SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Joyce M. Ferris,
Founder and Managing Partner, has over 20 years of experience in the
GreenTech sector as an entrepreneur and an investor. Her experience includes
management, development and financing of energy and industrial technology
companies and renewable energy projects. Ms. Ferris has a unique set
of skills combining demonstrated leadership with hands-on transaction
and management experience in the energy industry. She has had principal
roles as an investor, technology and equipment provider, a financial
advisor and as a project developer. Ms. Ferris’ project
experience includes biomass and agricultural waste fired energy projects,
industrial waste disposal facilities, waste-coal fired power plants,
geothermal, and hydroelectric projects. Ms. Ferris was a senior founding
executive and Director of Project Finance for Reading Energy Company
where she managed financial transactions totaling over $500 million.
After a management buy-out in 1988, Ms. Ferris became a principal shareholder
of the company. After leaving Reading Energy Ms. Ferris led the acquisition
of Energy Products of Idaho (“EPI”), a combustion technology
firm specializing in the conversion of a wide variety of biomass and
solid waste material. Ms. Ferris was a major shareholder, board member
and Director of Business Development for EPI until she sold her interest
in 1998. In January 1999 Ms. Ferris co-founded Blue Hill as the US subsidiary
of a London based firm, Impax Capital. In January 2000 Ms Ferris led
the purchase of the US subsidiary and changed the name to Blue Hill Partners.
Ms. Ferris has held numerous board positions and is currently on the
board of Princeton Energy Systems and Encelium Technologies. She has
been a speaker at industry conferences in the US and Europe. Ms. Ferris
currently serves on the Pennsylvania Climate Change Working Group and
the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Energy Advisory
Board. Ms. Ferris is also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Cleantech
Venture Network, and the WilderHill New Energy Global Index. She holds
a B.A. from Reed College and an M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania
in Energy Management and Policy.
Contact Joyce at: joyceferris "at" bluehillpartners.com
Peter D. Williams, Principal, has 8 years of experience in management
consulting and private equity with a focus on GreenTech and the electricity
sector. Prior to joining Blue Hill he worked in the strategy consulting
and corporate finance industries. He has worked for both The KBA Consulting
Group in Melbourne, Australia and L.E.K. Consulting in Australia, Singapore
and Thailand. Mr. Williams worked alongside a number of senior executives
in operational roles including strategic planning, due diligence, valuation,
investment screening, value driver analysis and customer research. At
L.E.K, he helped develop the strategy and screening models for a Singaporean
utility looking to raise a $1 billion pan-Asian private equity fund.
Mr. Williams completed an internship at the United Nations Environmental
Programme Finance Initiative in Switzerland, where he worked on scenarios
linking the Kyoto Protocol with the growth of the renewable finance industry.
Mr. Williams has a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) with Honors and
a Bachelor of Science (Computer) from the University of Melbourne, Australia,
and an MBA with Honors from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
where he received a Ford Fellowship to research a project entitled "The
Impact of Climate Change on Management & Technology." He was a recent
speaker at Globalcon and is a LEED accredited professional.
Contact Peter at: peterwilliams "at" bluehillpartners.com
Alan A. Grant, Partner, has over 14 years of experience operating and
managing energy and industrial technology companies. Mr. Grant has a
broad range of skills and experience working with early and commercial
stage companies in the GreenTech sector including operations, engineering,
financial modeling and analysis, project management and information systems.
Mr. Grant was the founding management member of the US subsidiary of
Bioscan, a European company with a technology for processing liquid organic
wastes. He has also acted as the financial and technical advisor to several
other companies and large-scale projects. Mr. Grant was Head of Engineering
and Information Systems for a Philadelphia based manufacturing company.
Mr. Grant co-founded Blue Hill with Ms. Ferris in January 1999. Mr. Grant
was appointed to the Pennsylvania Agricultural By-Product Management
Technology Board in 2000. He has a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of Toronto and is a registered professional engineer
in the United States and Canada.
Contact Alan at: alangrant "at" bluehillpartners.com
Gary A. Weiss, Partner, has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur,
and senior manager of energy technology companies, industrial technology
companies, mechanical contracting and facility management companies.
