SP TEAM
SP’s TEAM OFFERS LONG STANDING EXPERIENCE IN CAPITAL APPRECIATION AND SUSTAINABILITY
SENIOR INVESTORS
Ken is a Senior Investment Developer responsible for new investment opportunities in Northern California.
Ken brings a demonstrated competence in finance and client relationships, honed over a 35-year career on Wall Street. Prior to joining SP, Ken was with Knight Capital Group, where as Managing Director, he established the client-facing operations in the Western United States. Based in San Francisco, he built and managed a team of professionals that drove the firm’s equity-related product offerings with many of KCG’s largest institutional clients, including high-touch execution services, algorithmic, electronic and program trading, and international equity and FX trading.
Ken’s earlier career on Wall Street included eleven years with Goldman Sachs, where, as a sales trader, he provided client equity execution services; and twelve years with Kidder Peabody, where he provided research and execution services for institutional clients.
Ken holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, both awarded by the University of California, Los Angeles.
Michael is an Investment Developer currently focusing on projects in New Jersey and the Northeast.
Michael Ballan has over 20 years of experience in Financial Services. He was a buyside trader for MFS Investment Management in Boston where he worked closely with global portfolio managers to execute trades. Michael most recently served as an equity sales trader for Knight Capital Markets and Virtu Financial where he was responsible for providing execution services for institutions worldwide.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Boston College.
Mark is President of SP Investment Advisors.
Mark recently worked at BMO Capital markets as the Co-Head of the Global Leveraged Finance Group and the Head of Syndicate. He previously served as Global Head of Fixed Income Syndicate at Barclays from 2008 to 2016, and was a member of the Markets Management Committee. He was Head of Barclays Syndicate Americas from 2004 to 2007. Prior to that, Mark worked for 16 years at Goldman Sachs in various roles: Managing Director, Fixed Income Syndicate, Head of Europe and Asia Syndicate, Head of European Capital Markets, and Head of Emerging Markets Syndicate.
Tom is Founder and CEO of Sustainability Partners LLC.
From 2002 to 2014, Tom Cain was Founder and Managing Partner of two CleanTech venture capital firms (SAIL Ventures and EFW Partners) with over $200M in discretionary funds. Besides acting as Managing Partner, Cain sourced and was the board member for most of the energy storage, renewable energy, motor, media, transportation and energy efficiency investments.
Prior to his venture capital period, Cain did a successful acquisition & turnaround of failing Evans Systems (NASDAQ: EVSI), a Texas based distressed oil and gas business. This uncovered mothballed fuel terminals on the gulf intracoastal, from which he founded Starco Energy to restore them. Upon completing the first major terminal, Quintana Corp purchased Starco in 2006.
Cain started his career as a technologist and at 22, he founded Distribution Architects International, a supply chain and enterprise resources planning (ERP) software firm. The firm was acquired by Frontstep Corp (NASDAQ:FSTP) in 1999, with Cain becoming Executive Chairman of the acquisition corp. Frontstep was acquired by Mapics (NASDAQ:MAPX) in 2003 with Infor acquiring Mapics in 2005 at which time Cain retired from his chairman role. During Cain’s tenure, the firm he stewarded had grown to 4,500 customers in 70 countries with a staff of 1,200 and $172M in revenues. Over the years Cain received many awards for innovative software breakthroughs and spoke globally as notable entrepreneur.
Cain holds patents in advanced ECM motor design and music tablature in commercial use today. As a young mathematician, Cain worked on the mathematics behind the theta-pinch toroidal plasma stabilization effort to control thermonuclear fusion for direct generation of electricity under the polymath, James Tuck, at Los Alamos Labs. While no solution was found, nor has been, the experience did seed Cain’s lifetime passion for energy, water and the global ecosystem.
