Erica Engle VP, Structured Origination AES Clean Energy

As head of AES Clean Energy’s Structured Origination and Key Accounts team, Erica Engle provides integral leadership to AES Clean Energy's efforts to grow the business and accelerate the transition to a 100 percent carbon-free energy future. The scope of her responsibilities includes unique deal structuring, transaction execution, and delivering innovative products to AES’ growing portfolio of clean energy customers. Erica is also responsible for the Key Accounts team's post-execution client management and supporting AES Clean Energy's innovative 24/7 Clean Energy product line. 

Ms. Engle has more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector. She began her career in energy trading (power and natural gas) for large investor-owned utilities and investment banks. She has worked for several energy firms and investment banks in marketing and origination roles, including Citigroup Energy, The CME Group, Sumitomo Corporation, Direct Energy, DTE Energy, and AEP.  Erica holds a B.S. degree in finance from The Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and completed graduate coursework at the C.T. College of Business at The University of Houston. 

Bruce Thompson CFO Jupiter Power

Bruce Thompson has more than 30 years of experience in risk management, structured transactions, finance and origination and has focused on energy markets since 1996 and renewable energy since 2007.  He has structured and negotiated over 1 GW of renewable hedge agreements, power purchase agreements and REC sales agreements with Fortune 100 corporate energy consumers, Federal agencies, utilities and commodity trading companies since 2007.

Currently he is CFO of Jupiter Power LLC, a developer/owner/operator of transmission-connected stand-alone energy storage systems. Before that he was Director of Origination for Lendlease Energy Development LLC, and previously, Vice President of Business Development for Pioneer Green Energy, in each case responsible for securing the future revenues of utility-scale wind and solar projects. In the retail and wholesale energy space he has served as Vice President of Business Development at Airtricity North America (later E.ON Climate & Renewables), EVP & CFO at Amigo Energy, a retail energy provider he co-founded in 2004, Vice President of Reliant Energy, responsible for connecting their wholesale energy trading business to emerging electronic exchanges, and Senior Vice President of Coral Energy (later Shell Energy North America), responsible for business development and structured transactions in the joint-venture formed by Shell US and Tejas Gas in 1995.

Prior to 1996, Bruce was a Managing Director for Bankers Trust Company in the structured finance and risk management groups, working in their New York and Tokyo offices.

Bruce holds a B.A. degree in Chemistry from Wesleyan University and received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Jeff Bishop Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Key Capture Energy

Jeff Bishop is a clean energy entrepreneur and a leader in the US energy transition, focusing on the intersection of finance, commercial, technology and policy.

Jeff is the CEO and co-founder of Key Capture Energy, one of America’s largest owner/operators of stand-alone battery storage projects. Prior founding to Key Capture Energy, Jeff held senior positions at Brookfield Renewable and EDP Renewables – two of the largest renewable energy companies in the United States. In these roles, he was responsible for financial analysis, corporate development, and market design — focusing extensively on building new markets for renewable energy to compete in. Jeff got his start in renewable energy working for a wind energy developer in Morocco in 2002.

Jeff has served on, and often led, the boards of clean energy advocacy organizations at the federal, regional, and state level — including the Energy Storage Association, Renewable Energy Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition, the Maine Renewable Energy Association, and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. In addition, Jeff has testified before legislative and regulatory bodies in ten states in the Midwest and Northeast and is a frequent panelist at energy conferences across North America.

Jeff holds a MBA from Chicago Booth and a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Rice University. He is currently on leave from his Masters in Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Utah. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Jeff spent a year researching renewable energy failures in Uganda and Botswana. Jeff was a Forbes Thirty Under Thirty – Energy award winner in the program’s inaugural year in 2011.

Jeff is a mediocre skier and a tenacious bicycle commuter (and includes in his public transportation advocacy a previous board membership at BikeHouston). Jeff and his partner, Boyu, live in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jeff is active in the broader LGBT equality movement; he served on the board for the Montrose Center, a non-profit empowering Houston’s LGBT community, as well as co-chaired the Rice University LGBT Alumni Association.

