the project development of more than $6 billion of solar PV power plants. Prior to joining SunPower in 2004, Mr. Campbell was the co-founder and COO of Iris AO, a manufacturer of MEMS adaptive optic systems serving the aerospace and medical imaging industries. Prior to that, he worked in venture capital technology investing while at William Blair Capital Partners L.L.C., a $1 billion Chicago-based private equity/venture capital group. Campbell holds an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and a BBA in Marketing, Finance, and Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Licenciada en Actuaría por el Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, con un posgrado en Evaluación de Proyectos de Inversión (ITAM)

Actualmente trabaja en Jinkosolar, en la división de desarrollo de proyectos, entre sus tareas principales están la preparación de ofertas para participar en las subastas de México y América Latina [Argentina], apoyo en la preparación de ofertas para licitaciones con empresas privadas, consecución y seguimiento de permisos y autorizaciones para los diversos proyectos de la empresa, apoyo en el análisis de nuevos proyectos para participar en las siguientes subastas de México y LATAM.

Arturo's passion has been clean and cost effective energy solutions that can help ensure the future of our planet. In 2008 by the age of 18 installed his first PV grid tied system, which would become one of the first 5 systems installed in Mexico.

In 2011 created Ecotiza, to help optimize his installation business practices, creating the first solar software proposal tools in the Mexican Market.

Today he is a co-founder in Sunwise a SaaS platform designed to combine functions that optimize, simplify and control a Solar PV Mexican business.

Also co-founded ExelSolar, Mexico’s leading PV products and solutions wholesaler.

A member in both Mexican solar energy associations ASOLMEX and ANES.

His personal mission is to push the sustainability revolution in Mexico, to help ensure the future of our planet.

Rodrigo Esparza currently serves as CFE Calificados Compliance Officer. Previously, he served as CFE’s Transformation Office Legal Counsel. In this role he focused on the legal aspects of unbundling the company as well as its participation in the wholesale electricity market. His professional experience includes several positions in Mexican state and district courts. Rodrigo holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Guadalajara and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University.

Ben is a SME, Carbon & Emerging Technology, for Wood Mackenzie's Energy Transition Practice. Previously at Wood Mackenzie, Ben was a senior solar analyst specializing in PV systems and balance-of-systems components. Before joining Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, Ben worked in China and the U.S. in cleantech manufacturing and for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in East Asian studies from Skidmore College and a master’s degree in international environmental policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Carmen Garralaga is a Senior Applications Engineer for SMA America, the U.S.-based subsidiary of solar inverter leader SMA Solar Technology AG, headquartered in Germany. In her current role, Carmen represents the company’s utility business activities to support customers as a technical product specialist in the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

While Carmen’s focus is utility-scale products, she also has a thorough knowledge of SMA products in residential and commercial applications in regions worldwide. In addition to providing technical guidance, system analysis and design for customers, Carmen also supports the SMA sales team through developing materials and leading training events for team members as well as external stakeholders.

Carmen began her career with SMA Solar Technology in 2013 as an Applications Engineer and Sales Manager for SMA Solar UK Ltd., the U.K. subsidiary of SMA. Prior to her role there, she held various positions in information technology, telecommunications and renewable energy.

Carmen is fluent in Spanish and English. She has a European MSc in Telecommunications Engineering from Unversidad de Zaragoza, located in Spain, and a European MSc in Renewable Energies, with a specialty in Photovoltaics, from Northumbria University, located in the U.K.

Mr. Gonzalez, Senior Vice President, Business Development at Fluence Energy, is responsible for developing channel partner strategies originating strategic partnerships and initiating deals in support of Fluence Energy Storage product platforms solution sales. Mr. Gonzalez is responsible for the overall business relationship between Fluence and major regional partners and customers by providing leadership, direction, and support of growth initiatives and business development efforts across the region.

He has over 20 years of experience working in the energy sector and came to Fluence with significant product and solutions sales experience especially for reactive power compensation systems.  During his 20+ year of experience, he has worked across Latin America and the Caribbean and in many countries, he was instrumental in the development of reactive power compensation solutions to improve transmission system reliability in the region. He has worked for Cooper Power Systems Power Capacitor Division, Trench Electric Ltd. Siemens AG, AES Energy Storage and now Fluence. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree with focus on International Business from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics, from the University of Akron. He is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese languages, and able to conduct business in all three languages.

