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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Brian Selph joined Engineering Director, an Evanston, Ill.-based consulting firm, as director of engineering. Selph joins the company from Black & Veatch. https://axios.link/3OhnL6a

Andrew Wishnia joined transportation consultancy Cityfi as a partner. Wishnia formerly led climate policy in the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Biden administration. https://axios.link/3q9MKPs

Sahar Shirazi joined transportation consultancy Cityfi as a partner. Shirazi was formerly principal and co-lead, cities and streets, for Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates. https://axios.link/3QrrtLI

Kert Davies joined the Center for Climate Integrity as the director of special investigations. Davies previously founded the Climate Investigations Center and was research director for Greenpeace. https://axios.link/3O0nEut

Ilyse Hogue joined electrification nonprofit Rewiring America. Hogue was formerly the NARAL Pro-Choice America president.

Anjney Midha joined Andreessen Horowitz to lead AI investing, Pro Rata reported. Midha founded augmented reality startup Ubiquity6. https://axios.link/3OukXmj

Jason Scott joined Spring Lane Capital as a full-time entrepreneur-in-residence. Scott also co-chairs the CREO Syndicate. https://axios.link/3Khfhtt

Rachel Hurley and Adrian Cox joined private equity food investors Paine Schwartz Partners as head of sustainability and chief transformation officer, respectively. https://axios.link/3NRdz2V

Rodrigo Prudencio joined ocean-tech venture capital fund Propeller VC as managing partner. Prudencio previously was the co-founder of Amazon's $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund and ran Amazon's Alexa Accelerator program.

Lisa Jackson will join Galvanize Climate Solutions, the SF-based investment firm, as a strategic adviser. Jackson is currently VP of environment, policy and social initiatives at Apple. https://axios.link/3qd14Xw

Colin Bryant joined Coatue Management as a general partner and COO for private investments. He previously was with NEA. Coatue also hired Nicholas Mouradian (ex-Ares) as a partner focused on structured equity.

Craig Robinson joined climate risk software company Climate X as an adviser. https://axios.link/3XO3fNE

Sherry Madera was named CEO of climate research company CDP. Madera previously was SVP of public policy at Mastercard. https://axios.link/3YmxsUp

Sagar Kurada became the chief financial officer of solar concentrating company Heliogen. Kurada was formerly the chief financial officer at Newlight Technologies. https://axios.link/3XNEt02

Jonathan Maroko was brought on as interim chief financial officer of electric car maker Faraday Future. https://axios.link/43omwGC

Ryan Bartlett joined Pairwise, which makes CRISPR-edited food, as its chief technology officer. Bartlett previously worked for Compass Minerals International. https://axios.link/44kruWd

Peter Wells was named CEO of TemperPack, the Richmond, Va.-based sustainable packing supplier for cold-chain shipping. Wells was previously CEO of Smart Wires. https://axios.link/3rGZgWZ

Jim Vena was named CEO of the railroad Union Pacific, effective Aug. 14. Vena was previously senior adviser to chairman and CEO Lance Fritz. https://axios.link/3q73cA2

Tony Posawatz was named CEO of Fermata Energy, the Charlottesville, Va.-based vehicle-to-grid charging developer. Posawatz was CEO of Fisker Automotive and previously led development of the Chevy Volt hybrid. He succeeds founder David Slutzky, who will remain board chairman. https://axios.link/3YdSDbb

Aaron Gillmore joined vehicle-to-grid startup Fermata Energy as chief commercial officer. Gillmore was previously CEO of wireless induction charging company Wave. https://axios.link/3rQ7vA0

John Dietrich was named EVP and CFO of FedEx, effective Aug. 1. Dietrich was previously CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide. https://axios.link/3ru1xot

Eimear Bonner was named the next CFO of Chevron, succeeding Pierre Breber when he retires next year. Bonner is the company's chief technology officer. https://axios.link/3rGuUEe

Sarah O'Brien joined electric vehicle maker Rivian as its chief communications officer. O'Brien was previously at Meta. https://axios.link/43bLk4j

Alan Hoffman joined Rivian as chief policy officer. Hoffman was previously head of corporate affairs at Carvana. https://axios.link/43KXNwd

Justine Johnson was appointed Michigan's first chief mobility officer by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, effective Aug. 21. Johnson was previously a regional head of mobility engagement at Ford. https://axios.link/3pYeE0R

Denise Gray joined battery research company Liminal as a strategic adviser. Gray helped run the battery program for GM's Chevy Volt. https://axios.link/3O7oC9t

Mark Rumizen joined Air Company, which makes sustainable jet fuel from carbon dioxide. Rumizen was previously at the Federal Aviation Administration working on aviation fuels.