Xiaoyu Gu Managing Director CarVal Investors

Ms. Gu is a director for AB CarVal, responsible for clean energy investments in North America. Ms. Gu joined AB CarVal in 2013 from Credit Suisse. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, her M.A. from Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and her B.A. from Harvard.

Carole Mariani Director of Origination energyRe

Carole is Director of Origination at energyRe, where she oversees sourcing, negotiation, and execution of offtake agreements for the utility-scale portfolio.

Carole joined energyRe from Broad Reach Power, where she also worked in origination, negotiating innovative transactions to support an asset base of standalone storage. Carole previously served in several positions over eight years at Calpine, where she led valuation and pricing for acquisitions, divestitures, and project development as a Senior Manager on the Corporate Financial Analysis team and spent time on the structuring and portfolio analysis teams working with wind, solar, thermal, and storage assets.

Carole holds a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics and Philosophy from Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Aaron Klein Managing Director, Utility, Power & Renewable Energy KeyBanc Capital Markets

Mr. Klein is a Managing Director in KeyBanc’s Power & Renewable Energy Investment Banking team.  He’s a founding member of Key’s renewable energy practice with more than 17 years of experience providing advisory and capital raising solutions to sponsors and developers across both conventional and renewable power markets.  Mr. Klein holds a BBA from Ohio University in Finance and Management Information Systems and is a registered representative of KeyBanc Capital Markets with Series 7, Series 79 and Series 63 designations.

Ken Meehan (Moderator) Founder & CEO New Project Media

• Ken is the Founder of NPM, based in Princeton.

• He was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Fixed Income information products globally for Acuris and a Senior Reporter for Refinitiv.

• He is an avid Liverpool supporter and an enthusiastic Knicks apologist.

Ben Alingh Co-Founder Monarch Energy

Ben is the co-founder and CEO of Monarch Energy, a project development platform focused on green hydrogen and electrofuels projects. After launching in 2021, Monarch controls a pipeline of development-stage projects totaling 4,000MW of electrolyzer capacity to produce hydrogen, green ammonia, e-methanol, SAF, and other products across the United States. 

Previously, Ben spent time at some of the largest renewable energy companies in the world (Orsted, Enel Green Power, and Coronal-Panasonic) – covering project engineering & construction, corporate development and M&A, greenfield project development, and power marketing. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from SMU in Dallas, TX. 

Cynthia Wang Head of Sales & Business Development, Americas Ohmium

Cynthia has over 8 years experience in the Renewable Energy Industry including Ohmium, SoftBank Energy and SunEdison. Cynthia has a total of 20 years' experience in multiple industries working for McKinsey & Company, Honeywell, Dell inc., GE, etc...

Cynthia has a great passion for global decarbonisation

Cynthia is currently leading the business development function for Ohmium Americas region.

Scott Gosselink Managing Director Generate Capital

Scott Gosselink is a Managing Director at Generate Capital and was Generate’s first employee. He leads the firm’s investments in the hydrogen and mobility sectors and serves as a member of Generate’s Investment Committee. With more than 15 years of experience in the energy industry, Scott focuses on the emerging clean-mobility sector by accelerating the decarbonization of transportation. Prior to Generate, Scott spent time at SunEdison, EDF Renewable Energy, and the Lower Colorado River Authority where he developed, marketed and structured several billion dollars for renewable energy and energy transition projects. Scott received his Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Washington and Lee University, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Shalini Ramanathan Director Quinbrook

Shalini Ramanathan is VP Origination for Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in the Americas.

RES is a leading developer and constructor of wind, solar, and energy storage projects.

Ms. Ramanathan has closed 1,400 MW worth of deals with more than $2.5B in total transaction value.

She has negotiated offtake agreements with corporate green energy buyers (General Mills, General Motors, Google and Microsoft) and with many utilities, including Xcel Energy and Wolverine Electric Coop.

Before joining RES, she worked at CAMCO (based in Nairobi, Kenya) and for the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in the US.

She holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Andrew T. Braff Senior Council, Energy and Climate Solutions Wilson Sonsini

Andrew Braff is senior counsel in the Seattle office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on infrastructure and energy project development, project finance, and other commercial transactions. Andy's work primarily involves assisting developers of solar, biomass, biofuels, biogas, geothermal, wind, CHP, renewable chemical, carbon capture and sequestration/utilization (CCS/CCUS), and energy storage projects, as well as zero emission vehicle infrastructure, manufacturing facilities, and datacenters. His experience includes advising on, negotiating, and drafting complex construction and commercial documentation, including: engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) agreements; build-transfer agreements; supply and offtake agreements; contract manufacturing agreements; equipment purchase and sale agreements; operation and maintenance (O&M) agreements; and real property sale and lease agreements. Andy's practice also includes advising on joint ventures, acquisitions (asset and equity), federal government contracts, and assisting clients in securing non-dilutive government financing for project development, including through the U.S. Department of Energy's and Department of Agriculture's Loan Guarantee Programs.

Andy previously served as an extern for Justice Mary E. Fairhurst of the Washington State Supreme Court, and as an advisor to California State Assemblyman, Mark Wyland, and Congressman George R. Nethercutt, Jr.

Marathon Capital

https://www.marathoncapital.com/

Rahul Bhutiani Head of Sales & Marketing Adani Solar

Rahul is a Senior Sales & Marketing Strategy professional with over 28 years of experience in driving Business Growth for various organizations in different industries. He has created significant impact through interventions in Strategy, Business Dimensioning, Channel Dimensioning, Sales & Marketing Operations. 

At Adani Solar, he leads the Sales & Marketing effort through a lean team with focus on building out the Brand Globally. Adani Solar under his leadership has been making deep inroads into the US markets working with all leading players. While achieving immediate budgets with aplomb, he is preparing for an orbital shift as Adani Solar embarks on a massive expansion plan that will catapult the Brand at a global level. 

In his previous role, he was an Associate Vice President with Brand Capital, the Corporate Venture arm of the Times of India Group based in Ahmedabad. He was responsible for growing and enhancing the venture investing portfolio in Regional markets of Gujarat and North India. He has worked and invested in organizations across a range of industries including Venture Capital, Mutual Funds, Utilities, Investment Banking, Design & Engineering, Outsourcing, E-business, Media, Consumer Goods and FMCG. 

His experience across companies like Reliance, Tata, Franklin Templeton, Anagram Finance, Lumium Innovations, Dell Computers etc holds him in good stead. 

Rahul has worked in and advised various organizations from large corporations to start-ups with Indian and International clientele and stakeholders. Rahul is now focused on helping organizations evaluate and distill strategy options, choose the most effective strategy, create execution plans and drive relentless implementation. Rahul is adept at engaging with people across various cultures and corporate environments. Rahul believes in the power of story-telling and is a keen mind when it comes to communicating with both external and internal stakeholders.

Ben Catt CEO Pine Gate Renewables

Ben Catt is the impact-oriented CEO of Pine Gate Renewables, a utility scale solar and storage innovator in the movement for clean energy solutions.  Ben and his team have built Pine Gate from a startup solar developer to an IPP poised to transform green energy production in the United States. With more than 10 years on the “solar coaster,” Ben anticipates the next market advantage such as supply chain acquisition, standing up a dedicated EPC and vertically integrating O&M resources.  With a background in banking and finance, Ben knows how to get things built by raising capital, managing risk and bringing stakeholders together to change the market and create long-term value.

As a frequent speaker on the national solar energy stage, particularly on issues of strategy, development and finance, Ben is actively changing the conversation around renewable energy. He is a previous board member of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and currently sits on the American Clean Power (ACP) board, where he collaborates with other industry experts on policy, regulation, and education to build the foundations of a new economy and to give the next generation a better planet.

Ben is inspired by those that show up to do the hard stuff – to build meaningful, lasting relationships with global impact.  In his personal life he can be found coaching youth sports, running, fly fishing, mountain biking, camping and wrangling his three children from his home in Asheville, NC.

