FountainBlue

Vivek Agrawal, Business Development Manager, Energy and Environmental Solutions, Office of the CTO, Applied Materials

Vivek Agrawal is currently Business Development Manager, Energy and Environmental Solutions, Office of the CTO, Applied Materials. He was formerly Principal at Mission Peak Analytics, Product Line Manager at Coherent Inc., Process Engineering Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Staff Industrial Engineer at Santur Corp. and Senior Research Engineer at JDSU (previously SDL, Inc.). He holds an MS, Electrical Engineering (Wireless and Network Theory) from Santa Clara University, and a BA in Chemistry from University of California, Santa Cruz. He was nominated for 2010 Volunteer of the Year Award- San Mateo County, has presented paper at Solid State Diode Laser and Technology Review Conference, June 2008, has Co-author of 10+ publications and conference papers in laser diode technology and packaging and Co-authored 2 patents in laser packaging. Lastly, he received a National Institutes of Health- awarded merit scholarships to work at the National Cancer Institute during high school and college (3 years).

Matthew Denesuk, Ph.D., STSM, Partner, IBM Venture Capital Group, Scientist, IBM Research

Thomas Dinkel, CEO and President, Sun Reports

Tom Dinkel has over 20 years in the Renewable Energy and CleanTech marketplace. Beginning with leadership roles at both Honeywell and Johnson Controls in the energy conservation arena, Tom has been active on both the Utility- and the Customer-side of the energy meter throughout his career. He joined Whisper Communications as employee #7 in the mid-90s and helped define the AMI, SmartGrid and SmartMetering markets, securing projects with Portland General Electric and BC Gas. His career has been one of innovation, early stage company development, and creativity in the executive ranks.

Recently, he helped the innovative solar metering company FatSpaniel get into the marketplace. As an early member of their Advisory Board and later once they received funding as their first VP of Sales he established FatSpaniel as one of the leaders in the emerging solar monitoring marketplace.

Tom graduated from University of Washington with a Masters in Business Administration, and was a scholarship recipient for an exchange to the Cranfield School of Management in the UK while at U of W. He also graduated with an Undergraduate Degree from Oregon State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business.

Jim DiSanto, President and General Manager, Earthrise Technologies Inc.

Jim DiSanto has experience in creating, developing, and introducing new business concepts, models and products; raising capital - over $70M raised in three early stage technology businesses, both equity and debt; building and leading teams, selling to strategic customers and partners, and building distribution channels through acquisitions. The majority of his experience is in enterprise software, mobile/wireless communications and applications, e-commerce, fleet and consumer automotive and telematics industries, and location based services.

Jim is currently serving as Executive Director and General Manager US, Earthrise Technologies, a business unit of Digisec Group.  Digisec is a leading Chinese developer and manufacturer of electronic platforms and devices for automotive telematics services, vehicle emissions monitoring and reduction, and fuel-saving technologies. He is also Executive Director of BBE BioEnergy which is constructing a biofuel processing facility and renewable power generation plant in Colusa County, CA. Jim has BSE degrees in Aerospace and Computer Engineering and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jim was kind enough to make a Tech2Green August presentation on software in the transportation industry.

Brian Farhi, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development, Solar Nexus

Brian is a market and product strategy professional with 12 years of experience in the solar and energy efficiency-related fields.  He has held senior positions at the Florida Solar Energy Center, Fronius, and  most recently SunPower, where he had product management responsibilities for the company’s inverter and data monitoring systems.  Brian recently completed his MBA at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and has an MS from the University of Colorado's Building Systems Program.

Christine Hertzog, Managing Director, Smart Grid Library

Christine Hertzog is a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid technologies and solutions. As a consultant, she helps clients understand and navigate the intersections of emerging technologies and markets.  She is the author of the Smart Grid Dictionary, the first dictionary that explains the jargon, acronyms, and terminology used by utilities, regulators, standards organizations, and manufacturers. 

She has two decades of experience working with hardware, software, and services companies that range from small start-ups to multi-national corporations, and has recently been involved in the National Institute of Standards (NIST) initiative on Smart Grid Cyber Security standards requirements. Based in Silicon Valley, she is a regular presenter at industry conferences and blogs about the challenges and opportunities that Smart Grid solutions deliver to the evolving electricity supply chain. 

Dr. Dragos Maciuca is a member of the Concept Development Group in Lockheed Martin's Space System Central Business Development. In his current position Dragos identifies adjacent and whitespace technologies, evaluates their strategic fit and advises corporate investment in these areas.  In the past year he has focused mostly in the energy area. Dragos joined Lockheed Martin in 2005 as a Senior Research Scientist at the Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto.  He has extensive experience collaborating with universities, research institutes and small businesses.  He obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from University of California at Berkeley and his MBA from the Haas School of Business.  He has more than 11 years of professional experience in the automotive, semiconductor and aerospace industries. 

Dragos was formerly a Systems Design Manager at KLA Tencor, a Senior Systems Engineer at BMW's Technology Office, and a fellow Visiting Scientist at Nissan. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley - Walter A. Haas School of Business.

Sunil Maulik, PhD, VP of Business Development and Program Management, People Power Co.

Dr. Sunil Maulik has over twenty years of sales and business development experience in Silicon Valley. He has co-founded three companies, including MonetaSuite, a business analytics company focused on email activity; RemakeHealth, a healthcare-IT company; and GeneEd, a provider of e-learning solutions. In addition, he has held senior sales and management positions at Pangea Systems, Tripos, Hoffmann-La Roche, Oxford Molecular and IntelliGenetics. Sunil also participates in several non-profit ventures dedicated to improving health in sustainable communities, including Health2.0, the Pacific AIDS Education Center and Project Ahimsa. He is enthralled by the opportunity to create energy-sustainable communities by encouraging people to go green.

Sunil was kind enough to facilitate our August 9 event on leveraging software for sustainable solutions: The Home Energy Monitoring Opportunity.

Tom Thayer, VP of Marketing, OptoElectronix

Tom Thayer is current VP of Marketing for OptoElectronix, the leader in the conception, design, and manufacture of plug-and-play, standardized, highly reliable LED-based lighting. Tom is also the Clean Tech Open Advocate f or alumni companies in the transportation segment, and program adviser for FountainBlue’s clean energy series. 

Previously, Tom has worked for high tech companies, reaching VP/ GM and VP Marketing positions at Covad Communications and Xerox. Currently, he has been providing strategic consulting services to high tech and clean tech companies. He holds graduate degrees in both environmental science and business.

Griff Weber, Consultant to IBM Research

Griff Weber is a Global Marketing Executive.  He retired from IBM after 25 years in Strategic and Product Marketing, focusing on new software and solution offerings.  Mr. Weber is currently consulting with IBM Research on new markets and offerings, looking to grow new $100 M to $1B businesses.  He is also helping a solar startup.

Mr. Weber attended Stanford University, getting a B.A. in Human Biology and a M.A. in Secondary Education.  He resides in Redwood City, California, with his wife and two children.