Natesh Krishnan joined NeoGraf Solutions as its CEO. Krishnan was previously with Saint-Gobain. https://axios.link/3rsgreY

Michael Smith was named CEO of CPower Energy, the Baltimore energy services and VPP provider. Smith was previously CEO of ForeFront Power. https://axios.link/3pPPjWW

Dan Yates was named CEO of Dandelion Energy, the Mt. Kisco, N.Y.-based residential geothermal heating and cooling developer. Yates was executive chairman. https://axios.link/43PtGUk

Rhonda Landers was named CFO of e-Zinc, the Toronto-based zinc-air battery developer. Landers was previously CFO of Hedron. https://axios.link/3XZ7rKg

Carl Fisher was named COO of NuScale, the Portland, Ore.-based SMR developer. Fisher was previously VP of instrumentation and control at French nuclear reactor business Framatome. https://axios.link/3PKZbLX

Yves Leduc joined Xnrgy Climate Systems, which makes commercial HVAC systems, as its co-president and chief operating officer. Leduc was previously a partner with Idealist Capital. https://axios.link/46JRewK

Randy Hoyle joined Aera Energy, a Bakersfield, Calif.-based oil producer, as its first chief carbon solutions officer. Hoyle was previously chief development officer for Terra-Gen. https://axios.link/44v0nrg

Renato Bacchi will become aluminum giant Alcoa's chief commercial officer. Bacchi was previously Alcoa's chief strategy and innovation officer. https://axios.link/3K8SVKf

Former FERC commissioner Colette Honorable will join Chicago-based utility Exelon as EVP and chief external affairs officer. Honorable is a partner at law firm Reed Smith. https://axios.link/44BGfE3

Amanda Lefton joined RWE as the vice president of development, east. Lefton was previously the director of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. https://axios.link/3rnvnuT

James Eckert was appointed VP of storage and transportation of New Jersey Resources, effective Aug. 1. Eckert was previously an SVP at Millennium Pipeline.

John Mitchell joined Consolidated Asset Management Services, a Houston-based energy infrastructure services provider, as battery energy storage systems director. Mitchell was previously VP of sales and applications engineering at Indie Energy. https://axios.link/3NFIP4E

Max Warburton joined Kimmeridge, the energy-focused alternative asset manager based in NYC, as senior managing director. Warburton joins the company from Mercedes-Benz. https://axios.link/44CI9V3

💼 New hires

an illustration of a halftone briefcase on a rust colored background

John Bitove was named board chair of Miami-based scooter company Bird. Bitove is the chairperson and founder of Bird Canada and founder of investment company Obelysk. https://axios.link/3ptVVKq

Dana Gross joined the board of SolarEdge Technologies, the Milpitas, Calif.-based solar inverter manufacturer. Gross is head of strategic initiatives at Fiverr International. https://axios.link/3JP1w4G

Marco Caggiano will become vice chairman at Morgan Stanley. Caggiano was formerly the co-head of North America M&A for JPMorgan. https://axios.link/43iGToz

Michael DeLucia and Jeffrey Harris joined the board of Orennia. DeLucia is the sector lead for private climate investing with Wellington Management and Harris is a partner with Quantum Energy Partners. https://axios.link/3XQ6VOE

Colleen Birdnow Brown joined the board of directors of ZeroNox, a Porterville, Calif.-based company that develops commercial vehicle electrification tech. https://axios.link/3JUjRO6

Matthew Foulston joined the board of directors of Hyzon Motors, which makes fuel-cell-powered commercial electric vehicles. https://axios.link/44Gc7XD

Brian Deese was named an MIT Innovation Fellow this summer. Deese was President Biden's economic adviser and was previously the director of the White House National Economic Council. https://axios.link/3Ohtc4Q

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser joined BlackRock's board of directors. Nasser is filling the gap left by Bader Alsaad, chairman of the board of the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development, who is not standing for re-election next year. https://axios.link/43whuI9

Former Tasmania premier Will Hodgman was appointed an adviser to Singapore battery recycler Green Li-ion's board of directors. https://axios.link/44t674W

Former Federal Aviation Administration official Mike Whitaker is expected to be appointed to lead the FAA. Whitaker is chief commercial officer of Hyundai's flying taxi subsidiary, Supernal. https://axios.link/450Ahwr

Gerry Anderson was appointed senior adviser and ArcLight Power Infrastructure board member at ArcLight Capital Partners, the Boston-based middle-market infrastructure investment firm. https://axios.link/44IrGyx

Frank Fannon joined deep sea mining startup Impossible Metals' strategic advisory board. Fannon was formerly U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources. https://axios.link/455LVWS

