Energy Jobs: Apple, SolarCity, Ethical Electric, NRStor, Proterra, GT Advanced Technologies

Executive and boardroom moves in cleantech, utilities, energy and VC

According to Bloomberg News, hundreds of employees in Apple's automotive program (Project Titan) are being reassigned or laid off. Apple's plan "no longer includes building its own car, according to people familiar with the project." Rather, the company is "refocused on developing an autonomous driving system that gives Apple flexibility to either partner with existing carmakers, or return to designing its own vehicle in the future."    

GT Advanced Technologies, emerging from bankruptcy, named Greg Knight as CEO, replacing the resigning Dave Keck. Knight is a member of the GT board and most recently was founder and CEO of Exawatt and PV Tech Group, consulting firms in the PV industry. GT’s technology roadmap includes "advanced processes for CZ ingot growth, advanced directional solidification platforms, and next-generation polysilicon and silane technologies."

Steve O'Rourke, former chief strategy officer and senior VP at SunEdison, is now managing director at APL Renewables.  

Electric-bus builder Proterra named Josh Ensign as COO. Before Proterra, Ensign was VP of manufacturing at Tesla Motors -- responsible for manufacturing activities at the Fremont, California production site. Before Tesla, Ensign led global operations in Honeywell's automotive and aerospace businesses. Proterra has raised a total of more than $230 million in VC funding from investors including KPCB, GM Ventures, Hennessey Capital, NMT Capital, Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, 88 Green Ventures and Vision Ridge Partners.      

Hyperloop One raised $50 million in new financing for its ultra-fast, tube-based transportation system, bringing its total amount raised to $160 million. As GTM's Julia Pyper reported, "The company also announced that rock-star finance executive Brent Callinicos has joined the Hyperloop One executive team as a full-time strategic advisor to the CEO and board of directors. Callinicos recently served as CFO for Uber, helping the innovative ride-sharing company raise billions of dollars and grow from 300 to 3,000 employees."

Ted Leonard is joining NRStor as VP and CFO. Leonard was previously the VP and CFO at Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator. As GTM has reported, NRStor is a "technology-agnostic energy storage developer" that has partnerships with flywheel manufacturer Temporal Power, and with Tesla to deploy the Powerwall in Canada.  

Retail energy provider Ethical Electric launched its community solar division with new Managing Director Laura Pagliarulo, previously with SunEdison, and new CTO Daniel Murray, previously with the Obama campaign's data team. Co-founder Richard Graves will help launch the community solar business, with help from a $2.5 million DOE SunShot award aimed at lowering residential solar soft costs.   

***

Enertech Search Partners, an executive search firm with a dedicated cleantech practice, is the sponsor of the GTM jobs column.

Among its many active searches, Enertech is looking for a Project Developer ERCOT – Distributed Energy.

With a project backlog and pipeline exceeding 300 megawatts, the client has grown at an annual rate of over 75 percent per year since its founding in 2009 and has been profitable and self-financed, both retaining and selling completed projects, while operating from a very clean financial structure. The company handles the development, design, engineering, construction and financing of solar energy systems and has developed over 50 municipal, utility scale, and community level projects.

Currently, the company is looking for a self-driven individual who has successfully driven a soup-to-nuts solar or wind project relevant to the ERCOT region and is looking for an opportunity to grow and own project development for a nimble, profitable, and self-financed company.

***

The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) named Shawn O'Brien as its executive director. O'Brien comes to NABCEP after serving as the COO for the National Board of Certified Counselors.       .

In a peaceful transfer of power, Stephen Lacey has been promoted to editor-in-chief at Greentech Media. Julia Pyper has been promoted to senior editor. Eric Wesoff, editor-in-chief since 2011, is moving into the role of editor-at-large.

From the previous jobs column:

SolarCity promoted VP of Global Capital Markets Radford Small to CFO, reporting to CEO Lyndon Rive. According to a release, Small "helped the company create approximately $3 billion in new financing for solar projects." Tanguy Serra, COO of SolarCity since 2013 and president and CFO since last year, "will be departing SolarCity at the end of the year," a casualty of the anticipated acquisition of the company by Tesla.

Bruce Sohn, former president of First Solar, joined Siva Power as vice chairman. Under Sohn, First Solar was the first firm to build PV modules at below $1.00 per watt and the first to ship more than 1 gigawatt of PV modules annually. Before First Solar, Sohn worked at Intel for 24 years and managed two of Intel's largest fabrication plants. VC-funded Siva is developing copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar modules. Sohn is currently the president of QuantumScape and on the board of Phononic Devices and 1366 Technologies.