Cain, a member of WPO/YPO, founded the YPO Global Supply Chain Conference, was chairman of the MIT Presidents Education, and group led the HBS Presidents Education. He has served as a board of director on over 30 public and private businesses. In 2008, Cain authored Best Practices for Energy Venture Capital with Innovation: Finding New Frontiers in Energy Investing. Cain is an alumnus of ASU with undergraduate and graduate studies in mathematics.
Michael DeFelice is a Senior Investment Developer focused on new investment opportunities in the Northeastern US.
Prior to joining SP, Michael spent 10 years as the founder and CEO of Stonegate Energy, a renewable and thermal power generation project developer, including the recent 564MW Middlesex Energy Center project in Sayreville, NJ. Prior to Stonegate, Michael spent 17 years on Wall Street as an M&A investment banker and a securities attorney, first with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, followed by Merrill Lynch & Co., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. During his Wall Street career, Michael advised on over 100 M&A transactions and strategic capital raises with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $100 billion. His clients included a wide array of publicly-traded and privately-owned corporations, private equity firms and institutional investors. His primary industries of focus included real estate, hospitality, transportation, information technology and telecommunications. Before Wall Street, Michael was a Subcontracts Manager for Westinghouse Electric Corporation on numerous U.S. Navy Propulsion and Weapons Systems programs.
Michael earned his degree in Engineering Sciences from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College where he later served for more than a decade as an Overseer advising the Dean on strategic initiatives. Michael received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School where he served on the student council and later served on the Alumni Visiting Committee, advising the Dean on a broad array of strategic matters impacting the school. Michael has served on numerous corporate charitable boards and continues his commitment to community service through his involvement in numerous community organizations.
Rick is an original Business Partner of SP and a Senior Investment Developer primarily focused on Arizona and North Dakota.
Rick’s been a key player in several “mentor-driven accelerators” including Idealab, world’s leading tech incubator in the 1990’s. Rick was an early shareholder in Bill Gross’ Idealab, founded one of its first companies and participated in strategic planning with its ten original CEOs. For UA, Rick was Mentor-Emeritus for UA’s AZCI incubator, Adjunct Instructor for Eller School Entrepreneurship Program, on MBA Advisory Council, Director Emeritus for NACET incubator since 2008. For ASU, was Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Instructor for LaunchPad/LaunchPrep entrepreneurship programs.
Since 2000, he’s been on Selection Panel for Invest Southwest Capital Conference’s Venture Madness. Rick is a judge for AZ Commerce Authority’s ‘Innovation Challenge’. Rick is a judge for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and is often a Mentor and Panelist for FundingPost.
Rick started GNP Development Corp with Bill Gross which they sold to Lotus Development Corp. They co-founded Knowledge Adventure Inc which became the world’s largest children’s CD-ROM edutainment software company as part of Universal Studios.
Joyce is an Investment Advisor and Developer with concentration in the state of Arizona and surrounding areas.
Joyce Haver was front page profiled by the Wall Street Journal as one of Arizona’s leading women in business and politics. She was also ranked one of the top 10 most influential businesswomen in Greater Phoenix. and is an SP Senior Investment Advisor with over 25 years’ experience in business development, marketing and working with the public sector. Built on reputation, referrals and a clear track record of results,
During her eight years as Vice President, of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Joyce was instrumental in the business recruitment and marketing activities that made a significant contribution to the extraordinary growth of Greater Phoenix throughout the 90’s. She acquired project management, business development, marketing and fundraising experience across a broad landscape of business and economic initiatives. By developing strategic alliances in multiple industries Joyce initiated the development of the national and international relationships that make her so effective today. She broadened the scope of the organization overseas and managed several international initiatives and events. She was liaison to foreign embassies on behalf of the organization and the community.