Aurko Dutta Vice President of Commercial Swift Current Energy

Aurko Dutta is Vice President of Commercial at Swift Current Energy. Aurko has 25 years of experience in the energy industry managing the development of new ventures as well as the acquisition of large portfolios and individual assets. He has led greenfield development of both conventional and renewable power generation assets in North America and in emerging markets. As Vice President of Commercial at Swift Current Energy, Aurko focuses on project execution across the company’s pipeline and on commercial negotiations with counterparties throughout the project lifecycle.

Prior to joining Swift Current, Aurko led project development and M&A efforts at Renewable Biofuels, Globeleq, Hart Energy International and Coastal Power Company. Aurko holds a B.A. in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin.

Rahul Bhutiani Head of Sales & Marketing Adani Solar

Rahul is a Senior Sales & Marketing Strategy professional with over 28 years of experience in driving Business Growth for various organizations in different industries. He has created significant impact through interventions in Strategy, Business Dimensioning, Channel Dimensioning, Sales & Marketing Operations. 

At Adani Solar, he leads the Sales & Marketing effort through a lean team with focus on building out the Brand Globally. Adani Solar under his leadership has been making deep inroads into the US markets working with all leading players. While achieving immediate budgets with aplomb, he is preparing for an orbital shift as Adani Solar embarks on a massive expansion plan that will catapult the Brand at a global level. 

In his previous role, he was an Associate Vice President with Brand Capital, the Corporate Venture arm of the Times of India Group based in Ahmedabad. He was responsible for growing and enhancing the venture investing portfolio in Regional markets of Gujarat and North India. He has worked and invested in organizations across a range of industries including Venture Capital, Mutual Funds, Utilities, Investment Banking, Design & Engineering, Outsourcing, E-business, Media, Consumer Goods and FMCG. 

His experience across companies like Reliance, Tata, Franklin Templeton, Anagram Finance, Lumium Innovations, Dell Computers etc holds him in good stead. 

Rahul has worked in and advised various organizations from large corporations to start-ups with Indian and International clientele and stakeholders. Rahul is now focused on helping organizations evaluate and distill strategy options, choose the most effective strategy, create execution plans and drive relentless implementation. Rahul is adept at engaging with people across various cultures and corporate environments. Rahul believes in the power of story-telling and is a keen mind when it comes to communicating with both external and internal stakeholders.

Mehdi Siddique Director of Transmission & Interconnection Primergy

Mehdi is responsible for Primergy's Interconnection activities, with over 12 years of experience in Transmission & Interconnection, System Operations, and Protection & Control. Prior to joining Primergy, Mehdi worked at NextEra Energy, where he was the regional interconnection lead for renewable generation (Solar, Wind, and Energy Storage) in WECC and Canada. He managed interconnection process to support new growth opportunities, performed due diligence for renewable assets M&A, and brought projects to Commercial Operation.

Andrew Burnes (Moderator) Renewable Energy Finance Reporter New Project Media

Andrew Burnes is a reporter with New Project Media for the past two years where he presently covers the East Coast and Northeast power markets and financing and power purchase agreements. Previously, he had also covered major ISOs such as ERCOT and CAISO.

Joan Hutchinson Managing Director Marathon Capital, LLC

Joan Hutchinson is Managing Director, Offtake Advisory, based out of Marathon Capital’s San Francisco office. Ms. Hutchinson advises corporate clients to set and meet sustainability goals, including energy offtake agreements, carbon reduction, and energy transition strategies. She advises developers on physical and financial offtake agreements to support financing and enhance project value. Ms. Hutchinson has advised Nestlé, TC Energy, and Tokyo Gas on recent sustainability initiatives.

Ms. Hutchinson has over 25 years experience in North American energy markets and renewable energy project development. Before joining Marathon Capital, Ms. Hutchinson was Vice President of Origination & Business Development at Ørsted A/S, where she led the origination of wind, solar, and storage projects resulting in over 1600 MW of transactions in three years. Many of the transactions Ms. Hutchinson completed were power purchase agreements with first-time corporate buyers.