Aniceto joined CitiBanamex Afore in March 2016, where he focuses on origination, monitoring and management of investments in structured instruments – including CKDs, co-investments, FIBRA-E and project debt securitizations, particularly in the corporate private equity, infrastructure and real estate sectors. Huertas was previously based in Washington, DC where he was a senior investment officer in the corporate and infrastructure finance department at the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), which he joined in 2007. At the IIC Huertas was focused on origination, structuring and closing of equity products, project finance and corporate debt deals. Aniceto has also worked for the International Finance Corporation and the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Washington, DC. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and also holds an International MBA from ICEX/CECO, Spain, a Masters in Finance degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC and a Professional Certificate in Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford University.

CitiBanamex Afore, part of Grupo Financiero CitiBanamex (Citigroup), is one of the founders of the Mexican Pension Fund System more than 18 years ago. With AUM exceeding MXN 500 bn (approx. US$ 30 bn), it is Mexico´s second largest afore. Local regulation allows afores to invest up to 18% of their assets in “structured instruments”, namely certificados de capital de desarrollo/CKDs (Mexican PE Funds), FIBRAs (equivalent to REITs) and FIBRAs-E (equivalent to Yield-Cos). Afore Banamex is also gradually developing its co-investing and direct investing capabilities.

Carlos is primarily responsible for sourcing and managing assets in the energy generation and electricity transmission sectors. Carlos joined Macquarie in 2012, where he had several roles in the Investment Banking division (Macquarie Capital), and more recently in the Funds Group (MIRA). Carlos has developed his expertise in infrastructure across Latin America, participating mainly in Power, Telecom, and Social Infrastructure transactions across Mexico, Chile, Brazil, and Peru. Previously, Carlos worked as a management consultant at Accenture, consolidating finance processes upon the completion of M&A transactions for Telecom and Transportation companies. Carlos has broad international experience working in markets across Europe, India, South Africa, and the US. Carlos holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from ULPGC University in Spain, and a MBA from Columbia University in New York.

 

Mr. Katzew is the founder and CEO of Zuma Energia, the leading Mexican Independent Power Producer Zuma holds in operation more than 800 MWs of renewable energy projects, wind and solar, across Mexico. Zuma was recognized in 2017 by S&P Platts with the global “Raising Star” award for the energy sector, amongst other recognitions. For over 15 years, Mr. Katzew’s career has been dedicated to leadership roles in the financing, construction, development and management of renewable energy projects across multiple countries. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an Honors BA in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. Adrián is committed to make a significant contribution to the energy transition into sustainable and cost competitive renewable energy resources, and to enable a future where the renewable energy industry is a relevant engine for investment, economic growth and job creation. He has participated and lead the development of multiple policy initiatives and dialogues with the authorities related to the energy industry.

Currently, Mr. John Lefebvre serves as CEO, Founder of MySOL Energy, a solar development and financing company focused on PV projects in Mexico.  Mr. Lefebvre is a board director of PowerHive Inc, a micro-grid company based in California and Kenya, board director of SMASH Solar, a direct mount PV system and board advisor to Solar Mosaic, a solar loan company based in Oakland, California.
Previously, he served as President of Suntech Power Holdings, and was responsible for extending Suntech's market leadership position throughout North and South America with a US$750M P&L.
Prior to Suntech, he served as EVP of Sales & Business Development at SolarCity for 5 years where he grew the company’s sales from $4M to $650M annually from 40 to 3,000 employees.  Mr. Lefebvre was responsible for SolarCity’s sales growth and strategic partnerships like Home Depot, Tesla, Best Buy, Top 25 homebuilders, various utilities and retail electricity providers, etc.   
Mr. Lefebvre began his career at GE before transitioning to the semiconductor capital equipment industry for 12 years at Mattson Technology and Lam Research.
Mr. Lefebvre has a BSEE from Clarkson University, a MSEE from Syracuse University and an MBA from UBC in Vancouver, Canada and ESADE in Barcelona, Spain.

