Energy Executive Moves: Nexant, Opower, NREL, EnTouch Controls, WSP Environmental

Michael Mondshine joined WSP Environmental as vice president, sustainability and energy. Mondshine (pictured) is board chair for the Association of Climate Change Officers. He will be based in WSP’s Washington, DC, regional office in Arlington, Va., where he will help companies and government agencies manage risk in their operations and prepare for the likely impacts of climate change. Most recently, Mondshine served as chief solutions architect, Sustainability at Leidos.

Energy software and services company Nexant hired Jonathan Foster as chief financial officer, reporting to Nexant CEO Basem Sarandah. Foster will oversee both investment and capital raising activities as well as mergers and acquisitions. Previously, Foster served as CFO of LS9, an advanced biofuels/biotechnology development firm recently acquired by Renewable Energy Group.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz and Democratic campaign strategist Jim Messina have joined Opower’s Advisory Board to help guide Opower’s policy and communications goals. Luntz pioneered the “instant response” focus group technique. Messina is the mastermind behind President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.

David Ginley, a materials scientist at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has been named a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The Academy cited Ginley for “distinguished contributions in renewable energy and sustainability, especially photovoltaics, batteries and fuel cells, and in developing materials and forums for student interactions on these topics.”

EnTouch Controls hired Thomas Kay as vice president of sales and marketing. Kay will report to CEO Greg Fasullo and will oversee all facets of EnTouch’s sales and marketing strategy. Previously, Kay was the director of national accounts with Corrigo, a computerized maintenance management software provider.