He has an extensive background in both Risk Management and Operations
Research. He has a proven track record of successfully growing entrepreneurial
companies. Mr. Weiss founded and lead a company, Integrated Process Technologies,
which he grew to $30 million in sales in under five years and successfully
sold to a strategic investor. Mr. Weiss is a member of the Board of Directors
of Connected Energy Corp. Mr. Weiss was a co-author of a recent paper
published in the leading-edge European periodical, Energy Policy, entitled “From
Volatility to Value: Analyzing and Managing Financial Risk and Performance
Risk in Energy Savings Projects”. He has also been a speaker and
panelist at numerous energy conferences, such as the MIT Forum and the
CleanTech/Discovery Showcase Conference. He is a U.S. Patent Holder,
and currently has a U.S. Business Method Patent Pending for a financial
tool which facilitates the monetization of future potential energy savings
from deployment of energy efficiency and on-site generation technologies.
He has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a registered Professional
Engineer in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Contact Gary at: garyweiss "at" bluehillpartners.com
ADVISORS
Rob Sanders is an investment professional with more than 20 years of
experience in energy-related and commercial development finance. Since
1999, he has been employed by The Reinvestment Fund as Fund Manager of
its Sustainable Development Fund, a $32 million fund that provides company
and project financing for renewable energy, advanced clean energy and
energy conservation technologies. Located in Philadelphia, The Reinvestment
Fund is the region’s premier development finance corporation with
more than $250 million under management from more than 950 investors.
Prior to working with The Reinvestment Fund, Mr. Sanders held several
positions over a 15 year period in CoreStates Bank’s Corporate
Community Development Department. These positions included President
of the CoreStates Community Development Corporation, Manager of the Community
Business Lending Group, and Commercial Loan Officer. Prior to working
at CoreStates, he was Business Development Specialist with the Philadelphia
Commercial Development Corporation, Project Director with the National
Economic Development and Law Center (Berkeley, California), and Project
Director with the Madison Development Corporation (Madison, Wisconsin).
Mr. Sanders is currently a member of the Investment Advisory Committee
for Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a Board Director for Clean Energy
Group/Clean Energy States Alliance, an Investment Committee member for
the Pennsylvania Advanced Industrial Technology Fund and a member of
the Pennsylvania Energy Advisory Board. Mr. Sanders is a graduate of
Stanford University (B.A., Values, Technology and Society) and the University
of California, Berkeley (Master of City Planning, Community Economic
Development).
Richard Hayden is a principal in the public policy firm CHH Partners
and has been engaged in environmental law and public policy consulting
work for over 13 years. He has devoted a substantial portion of his practice
to environmental and energy matters that require regulatory policy development
and legislative interpretation, with an emphasis on the Pennsylvania
process. His engagements have included regulatory counsel on behalf of
a large electric power generator, environmental permitting and regulatory
policy development for a publicly owned treatment works, and project
site development advice for a range of clients. He co-authored a report,
funded by foundations, on air emissions trading opportunities for Pennsylvania.
In June 2003, he was approved by the Pennsylvania Senate to serve as
the Governor’s representative on the Delaware Valley Regional Planning
Commission. Mr. Hayden was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from 1986-1992 serving a district in Philadelphia. He was awarded the
1992 Mid-Atlantic States Air and Solid Waste Management Association Legislative
Award in recognition of his leadership on environmental legislation.
He also chaired the Low-Emission Vehicle Commission created by the 1992
legislation amending the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act. Mr.
Hayden received his J.D. from Villanova University and his B.A. from
Boston College.
Gary M. Fechter is President and COO of Princeton Energy Systems, a
Blue Hill portfolio company. He has more than 25 years of experience
in energy, engineering, and project management, including 15 years experience
at Trigen Energy Corporation, a leading firm focused on developing, constructing
and operating district energy systems. As Vice President of Trigen, Mr.
Fechter directed a wide range of engineering, business, technical and
project management resources to develop projects and create joint venture
opportunities. Mr. Fechter also headed up Trigen Development Corp., the
energy services division within Trigen Energy that was awarded a $200
million IDIQ contract for US Air Force (Region 2 Energy Savings Performance
Contract). Before joining Trigen Mr. Fechter held various positions within
the US Army Corps of Engineers to include Associate Professor of Physics
at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Commanding Officer,
Executive Officer and Platoon Leader of Combat Engineer Companies assigned
to Germany. Mr. Fechter has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science
and Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point
(1978) and a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (1985).
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