Donaji Martinez, EDF EN Mexico Senior Business Development Manager. Martinez majored in electrical engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and received a master's degree in solar energy from the University of Perpignan, France. She has worked with the Energy Research Center of Spain & the Almeria Solar Platform (CIEMAT-PSA) in Madrid, Spain.  Martinez has more than eight years of experience collaborating with the public and private energy sectors in Mexico including: BIMBO group, Regulatory Energy Commission (CRE), AMDA, and ACCIONA Energy, among others. Currently, as senior business development manager at EDF, she is responsible for managing the development business portfolio in Mexico.

Mirko Molinari is General Manager for Distributed Grid Systems at Grid Solutions, from GE Power. He is responsible for the development and growth of GE’s offering in distributed energy resources, energy storage, microgrid development and other digitally enabled services. Previously, he led Grid Solutions’ growth in the non-T&D industrial segments after working in the integration planning team for the GE-Alstom acquisition.

Prior to this, Mirko joined Det Norske Veritas in the newly formed Climate Change Services division where he was responsible for technical and economical evaluation of renewable energy projects in developing countries, according to the Kyoto Protocol Framework.

He entered the M&A organization of GE Oil & Gas in 2006 and covered different roles until he took the position of Business Development Manager reporting to the division head. During this period Mirko worked with different degrees of responsibility on the origination and execution of +$7B of acquisitions and led the structuring and execution of Joint Ventures in Emerging Markets.

From August 2011 to December 2014, he relocated to Sao Paulo Brazil to lead the Natural Resources practice of the GE Latin America Business Development / M&A team, focusing on oil & gas, energy, marine, mining, software & automation verticals across all GE businesses.

From January 2015, Mirko relocated to Paris to work in the integration planning team for the GE-Alstom acquisition, and had the responsibility to develop a plan to contribute to $0.6B profit from growth synergies, announced to investors.

From January to December 2016, he led GE Grid Solutions’ growth in the non-T&D industrial segments and from January 2017 took the leadership of a newly created unit aimed to develop and grow GE’s offering in the growing space of distributed energy resources, managing global offerings around energy storage, microgrids developments and other digitally enabled services.

Mirko was born in Milano, Italy and holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.

Raúl Morales is the founder and CEO of Soltec. In 14 years, he has raised Soltec to the top tier as manufacturer and supplier of cost-effective single-axis solar tracker equipment. Along the way, the company has grown to more than 500 staff with manufacturing facilities in Brazil, China, and Spain, as well as offices in Australia, Denmark, Chile, India, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.
In 2016, Morales commissioned an internship program that helps foster young talent with on-the-job training. By investing in people through his passion for the solar industry, he takes pride in knowing that customers choose Soltec for cost-effectiveness and high-yield equipment.
Through his leadership, Soltec has achieved a company track record of supplying over 2.2 GW of tracking equipment worldwide and with over 200 percent revenue growth in 2017, the company estimates annual turnover of USD 215 million.
Morales holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering. Driven by family, part of his successful traction is the passionate and tireless leadership of the company. ​​His technical expertise in machinery and manufacturing design inspires Soltec’s team and drives product success.

ith more than 22 years of experience in the Mexican energy sector, Hector Olea has actively participated in the promotion and development of renewable energy in the country. Since 2004, Hector Olea is President and CEO of Gauss, a business development firm specialized in the energy sector. Gauss activities are focused in the identification, development and structuring investment opportunities in renewable energy projects, which accounts for more than US$700 million in greenfield projects. Before, he acted as CEO of Suez in Mexico, where he led its transformation into a nationwide energy company. From 1995 to 2000, Mr. Olea acted as Chairman of the Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). He is President of the Asociación Mexicana de Energía Solar Fotovoltaica (Asolmex) and Chairman of the Mexican Section of the Mexico-US Business Energy Council. He is an economist from ITAM (Mexico) and an earned his Master and PhD in Economics at Rice University (US). In 1989, he was distinguished with the Banamex Economics Award.

