Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) named Marlene Santos executive vice president and chief customer officer, effective March 15. She will be responsible for the California utility’s customer contact centers; programs supporting energy efficiency, electric vehicles, rooftop solar, demand response, and low-income customers; billing, metering, and account services; marketing and communications; and regional leadership teams that PG&E will form as part of its regionalization efforts. She will report to CEO Patti Poppe. Santos previously was president of Gulf Power Co., a unit of NextEra Energy. Prior to that, she served as NextEra’s chief integration officer for the company’s acquisition of Gulf Power and two other acquisitions.
ESS Inc., a manufacturer of flow batteries for commercial- and utility-scale energy storage applications, named Raffi Garabedian to its board of directors. Garabedian previously served as a member of First Solar’s executive team and was the company’s chief technology officer from 2012 through 2020.
Charles River Associates said that David Walls has joined as a vice president in its Energy Practice. Walls specializes in clean energy, renewables, decarbonization, and grid modernization. He has worked with government organizations, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and California Energy Commission to develop and implement energy technology programs related to smart grid, distributed generation, storage, electric vehicles, and advanced energy systems.
Nexus Power Group announced its formation and key executives. The Dallas-based firm is a renewable energy independent power producer and consultancy that builds, generates, and coordinates the delivery of solar energy to end users. Sargon Daniel will serve as CEO. He has advised on and structured more than $5 billion in energy transactions. Ian Delahunty will serve as president of the firm’s development arm, which has sourced and is developing a pipeline in excess of 1 GW of generation, including the 110 MW Tyson Nick Solar Project, the 180 MW MRG Goody Solar Project, and a portfolio of distributed generation parks. Delahunty brings two decades of experience in the energy industry, having led teams and companies in the U.S., North Africa, Vietnam, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Duane Lock will serve as president of Nexus Power Consulting. He was as founder and president of River Oaks Energy. The consulting arm will offer energy management and brokerage services.
Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments, and Shopify Inc. founder Tobias Lütke have joined as new investors in Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the cleantech fund led by Bill Gates. Other new investors include John Sobrato, a real-estate billionaire; Seth Klarman, CEO of hedge fund Baupost Group; Chris Stolte, founder of Tableau Software Inc.; and Ben Walton, the grandson of Walmart Inc. founder Sam Walton.
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