Joyce A. Haver & Associates, established in 1997, a business development, strategic planning and niche marketing consulting firm serves clients in both the private and public sectors from early stage growth through Fortune 500. She has raised millions of dollars for political candidates, non-profits, charitable organizations and privately held companies. Joyce served on President George W. Bush’s National Finance Committee in 2000 & 2004. She works one on one with CEO’s providing a variety of services to grow their business. She maintains the relationships she forged through both her philanthropic and professional endeavors and delivers to her clients the credentials and credibility necessary to be effective in the national and international business arena.
Joyce is an astute creative strategist, a powerful advocate and a resourceful and proactive strategic partner. She has a talent for managing resources and high level relationships towards the successful execution and outcome of complex and critical projects. Her focus remains the development of Joyce A. Haver & Associates through which she channels her gift for leveraging her own skills, resources and relationships in support of the diverse objectives of her clients.
Joyce lives in Phoenix, Arizona and has a son, Christopher.
Jason Hewitt is an Investment Developer responsible for new investment opportunities in the Southern US.
For nearly a decade Jason has worked in the municipal, utility, school and hospital sectors. He is an expert in Smart Cities technologies and brings this experience to bear in government and commercial settings.
Prior to joining SP, Jason spent over 7 years as the founder of Brilliant Efficiencies, an energy efficiency solutions provider to government entities.
Simultaneously, Jason has spent over 17 years as a film and television producer and has worked on over 150 film and television projects. Prior, Jason founded and sold a number of technology start ups.
Michael is President of Sustainability Partners, LLC
Michael is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor and operator with a strong track record in delivering outsize returns for investors across a wide range of industries. He brings extensive financial advisory, entrepreneurial, underwriting, asset and portfolio management experience to SP, having in aggregate originated and overseen real estate and technology portfolios of over $450 million as well as advised on over $2bn of M&A transactions. As an entrepreneur Michael co-founded and was CEO of four successful energy and technology startups returning in aggregate 12.4x to investors. Pioneer in Latin America on technology investing and sustainable real estate development, Michael is passionate about impact driven businesses and technology as a driver for global sustainability. Frequent speaker at international investment conferences. Fluent in Spanish, conversational French and Italian and holds an M Arch degree from Cornell University.
Moises has joined SP as an Investment Developer focusing on opportunities in Mexico.
Moises has held management roles in a variety of industries as both an Executive and an Entrepreneur in several fields that include Transportation, Land Development, Health and Fitness, Media and Technology.
Having worked with and being mentored by some of the best minds in several fields. His “burn no bridges” philosophy has helped him maintain important relationships and open doors wherever he goes.
Moises excels at finding the right fit and mix of companies and people to work together, considered an expert project and team builder who has been involved in projects in 4 out of 5 continents.
Christine is an Investment Officer in various territories across the U.S. with a primary focus on the water sector.
Christine Martini’s career has been in both public and private investment in the water sector. Her experience has been as an investment professional for institutional and private clients as well as advisory services to early stage companies focused on disruptive water technology. Her industry knowledge around water infrastructure and technology has developed from work at a market neutral water hedge fund, project finance fund and most recently CEO of Renovoblu, LLC.
Bob is Director of Investments responsible for leading expansion opportunities in the Northeast.
Cary is an Investment Developer currently focusing on expansion in Connecticut, Ohio and Alabama.
Cary Potter has over 30 years of experience in Financial markets most recently serving as Managing Director of Equity Capital Markets for Key Bank, where he spent 12 years providing execution services and research sales to institutional clients. Prior to joining Key Bank Mr. Potter was Director of Saletrading for 12 years at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette where he was responsible for execution and research coverage for the firms largest clients.
Joe is an Investment Developer with concentration of projects in the Southeast.
Joe is co founder and partner in Jasmine consulting , a privacy management firm in Charleston, SC. Joe currently serves as past President of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors( Naifa) for the state of South Carolina. Joe presided as president over a membership of roughly 500 over the entire state of SC. He also coordinates meetings with elected officials in SC and Washington DC and Joe’s scope of reach is from coast to coast.
