Here’s the latest news on hirings, firings and promotions among environmental and energy management leaders.
Better Place: The Israeli electric vehicle battery swapping company’s founder Shai Agassi (pictured) left the board of directors one week after stepping down as CEO. Agassi remains a major shareholder, Better Place said. Evan Thornley, who has held the top executive position at Better Place Australia for the past four years, has been named CEO of the global company.
Redwood Systems: The building-performance lighting company named Frank Kull as vice president of operations. Kull will be responsible for end-to-end supply chain management as the company expands it product line and geographic reach. Kull was previously vice president of operations at Pliant Technology, where he managed the company’s overall manufacturing operations. He has also held director-level positions at Google, Cisco Systems and Polycom.
Distributed Wind Energy Association: The industry advocacy organization has elected three board members: David Blittersdorf, president and CEO of AllEarth Renewables, was appointed treasurer; Heather Rhoads-Weaver, principal consultant and founder of eFormative Options, was named secretary; and Dan Juhl, chairman and CEO of Juhl Wind, was chosen as director. DWEA also has hired Annie Sznajder as program manager. Sznajder previously was the education program manager for the American Wind Energy Association.
Suntech Power: The Chinese solar panel manufacturer announced through an SEC filing that interim CFO Anlin Ting-Mason has stepped down from the position for personal reasons. Ting-Mason will maintain her position as CFO of Suntech America. CEO David King will assume the position of acting CFO until the company can hire a permanent replacement.
On-Ramp Wireless: The wireless utilities monitoring company has hired Scott Foster at vice president of smart grid sales. Foster previously held senior management positions at Sensus USA, Cooper Power Systems, Southern California Edison and Ingalls Power Products.
Environmental Defense Fund: The non-profit organization announced that Robert Parkhurst has been hired as a strategist to lead EDF’s partnerships with the agricultural industry in voluntary and compliance markets for greenhouse gas reductions, including AB32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act. Prior to joining the EDF, Parkhurst worked at Pacific Gas and Electric, where he led the environmental component of the utility’s ClimateSmart program.
ASHRAE: The US Department of Energy appointed Ian LaHiff as its 2012-13 Building Energy Codes ASHRAE fellow to assist with a variety of code development and deployment activities. LaHiff previously worked with exp Global as a mechanical design engineer and project coordinator for healthcare and mission critical facilities.