Prior to Ørsted, Ms. Hutchinson was SVP Origination & Marketing for Ridgeline Energy, responsible for negotiating contracts for the sale of power and renewable energy credits from renewable projects, leading solar development, and the acquisition of wind and solar projects. Ms. Hutchinson was Director of Origination at Citigroup Energy and held various origination and trading positions with Powerex, Inc.

Ms. Hutchinson received her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Victoria in Victoria, B.C., and holds her Series 79 license.

Ivo Devcic Director, Structured Origination AES Clean Energy

Ivo Devcic is an Industrial Engineer graduate from Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in 2013. In 2021 he joined the AES Clean Energy Structured Origination team, based in Houston, where he and his team have led several transactions that involve bespoke solutions with customers, including 24/7 Clean Energy. Before then, he has worked in various AES origination and commercial positions in Latin America and the US. He has 10 years of experience in the energy sector, including origination, structuring and fundamental modelling.

Maddie Knowland VP ConnectGEN

Maddie Knowland is Vice President of Origination at ConnectGen and is responsible for securing offtake for the portfolio across North America.

Maddie has over 13 years of experience in renewable energy. Before joining ConnectGen, Maddie served as Head of Energy Marketing for E.ON Climate & Renewables North America.

Prior to E.ON, Maddie served as Director of Origination at BrightSource Energy and, prior to that, as a Vice President at Evolution Markets brokering renewable PPAs as well as carbon credit transactions. Ms. Knowland holds a Bachelor in the Science of Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University.

Bill Thomas SVP-Energy & Power Contracting Clean Arc Data Centers

An accomplished renewable energy executive, Bill has held leadership positions in energy trading and project origination at the world’s largest renewable energy developers.

Prior to joining CleanArc, Bill concentrated on wholesale energy trading as Vice President of Energy Marketing at RWE Renewables Americas. He also served as Chief Commercial Officer at LevelTen Energy, where he led efforts to aggregate corporate and institutional (“C&I”) demand and syndicate renewable energy solutions for all classes of C&I buyers. Previously, Bill served as Director of Global Commercial & Industrial Origination at First Solar. Prior to First Solar, Bill was Vice President of Development and Energy Marketing at E.ON Climate & Renewables Solar PV and led the company’s utility-scale solar development and commercial contracting efforts in North America. Before entering the renewable energy industry, Bill was a Senior Energy Trader at Xcel Energy. Bill began his career at AIG, where he was a foreign currency and interest rate derivatives trader.

At CleanArc, Bill is responsible for delivering comprehensive energy solutions CleanArc TrueAdditionality. His team sources and structures renewable energy products for CleanArc’s hyperscale data centers. Bill holds a BS in Geology from the University of Colorado-Boulder and an MS in Hydrogeology from Dartmouth College.

Patty Liao VP, Off-take Advisory Marathon Capital

Patty Liao is Vice President, Offtake Advisory, for Marathon Capital. She is responsible for executing sustainability strategy, renewable energy advisory, and energy transition initiatives with corporate clients and developer clients on offtake strategies.

Prior to joining Marathon, Ms. Liao was Senior Manager, Origination & Structuring at Recurrent Energy, where she led power marketing strategy and offtake negotiation for Recurrent’s projects in PJM and opportunities with corporate clients across the United States. Ms. Liao also has experience in equipment procurement, O&M contracting, and asset and operations management for Recurrent’s operating portfolio in California and Arizona. Prior to Recurrent, Ms. Liao worked at Black & Veatch advising investors as an independent engineer, performing due diligence for technical due diligence projects for over 700 MW of solar PV, wind, biomass, coal, and natural gas power plants.

Ms. Liao graduated from Williams College with a BA in Physics and Asian Studies. She earned her MSE in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Natural Resources and Environment from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She holds her Series 63 and 79 licenses.