Prior to working with Jasmine, Joe was the brokerage director for Lincoln FinancialGroup for SC from 2013-2017 and was the brokerage director for Mass Mutual financial group in SC and Georgia. Over a 20 year career, Joe was instrumental in educating and mentoring hundreds of financial advisors in the financial planning field. His specialty was Long Term care planning and became Certified in Long Term Care in 2002. In 2004 , Joe was awarded Long Term Care Specialist of the year for Mass Mutual financial group. This is one of Joe’s highest honors to date as there were 5000 agents within the Mass Mutual system at that time.
Prior to his work in the financial industry, Joe worked for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic games from 1995-1996 where he worked in transportation management .From 1992-1995 Joe worked for the US Senate Committee onCommerce, Science and Transportation. He was responsible for the coordination of hearings for the commerce committee and was appointed by the chairman of the Commerce Committee, Sen Ernest F. Hollings.
Joe is a 1991 graduate from the University Of South Carolina with a degree in Government and International studies and minor in economics. Joe served on the University of South Carolina board of governors from 1998-2001. Joe has also served on many boards in his native hometown of Charleston SC where he currently resides with his daughter.
Gary is a Senior Investment Developer with concentration on new business in the Northwest.
Gary is a dynamic, creative and entrepreneurial leader with extensive experience identifying new opportunities, enhancing existing models, building and leading sales and operational teams across a number of industries. As a partner in a boutique private equity firm he focused on the development of niche national consolidations strategies and post-acquisition execution.
Prior, Gary led an impressive career as a self-starter and succeeded in a number of verticals. Including the acquisition of a Los Angeles based contact manufacturing business and the ground up construction of 180,000 sq.’ expansion South Carolina which led to a profitable exit.
Today, he continues to develop and lead strategic initiatives focused on sales enhancement operational and sustainability best practices for his Sustainability Partner clients.
Stephanie is an Investment Developer concentrating on new business in Pennsylvania.
Bio will be available shortly.
Jake is an Investment Developer focusing on new opportunities in Kentucky.
Mr. Schirmer’s passion is designing solutions to improve Kentucky’s infrastructure and building assets. As the Managing Director of the Commonwealth Infrastructure Fund (CIF) and Western Kentucky Infrastructure Fund (WKIF), Jake connects private and public entities that are aligned with his passion. CIF and WKIF are each a $125,000,000 funding mechanism for P3 projects throughout Kentucky providing access to alternative funding sources beyond just the taxable and tax-exempt bond market.
Prior to his leadership and involvement with P3 projects, Jake worked in the banking industry for nearly 20 years. As the Vice President of Commercial Lending for a $2.7 billion community bank, he built and managed an organically-grown portfolio of more than $200 million.
Early in his career as a credit analyst, Mr. Schirmer earned an MBA from Illinois State University. Jake holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a veteran and served in the United States Army.
Michael is an Investment Developer with primary concentration on the West Coast
Michael Sexton is a San Diego, California native. He holds a MBA and MPA in Sustainable Management. A professional career that spans the globe, he has owned and managed businesses in Europe, Africa and the United States. He offers an extensive background in advertising, public relations, sales, marketing and logistics. His experience includes a natural gas pipeline in Mozambique; a restaurant in Ireland, and product development for multi-national agri-chemical corporations.
Robin is a Senior Investment Developer with concentration of new business opportunities on the West Coast.
Robin has held executive-level sales and marketing management positions over a 25+ year career spanning the HVAC, building automation, wireless, power monitoring, distributed generation, energy storage and renewables industries with notable companies such as Trane, Johnson Controls, NK Technologies, SunLink and Clearedge Power.
Robin holds a degree in Environmental Engineering with concentration in Solar/HVAC system design from California Polytechnic State University and has an MBA from Marquette University.
Erik is and Investment Developer primarily focused on transportation solutions (highway, transit, rail, aviation, water, etc.).
