Board of Directors
Jim Flanary, Chief Executive Officer and President
Jim has over three decades of extensive operating and start-up experience in the solar and high tech manufacturing industries. Jim's solar industry work includes most recently his role as the Chief Operating Officer of HelioSphera, a micromorph silicon module manufacturer located in Tripolis, Greece. From 2001 to 2003 Jim was the Chief Operating Officer of First Solar and responsible for developing and launching the core manufacturing process that allowed First Solar to address early implementation and scale up rapidly to the successful company it is today.
Known for his execution and focus on operational excellence, Jim has held a number of other key roles during his career, including President of OEA Aerospace, and President of Networks Electronic Corporation. Additionally, during a 10 plus year career at ITT Night Vision, Jim developed his operational skills in robust engineering, six sigma, and lean manufacturing and became their Division President and General Manager. Jim was awarded the coveted ITT Ring of Quality and the Harold S. Geneen Award as part of a leadership team that helped establish ITT Night Vision as the world leader in military and commercial night vision products. Jim began his career in semiconductor manufacturing where he spent over 10 years in various operational roles.
Dr. B.J. Stanbery, Chairman of the Board, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
Dr. B.J. Stanbery has achieved an illustrious career spanning more than 30 years in the solar industry. He is an expert in the business and science of photovoltaic materials. In 2008, his innovation of inkjet printing of CIGS, won a 2008 R&D 100 Award, often called the "Oscars" of technology commercialization. He founded HelioVolt to develop and commercialize a revolutionary FASST® process for applying CIGS thin-film photovoltaics that is now covered by sixteen issued patents globally. Prior to founding HelioVolt, Dr. Stanbery managed Boeing's terrestrial PV program. During his 17-year tenure, his accomplishments included registering seven patents in thin-film PV technology and successfully manufacturing and deploying PV for spacecraft. In 1990, he achieved the world record in multi-junction thin-film PV conversion efficiency, a distinction he still holds today. Dr. Stanbery completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering in 2001 at the University of Florida, having previously obtained an M.S. in Physics from the University of Washington and B.S. in both Physics and Mathematics from the University of Texas.
Jimmy Treybig, Venture Partner, NEA
Mr. Treybig joined NEA in 2002 as a Venture Partner. Prior, he was the principal founder of Tandem Computers. From 1974 to 1996, he served as the company's president and CEO. Under his leadership, Tandem delivered its first product in 1976, first issued public stock in 1977 and, in 1980, was ranked by Inc Magazine as the fastest-growing public company in America. Mr. Treybig has been recognized with Entrepreneur of the Year awards from both Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard Graduate School of Business. He received a B.A. and BSEE from Rice University and an MBA from Stanford.
Scott Sandell, General Partner, NEA
Since 1996, Mr. Sandell has specialized in investments in emerging energy and information technology at NEA. During his tenure, he has successfully sponsored investments in IT frontrunners, such as NetIQ, Salesforce.com and WebEx. Mr. Sandell holds an MBA from Stanford University and a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College.
Tim Costello, CEO, Builder Homesite, Inc.
As the CEO of Builder Homesite, Mr. Costello leads a consortium of more than 36 American homebuilders representing more than 275,000 new homes and $60 billion in revenue. BHI was founded to provide affordable and scalable technology solutions to the homebuilding industry. Mr. Costello also co-founded Greenlight LLC, a service provider that enables builders to easily adopt and implement green building practices, including solar system installations. Prior to BHI, he was Vice President, Global Operations at Applied Materials (AMAT), the world's leading manufacturer of semiconductor capital equipment. In this role, he was responsible for analyzing the global manufacturing value stream and the strategic direction of technical programs aimed at driving efficiencies. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.
Henri Arif, Senior Member, Credit Suisse
Henri Arif is a senior member of the Renewable Energy team for the Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG) at Credit Suisse, leading investments in the sector, overseeing the existing portfolio companies, and holding seats on several boards within that portfolio.
Prior to his work with CFIG, Henri was the Managing Director and founder of Edge Chemicals LLC, a physical commodities NY based trading firm, where he quickly developed an international trading activity in Ethanol and Biodiesel starting in 2001. Prior to that and for over 10 years, he was an executive board member and senior manager at a private family holding company with activities in the Chemical and Petrochemical manufacturing industry, after having held specific positions at the operational and commercial levels of the business.Henri started his career at IBM in France and holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an M.S. in Operations Management from Boston University.
Ken Pentimonti, Paladin Capital
In his current role at Washington, DC-based Paladin Capital, Ken Pentimonti guides private equity investment in early stage companies that address homeland security issues and concerns. Pentimonti has extensive experience with the Paladin Homeland Security Fund where he is actively involved in Paladin's investment activities in alternative energy and renewable fuels. Prior to joining Paladin, Pentimonti spent six years as an investment banker with JP Morgan Chase. Pentimonti received his B.A. degree in Economics and Political Science from Stanford University, and his M.B.A. from the Anderson School at UCLA.
Ravi Khanna, President and CEO of Scatec Solar
Prior to Scatec, Mr. Khanna was President and CEO of Moser Baer Photo Voltaic in India, one of the earliest manufacturers of large area thin-film modules. At Moser Baer PV, Mr. Khanna was responsible for the acquisitions of technology firms and the founding of a technology center--while creating one of the fastest manufacturing capacities, positioning the company to reach gigawatt-level capacities by 2012. He was also on the board of US firms Sol Focus, Solaria, and Stion Corporation. Prior to Moser Baer, Khanna was an executive with Delphi Corporation for more than ten years, and was involved in various positions globally.