Gary Dorris PhD (Moderator) CEO & Co-Founder Ascend Analytics

Dr. Dorris has led the organic growth of Ascend to an industry-leading 100 person energy analytics software and consulting company. He has been a pioneer of innovative solutions for modeling power markets to support real-time operations, portfolio management, and resource planning for over two decades. His expertise is highly sought after to provide board of director presentations, expert testimony on risk management, asset valuation, and resource planning, including acting as the lead expert witness for Merrill Lynch in the prominent Enron proceedings. He has performed independent market assessment to support over $30 billion dollars in project financing. He has been an advisor to multiple Boards of Directors.

Prior to founding Ascend, Dr. Dorris served as CEO of e-Acumen, a 60-person energy analytics software firm. He began his career developing structured power transactions at Citizens Power & Light.

Roger Johanson Vice President, Project Finance National Grid Renewables

Roger Johanson is Vice President, Project Finance for Geronimo Energy, responsible for raising equity, tax equity and debt capital for the company’s projects. He brings more than 30 years of domestic and international project/structured finance experience to the Company. Prior to Geronimo, Roger was Senior Director, Structured Finance for GCL New Energy, raising capital for GCL’s projects in the U. S., Latin America and Europe. Before that, he was CFO of Cimarron Solar, a Mexican developer, and immediately prior to that role, was VP, Finance - Latin America for Ecoplexus Inc., responsible for developing the company’s Latin American solar markets strategy, with emphasis on the Mexican, Brazilian, Argentine and Chilean solar markets. Prior to Ecoplexus, he was an MD at RET Capital, focused on raising tax equity and project debt capital, closing $230MM in renewable financings in 8 months. Prior to RET, Roger was Director, Structured Finance, at GCL Solar Energy where he was responsible for project financing, including equity, tax equity, and construction and long- term debt for Utility-Scale, Distributed Generation and Residential solar PV projects. Prior to GCL, Roger was a Vice President in Banc of America Merrill Lynch’s Portfolio Trading & Acquisitions Group where he closed multiple tax-equity based portfolio acquisitions totaling over $1B. Previously Roger held positions at CIT Group, GE Commercial & Industrial Finance and GATX Capital Corporation. Roger holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA, Finance & Statistics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Andrew Chen Managing Director CIT

Andrew Chen is a Managing Director in the CIT Energy Group. His primary responsibility is establishing new relationships within the Power and Renewables sector. He has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector financing energy storage projects, renewable and conventional power generation facilities, midstream and infrastructure projects. Prior to CIT, Andrew worked in similar roles at GE EFS, MUFG, NAB and TD. Andrew graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and concentrated in Finance and Marketing

Anne C. Loomis (moderator) Partner Troutman Pepper

Anne is a tax attorney and CPA with many years of experience in the energy industry. Her in-house experience with a Fortune 500 energy company, understanding of clients’ tax accounting considerations, and face-to-face experience with the IRS make her an invaluable member of the tax practice.

James C. Berner Managing Director, Senior Investment Professional dedicated to Global Diversified Infrastructure BlackRock

James C. Berner, Managing Director, is a Senior Investment Professional dedicated to the Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund (GEPIF) team at BlackRock, which currently manages about $3.7 billion for investment in the power, midstream, utility and other areas in the energy sector across two 15-year funds.  The team has created over 20 portfolio companies for the Funds and is actively investing globally.  BlackRock acquired the Funds in 2017, which were created and built at First Reserve, a private equity firm that has been investing in exclusively in the energy sector since 1983.  At GEPIF, Mr. Berner is responsible for investment origination, execution and exit strategy, focusing on the contracted power, shipping and liquefied natural gas sectors. He is a member of the Fund investment, valuation and ESG committees.

Mr. Berner has over 19 years of experience in energy investing and lending.  Prior to joining BlackRock in 2017, Mr. Berner was a Managing Director on the Energy Infrastructure team at First Reserve where he executed over $700 million of equity investments. Prior to joining First Reserve in 2011, Mr. Berner was a Managing Director at General Electric Capital Corporation in the Energy Financial Services division focused on energy investing and lending, and worked in the USA, UK and Singapore. Prior to General Electric Capital Corporation, he was a Vice President, Project and Structured Finance, at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. focused on US and Latin American project finance and advisory.

