Richard is the Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory managed by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy. The IEC is externally focused with a mission to identify gaps in the clean energy/cleantech ecosystem; and to utilize the resources of the Lab, and/or the resources of partners to help fill those gaps. In this role he oversees the Innovation Incubator (IN2), a unique and highly successful technology incubator in partnership with Wells Fargo, and the Shell Gamechanger Accelerator powered by NREL (GCxN). His team also conducts the NREL Industry Growth Forum and manages the Investor Advisory Board and relationships with the financial community. He also manages programs dedicated to regional and national incubators and the clean energy and cleantech startup communities.
Ramsay is Wells Fargo’s Vice President, Clean Technology and Innovation Philanthropy Program Officer, with more than a decade of experience in corporate sustainability. He oversees Wells Fargo’s clean technology philanthropy programs including the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) and tribal renewable energy projects. He works closely with internal and external stakeholders to drive innovation in the clean technology sector by helping network companies to access expert support to grow their businesses.
NREL’s vision of the future is guided by strategic research initiatives that will enable tomorrow’s energy economy. Learn from NREL Director Dr. Martin Keller about NREL’s objectives in Electrifying the Economy, Circular Economy, and Electrons-to-Molecules research.
Martin Keller became the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) director on November 30, 2015. NREL is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (Alliance). Martin also serves as the President of Alliance.
Martin joined Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in July 2006 and was appointed to the role of Associate Laboratory Director in July 2009. In November 2010, he was asked to lead the newly-formed Energy and Environmental Sciences directorate. In this role he was responsible for the energy, biological, and environmental research programs supported by DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health. Martin served as the Founding Director of the DOE BioEnergy Science Center and also served as the Director of the Biosciences Division.
Arrow Electronics (NYSE:ARW) guides innovation forward for over 200,000 leading technology manufacturers and service providers. With 2018 sales of $30 billion, Arrow develops technology solutions that improve business and daily life. Learn more at fiveyearsout.com. Arrow Electronics is at the forefront of guiding cities, regions and businesses in their digital transformation to thrive in the new wave of global innovation, enabled by IoT and Artificial Intelligence. Matthew James Bailey is a recognized leading authority on the topics of IoT and Smart Cities. Matthew will share his vision for the next-generation of “technology-enabled” multi-stakeholder systems that will truly enable Smart Cities and Smart Regions. Learn what Arrow’s City of the Future looks like, how we can get there, and how the power of collaboration will drive this transition into an incredible and inclusive citizen experience.
Increasing investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, IoT, mobility, and other advanced cleantech innovations has sparked the trajectory of modern society toward connected, sustainable frontiers. The building momentum has also brought inventors, policy makers, investors and power providers together to create synergies between innovators. But as a collective cleantech ecosystem, what are our strategic energy goals for this future? What will it take to get there? And what will it look like when we do get there? This panel of representatives from major international utilities will attempt to answer these questions, providing a futurist look at how cross-sector collaboration, strategic initiatives from utilities, and investment in the innovation ecosystem and energy sector can steer us toward a bright tomorrow.
Cassie is a Vice President at Energy Impact Partners where she works on investments across sectors but with a focus on transportation and mobility. EIP is a $680m venture fund investing in energy and adjacent industries that is backed by 14 global utilities and energy companies. Prior to joining EIP, she worked for 5 years at SunPower, one of the largest global solar companies, in policy and strategy. She has also gained operating experience at energy storage, micro-grid and energy asset management startups in business development and finance roles. Cassie holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, a BA in Economics from Harvard University, and was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (2018).
Divesh Gupta has been with the Exelon family of companies for over 13 years. He currently serves as Director of Strategy for BGE’s Utility of the Future efforts. His team develops and implements innovative next steps for BGE’s customers – from electric vehicle infrastructure, to Smart City tech, to community solar, energy storage and more.
Robert Leland leads NREL's capabilities in high-performance computing, computational science, applied mathematics, visualization, data, and analysis of energy systems, technologies, policies, resources, and markets.
Formerly Vice President of Science and Technology and Chief Technology Officer of Sandia National Laboratories, Leland is the first associate lab director for NREL's Scientific Computing and Energy Analysis directorate.
Leland earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Oxford University in 1989. He joined Sandia the following year and co-authored Chaco, a software toolkit used to optimize the performance of supercomputers. With the exception of two notable postings in Washington, D.C., Leland has spent his career at Sandia. He was chosen to be a White House fellow in the 1995 and served as a key adviser in the effort to modernize the IT infrastructure and business practices at the Internal Revenue Service. He returned to the White House in 2014 to lead the development of the National Strategic Computing Initiative, a new national vision, strategy, and roadmap for high-performance computing.
Dillon McDonald joins National Grid Ventures from A3Ventures where he was managing partner responsible for investments in a broad range of mobility, IoT, and AI companies. Before A3Ventures, Dillon co-founded Greenstart which provided seed investments in energy & IT companies. He invested and advised companies across DG, IoT, and EV’s. As co-founder of Jumpstart, he led the company through acquisition and became CEO of the combined entity including Car and Driver, Road & Track. Dillon holds a B.S. in Business and Managerial Economics from University of California, Davis.
Ramani is Director, Strategy & Market Development for ENGIE’s Centralized Generation business. He has over 23 years of strategy, business development and project management experience in the Middle East, Asia, Canada and the United States, in both regulated electricity markets and in deregulated ones. His responsibilities and areas of expertise have included strategy & business development, asset management, communications & regulatory affairs.