🗳️ Elections and appointments

Shankar Krishnamoorthy was promoted to CEO of French mealworm food startup Ÿnsect. Krishnamoorthy was previously EVP and COO. https://axios.link/44cGCot

Ken Young was promoted to president and CEO of Apex Clean Energy, the Charlottesville, Va.-based utility-scale wind developer. Young was previously COO. https://axios.link/453nIAu

Jesse Kropelnicki was promoted from COO to CEO of Verdantas, a Dublin, Ohio-based sustainable infrastructure firm. He'll succeed Gerry Salontai effective Sept. 1. https://axios.link/3Ohbn68

Lúcia Soares was promoted to chief information officer and head of technology transformation at Carlyle. Soares was previously chief information officer of global portfolio solutions at Carlyle. https://axios.link/3Dh58cf

Zara Summers and Michael Köpke were promoted to chief science officer and chief innovation officer, respectively, of LanzaTech, the Skokie, Ill.-based carbon capture and materials production company. https://axios.link/3JLnuFK

Andy Beauchamp was promoted to chief regulatory and compliance officer of CleanSky Energy, a Cleveland-based retail renewables provider. https://axios.link/3O0rtzv

Ruth Porat was named president and chief investment officer of Alphabet, effective Sept. 1. Porat is currently CFO. https://axios.link/3Y5TZ7J

Jeffrey Perlman is being named president of Warburg Pincus. He had been head of Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific real estate. Timothy Geithner, current president of the firm, is becoming chairman.

Douglas Barnard was named EVP ahead of retiring next year from CF Industries, the Deerfield, Ill.-based nitrogen and hydrogen products manufacturer. Barnard was previously SVP and general counsel. https://axios.link/3JOUCfY

Mike Sweers was promoted to EVP and chief technology officer of Toyota Motor North America. https://axios.link/44y2R8e

Susan Elkington was promoted to SVP, electric vehicle supply, at Toyota Motor North America. https://axios.link/44y2R8e

Priya Almelkar was promoted to SVP and chief information officer of Wolfspeed, the Durham, N.C.-based silicon carbide chipmaker. Almelkar was previously VP. https://axios.link/3On9SU5

Jason Whittier was promoted to VP of product development at HVAC software developer Optimum Energy. Whittier was previously senior director. https://axios.link/3PW9YTP

Tim Tracy was appointed head of EY's private equity practice in the Americas. He was previously an EY global client services partner.

Beth Whited was promoted to president of Union Pacific. Whited was previously EVP of sustainability and strategy and chief human resources officer. https://axios.link/3KeZ5sl

📢 Promotions

Michael Moritz is leaving Sequoia Capital after 38 years and will shift his focus to Sequoia Heritage, the firm's wealth management unit. https://axios.link/44BNaNx

Michael Ferreira resigned as president and CEO of Comet Lithium, a Quebec-based lithium exploration company. https://axios.link/3KlvzRV

Sequoia Capital laid off seven members of its talent team (a third of its portfolio support team), per Forbes. https://axios.link/3Y5k86u

🛫 Departures and layoffs

July was declared the world's hottest month on record, and scientists predict climate change will result in heat waves becoming a normal part of peoples' lives, Axios' Andrew Freedman wrote. 

Increased temperatures could bring workplace changes, including measures like heat-related health initiatives, shorter work weeks and adjusted schedules to take advantage of cooler temperatures. 

AI is expected to have an increased presence in efforts to mitigate climate change and preserve the environment through leveraging data and perceiving trends. 

Federal investment to address climate and infrastructure will also alter labor demand, shifting employment away from oil, gas and automotive manufacturing and into green industries, resulting in a modest net gain in employment, a new study from McKinsey found.

The U.S. Treasury in July named Ethan Zindler, a climate and clean energy research executive, as the department's new climate counselor. Zindler will head efforts to unlock financing that is key to achieving a net-zero carbon emissions economy.

📰 In the news

Welcome to the third edition of Climate Deals Monthly Movers. Axios Pro Deals research associate Natalie Breymeyer here with your monthly recap of who's working where now.

Did you or a friend recently change jobs? Tell us! Get wind of layoffs somewhere? Tell us! How do you tell us? Reply to this email.

You can skim below to find new hires, elections and appointments, promotions and departures.

📥 Your opinion matters to us. Please share your thoughts by replying to this email!

There you have it. Make sure to continue sending us your personnel-related news throughout the month.

📖 Natalie spent a lot of July outside reading—19 books to be exact (full disclosure: that tally does include a few audiobooks). Do you consider an audiobook to be the same as finishing a physical book? Natalie has found this to be a very contentious subject.  

August 05, 2023

💼 New hires