Mr. Berner earned a B.A., cum laude, from Cornell University in 1990, an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies in 1996 and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business in 1998.

Rick Campbell Managing Director Blackstone

Rick Campbell is a Managing Director with Blackstone Credit. He is involved with originating and executing investments in the energy transition, renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure sectors.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Campbell worked as a Managing Director in the Global Infrastructure Finance Group at Citi, advising clients in the power, energy and infrastructure sectors on structured financing solutions.

Mr. Campbell graduated from Rice University with a BA in Economics and was a three-time scholar athlete in Conference USA and the Western Athletic Conference as a member of the varsity football team.

Bob Schoenherr Chief Strategy Officer DESRI

Robert (Bob) Schoenherr joined DESRI in 2015 and currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer, focused on project origination, strategic partnerships, and project underwriting.  Prior to this role, Bob held the title Executive Director in the Acquisitions & Finance group. Mr. Schoenherr started his career at GE Capital, Energy Financial Services from 2011 to 2015. Mr. Schoenherr holds a B.A. from Boston College.

Danielle Thompson Vice President Fundamental Renewables

Danielle Thompson is a Vice President, Business Development at Fundamental Renewables. Prior to joining Fundamental Renewables in 2021, Ms. Thompson served in the same capacity at MMA Energy Capital. Ms. Thompson has over 14 years of experience in the renewable energy industry, including developing and raising capital for solar PV, landfill gas, energy efficiency and CHP projects throughout North America. During her career, Ms. Thompson has been involved in the financing of over $1 billion of renewable energy projects. Prior to joining MMA Energy Capital, Ms. Thompson worked for Ameresco, Inc., the largest independent energy services company in North America. Ms. Thompson received her M.B.A from Rollins College and her B.S. in Finance from the University of Florida.

Matthew Olive is the VP of M&A for AES Clean Energy where he leads US project and platform partnerships and acquisitions. He has been with AES for 6 years in various roles including Chief Development Officer for Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Corporate VP of Development and Marketing. Prior to AES, he led development across transmission, gas, wind, and solar outside of the US at Invenergy as well as prior work leading both equipment and project transactions at leading US wind developers and OEMs. He has an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona and a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Allan Marks (Moderator) Partner Milbank, LLP

Allan Marks is a partner at Milbank LLP and a member of the firm’s Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, as well as the firm’s Private Equity, Renewable Energy, Latin America, and Global Risk & National Security practices.

Mr. Marks is one of the world's leading project finance lawyers, with deep expertise for over 30 years across many sectors: power and renewable energy, transportation, airports, rail, port terminals, water, fuels, social infrastructure, and telecommunications and digital infrastructure. Many of his matters for clients focus on the energy transition, clean and renewable power, advanced transportation, alternative fuels, ESG and sustainability.

He recently closed the project financing of the $9.5 billion New Terminal One at New York’s JFK International Airport and is working on several large offshore wind projects in New York and Massachusetts.  He also handled the construction financing of the $1 billion Vista Ridge Water Supply Project in Texas.  In Los Angeles, he has worked on the financing of the Port of Los Angeles Fenix Marine Terminal and several airport improvement projects at Los Angeles International Airport:  LAX ConRAC/Consolidated Rental Car Facility; the Automated People Mover procurement; and the Tom Bradley International Terminal Baggage Handling System. Some of his other California projects include Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, SR 125/South Bay Expressway Toll Road in San Diego, the Oakland Airport Connector for BART, and water supply and water treatment projects in Santa Paula, Rialto and Carlsbad.  

Mr. Marks is consistently ranked as one of the world’s leading project finance lawyers by Chambers, Who’s Who Legal, IFLR1000, and Legal 500 and was named one of California’s “Top 50 Development Lawyers” by the Daily Journal.   

Mr. Marks created and hosts the podcast Law, Policy & Markets: Milbank Conversations. He is a regular contributor to Forbes and frequently speaks and publishes on infrastructure, renewable energy, cross-border transactions, public-private partnerships, risk management, climate impacts, ESG and sustainability, capital markets, and economic and regulatory policy.