Erik Steavens is twenty-five-year infrastructure professional with a diverse background in multimodal transportation. Mr. Steavens currently is the Executive Vice President for tow companies – S.L. King and Associates and S.L. King Technologies. In this capacity, Mr. Steavens works to advise clients advise on solutions for infrastructure improvements from planning to finance to construction and maintenance.
Previously, Mr. Steavens was the Division Director of Rail Programs for the Texas Department of Transportation and Intermodal Director of the Georgia Department of Transportation. Mr. Steavens career spans all levels of government (federal, state, and local) and the private sector where he established himself as a recognized leader in transportation policy and finance.
He holds Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mr. Steavens began his career at the Planning Commission in Albany, Georgia and was responsible for multi-modal planning of the road, bridges, bicycle, pedestrian, aviation, and transit systems in Dougherty and Lee Counties. Mr. Steavens worked for the Federal Highway Administration for eight years and developed several non-traditional projects, including transit service at Yosemite National Park, financing plans for the Alameda rail project and the Miami Intermodal Center.
He followed up this federal service with work on the previous transportation authorization bill – SAFETEA-LU. In this capacity Mr. Steavens advised senior leadership of the United States House and Senate on policy and financial provisions that were ultimately adopted in the bill. He currently works to advise several staff members in their current efforts to reauthorize the transportation program. Furthermore, Mr. Steavens works with clients to find grant funding and innovative approaches to finance transportation infrastructure.
He is married to Tina Steavens and they have a young daughter, Lena, who attends St. Francis Day School. The Steavens live in the Martins Landing neighborhood in Roswell. Erik has been n member of the community as a leader of his neighborhood association.
Dr. Michael J. Tari is a Senior Investment Developer with over 25 years of financial-industry and engineering experience.
Prior to joining Sustainability Partners, Michael was with Deutsche Bank (DB) where he led front-office teams that developed and managed rules-based investment strategies, conducted complex product sales, traded derivatives and structured financial products. Previously, Michael served as Director of Strategy at VFT Capital and was the lead Risk Manager on the equity trading floor of Nomura Securities International. Michael began his financial career as a Risk Manager on the OTC derivatives desk at Bank of America.
Michael holds both Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and, upon his graduation, was the recipient of the UCLA Mechanical Engineering Department’s Outstanding Ph.D. Award. While at UCLA, Michael conducted cutting-edge research on composite material manufacturing, developing and modeling techniques that materially improved process efficiencies. His UCLA research also focused on transport phenomenon within, and the design of, nuclear power plants. Michael also holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Greg is a Senior Investment Developer, responsible for new investment opportunities throughout the East Coast and Midwest.
Prior to Convergex, Mr. Voetsch was Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets at Janney Montgomery Scott where he launched and directed Janney’s research and equity trading platforms.
Before his tenure at Janney, Mr. Voetsch spent a decade at Knight Capital Group as Executive Vice President & Head of Global Equities. In this senior role, Mr. Voetsch was responsible for building and driving the firm’s major business units, including: ETFs, global equities, electronic trading, algorithmic and FX trading platforms. In addition, Mr. Voetsch was a member of Knight’s Executive and Senior Operating Committees.
Mr. Voetsch also held executive positions at Citi and was a sales trader at Jefferies for nearly 10 years.
Mr. Voetsch holds his Series 7, 24, 55 and 63 registrations.
Todd Wood is a Senior Investment Developer concentrating on East Coast investment opportunities.
Todd earned a B.S. from Boston College where he played football
TEAM
Jill is responsible for managing content, messaging and media publicity.