Con más de 22 años de experiencia en el sector energético mexicano, Héctor Olea ha participado activamente en la promoción y desarrollo de las energías renovables en el país. Desde 2004, Héctor Olea es Presidente y CEO de Gauss, una firma de desarrollo de proyectos especializada en el sector energético de México. Las actividades de Gauss se centran en la identificación, desarrollo y estructuración de oportunidades de inversión en proyectos de energías renovables, lo que ha permitido inversiones por más de US$700 millones. Antes, se desempeñó como CEO de Suez en México, donde dirigió su transformación en una empresa nacional de energía. De 1995 a 2000, fue Presidente de la Comisión Reguladora de Energía de México (CRE). Actualmente funge como Presidente de la Sección Mexicana del Consejo de Negocios de Energía México-Estados Unidos y Presidente de la Asociación Mexicana de Energía Solar Fotovoltaica (Asolmex). Héctor Olea es economista del ITAM (México), obtuvo su Maestría y Doctorado en Economía en la Universidad de Rice (EEUU). En 1989, fue distinguido con el Premio Banamex de Economía.

Manan Parikh is an Analyst on Americas Power & Renewables for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables covering global downstream markets. Prior to GTM, his work has been extensively research based, centering upon alternative fuels infrastructure development and Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) policy models for the Schatz Energy Research Center and UC Berkeley in Northern California. In California, he was also an ambassador to start-up teams within the Clean Tech Open accelerator as well as a consultant to DOE SunShot Catalyst Award winner, PVComplete. In Washington, DC he worked on biomass policy at the American Council On Renewable Energy. He is an alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry, as well as the DC-based Clean Energy Leadership Institute in its inaugural class.

Mr. Esaúl Ramírez has 15 years of experience in the energy sector. In his current role as Analysis and Structuring Officer at the North American Development Bank (NADB), Mr. Ramírez is responsible for originating, structuring and closing Project Finance loans for renewable energy projects located on both sides of the US-Mexico border region. During his eight-year tenure at NADB, Mr. Ramírez has led the origination, structuring and closing of loans for more than 200 MW of solar and more than 1.4 GW of wind energy. Prior to NADB, Mr. Ramírez served in various capacities at New Mexico-based PNM Resources, Inc., an investor-owned energy holding company. Mr. Ramírez earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, Summa Cum Laude, and received his M.B.A. in Finance and International Management from the University of New Mexico.

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.

Julian is a staff writer at Greentech Media, where he reports on energy storage and other clean energy sectors. He also has experience covering clean transportation, state and federal energy policy, and climate adaptation. Previously, Julian reported for CityLab at The Atlantic and conducted grant-funded climate change reporting in Bangladesh. He graduated from Duke University with a B.A. in political science.

Mr. Alarcon holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Master of Finance degree by the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Monterrey Tech). He currently serves as Technical Secretariat of the Risk Commission and the Sustainability Committee at the Mexican Banking Association (ABM). In this position, his main duty is to help authorities and banks design financial regulation, in order to promote growth and development of the banking industry in Mexico. Some of his current projects and research interests include: efficiency and balance of credit in Mexico, financial instruments’ market for retail clean energy projects, development of green bond market in Mexico (alongside the Mexican Stock Exchange). In addition, he is professor of Banking Management at Monterrey Tech.

Julian Willenbrock - is Enlight`s Cofounder and CEO. Julian has over 10 years of experience in the German, Spanish and Mexican PV market. He cofounded Enlight in 2011 and today Enlight is one of the leading companies in the DG segment in Mexico. Julian led the company to close their Series A funding with Engie beginning of 2017. Prior to Enlight, he found and operated the distribution center Operadora Farmaderm, for a 50-store pharmaceutical chain in Mexico.  Julian also worked for the german PV company SEN - Solare Energiesysteme Nord on utility projects in Germany and Spain. Julian holds a BS in Industrial Engineering (Tecnológico de Monterrey) and an Executive MBA from IPADE Business School.

Arturo Zarate is Sr Director of Business Development PV + Energy Storage for Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Region for Sungrow, the world’s largest manufacturer of PV and Energy Storage inverters with a global PV install base of 50GW and >1GWh global of Energy Storage projects. Before joining Sungrow, Arturo worked for Samsung SDI, ABB, DECK Monitoring, Sanyo, Advanced Fibre Communications, US Army Missile Defense Command, and NASA. He holds a Masters in Industrial Engineering from the University of Alabama and MBA from the University of Phoenix.