Jill Brooke is a media professional who has worked in print, TV, books, radio and also run websites. The former CNN correspondent has been editor in chief of Avenue, Travel Savvy and Show Circuit Magazine. She has written for the New York Times, Metropolitan Home, Chicago Tribune, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Magazine and is also the author of several books, including “Don’t Let Death Ruin Your Life” and “The Need to Say No.” She started her career at ABC News’ “Nightline” and wrote columns both for the New York Post and New York Daily News. She also has been chief content officer for several websites and is a former speechwriter for Mayor Ed Koch. Most recently she developed the website, FlowerPowerWithJill.com, which is the first daily floral news site and is the playwright of “What’s Eating You?”
As a prior law partner of one of the worlds largest law firms, DLA Piper, LLP in the city of Los Angeles and editor-in-chief of the Administrative Law Journal for Pepperdine Law School, Adam T. Cain brings deep sophisticated legal and administrative resources to SP.
Adam has represented clients in complex litigation and negotiated multi-million dollar issues on behalf of a wide variety of clients, among them CEO’s, celebrities, business owners and other high-profile and high-net-worth individuals. His experience in the courtroom and outside the box strategies helped to resolve many difficult issues for his clients. Adam has spearheaded technological innovations and implementations for his practice group, which effectively improved data processing, workflow, client communications, and overall efficiency.
Adam earned a J.D. from Pepperdine Law School where he was Editor–in–Chief of the National Association of Administrative Law Judges Journal and was published for his article “Satellite Radio: An Innovative Technology’s Path through the FCC and into the Future.” Adam externed with the United States District Court of Arizona. Adam also holds a B.A. from Point Loma Nazarene University where he graduated Cum Laude.
Director of Strategic Analytics
Jason is Director of Strategic Analytics, responsible for financial forecasting and reporting, operational metrics, returns analysis and modeling of projects. Jason works closely with senior management, development partners and vendors to guide cost analysis, provide insight on trends and forecasts, and recommend actions to optimize project economics.
Jason brings nearly 25 years of finance experience, with extensive knowledge of operational and strategic finance. Prior to joining SP, Jason spent the past 8 years at one of the largest renewable energy manufacturing companies in the Western hemisphere, where his duties included financial reporting, M&A evaluation and strategic financial leadership to multiple lines of business.
Prior experience includes nearly 17 years in investment banking and advisory roles. As an M&A advisor, Jason has deal experience covering over $2 billion of enterprise value across multiple industries, representing domestic and international companies on a variety of buy-side, sell-side and capital transactions.
Jason earned both his Bachelor of Science in Finance and MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and has held numerous Securities licenses throughout his career.
Jim is acting Chief Financial Officer with extensive consultancy expertise in financial and accounting services including: business due diligence data analytics, process engineering, accounting, and financial and operational internal audits.
Prior to joining SP, Jim established JR Parker Consulting assisting merger & acquisition teams with financial due diligence. He provided managerial accounting services, financial analysis and audits, budgeting and projections for clients. Jim worked at Hewlett Packard from 1984-1991 as an Information Systems Manager. Previously, he worked at Allis Chalmers Corporation as a Senior Financial Analyst and Auditor; and conducted financial audits for various industries at Arthur Anderson Consulting.
Jim holds a BBA in Finance and Accounting from University of WI, Madison and an MBA in Management Information Systems from University of MN, Minneapolis.
Kelly joins Sustainability Partners as Senior Project Manager supporting the team with his extensive knowledge in the building and construction Industry. With over 30 years of experience in construction and data analysis, Kelly is a welcome addition to SP’s team.
Prior to joining SP, Kelly was the co-founder and operator of a translation, graphic design and web development company, specializing in print and news media. After spending nearly a decade growing the California-based venture, he relocated to Australia and opened an International branch. Kelly also co-founded a successful construction and production company in the land Down Under where he lead teams in building government housing ventures valued in excess of $10M.
Kelly studied as a Carpenter Apprentice and graduated to a Journeyman Carpenter at an early age. He acquired his General Builders License soon thereafter, concentrating primarily on building and remodeling residential housing.
In early 2018, after 18 years in the Outback, Kelly and his wife returned to the states and now reside in the Phoenix area.