SP’s accomplished senior investors, management and advisory teams offer longstanding experience in capital appreciation and sustainability
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SENIOR INVESTORS
Ken joins Sustainability Partners as a Senior Investment Developer responsible for identifying and cultivating 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.
Mark has recently joined SP as a Senior Investment Developer, currently focussing on Michigan, Miami and Boston.
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, a sustainable products finance company and Managing Partner of EFW Partners, a multi-strategy investment firm focused on energy, food and water.
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. Tapping into his decades long experience working in the municipal, utility, school and hospital sectors, he will provide invaluable perspective and experience to help SP execute transactions while providing essential core competency.
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 joined SP as a Venture Partner and one of its original Business Partners. His focus is to find, qualify and close new business. Currently Rick manages the sales team, nurtures key customers and creates marketing multipliers to grow the business.
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.
Clark joined Sustainability Partners as a Business Partner. His mission is to seek out new customers and acquire them as long term business clients.
Clark Harmon has spent over 50 years in the business industry. He was office/sales manager for a national insurance company, then ventured on his own to build one of the largest independent insurance agencies in Ohio with over 10,000 clients and 35 employees. He added annuities and securities to his sales repertoire and maintained Top of the Table status for 20 years, becoming a leading producer for three major life insurance companies. During this time, he was on the Board of Directors for the Ohio Contractors Assoc. and Associated Builders and Contractors. This all lead to Energy Business Consulting and Clark selling electricity and gas supplies for a commodity trader through some of the largest suppliers in the world.
Clark attended Simpson College in Iowa and served in the Air National Guard.
Jason Hewitt is SP’s Investment Development Officer responsible for developing 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.
Pat, joined Sustainability Partners as a Senior Investment Developer, with an established background in government and public finance serving states, state-level authorities, public utilities, not-for-profit hospitals, higher education, and K-12 school systems. Pat works on a variety of tailored infrastructure projects and special purpose vehicles for clients in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, as well as, across the country.
Prior to becoming an Investment Development Officer at Sustainability Partners, Pat was a Managing Director for Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and led its New England public finance practice. His public finance investment banking experience also includes being a Director for Barclays Capital and a Senior Vice President for Lehman Brothers. Pat covered issuers of state general obligation and tax supported debt including state-level authorities issuing revenue bonds for higher education, hospitals, public transportation, toll roads, airports, convention centers, seaports, as well as, water and wastewater projects. He also led multiple project finance initiatives for renewable energy, public power, energy saving devises, smart cities technologies and P3 projects. He was responsible for securing investment banking assignments in over $30 billion of new issuance in the New England region.
Pat has significant governmental experience having previously served as Massachusetts’ Assistant Treasurer for Debt Management, where he issued over $34 billion of municipal bonds, most notably for the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project, the Boston Exhibition & Convention Center and to establish the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Pat served on Massachusetts’s Financial Advisory Board and was the Treasurer’s designee as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust.
Pat was also an elected Massachusetts State Representative, serving 7 terms from the 1St Hampden District.
Chuck joined SP in January 2017 and focuses on removing the financial risk for communities that choose to make environmentally conscientious decisions and invest in themselves and their future.
Chuck has been involved in the risk transfer profession in the hospital and municipal sectors for over 35 years. Relationships have been fostered across the Midwest with senior officials in government and healthcare, and certainly in his home state of Michigan. Transferring liability risk was the forerunner to transferring the kind of financial risk a community undertakes when decisions are made to upgrade their energy infrastructure.
Prior experience includes acting as president and chief underwriting officer of two insurance companies, one domestic, and a second international. Medical malpractice insurance and financial guarantee bonds were the focus of his underwriting and management career. He credits his mentor Herman W. Coleman, former partner and Insurance Commissioner in Michigan (deceased), with his discipline and the success he has enjoyed in many parts of his professional career.
When it comes to fun, little excites him more than his experience as one of three mechanics on the Atlas Van Lines unlimited hydroplane from 1972 through 1977. Gold cups abounded during those years, and his relationship with legendary driver Bill Muncey also contributed to his understanding that there was always a bigger picture to consider; but to live in the moment when possible. He has carried that philosophy throughout his life and attempts to see the bigger picture with everything he does.
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.
Bob has recently joined SP as Director of Investments. He is in charge of leading the expansion into the Northeast. His focus is to find, qualify and close new business primarily focused on the municipal, utility, school and hospital markets.
Cary joins SP as 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 joins Sustainability Partners as a Senior Investment Developer, with over 25 years of operational and organizational experience. He brings wide-ranging background and focus on maximizing corporate investment through efficiencies and execution.
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 SP’s Investment Development Officer concentrating on Pennsylvania investment opportunities.
Bio will be available shortly.
Michael is an Investment Developer focused on network strategy, channel partnerships and regulatory framework. He is our sustainability champion covering North America.
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, translating SP’s vision into practice. Robin supports prospects, customers, and business partners with sales and marketing assistance from opportunity origination through customer acquisition and ongoing support.
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 working to develop and implement transportation solutions across all modes of transportation (i.e. 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 joined Sustainability Partners in 2019 as 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 joins Sustainability Partners as Senior Investment Developer, responsible for new investment opportunities. He is an accomplished leader and well-respected senior executive who has held notable high-profile positions with many of the financial industry’s most prominent global organizations.
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
Jon is the Senior Analyst at Sustainability Partners and manages all project pricing and analytics for Sustainability Partners.
Jon comes to Sustainability Partners from working as a business development analyst and chief price modeler for a composites manufacturing firm specializing in the wind energy industry. Prior to this, he has experience working in numerous industries spanning multiple countries, including Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Chile, and Thailand.Jon graduated with honors from The Thunderbird School of Global Management with an MBA and a concentration in International Finance, and a degree in Biology from Carleton College with a concentration in Biochemistry. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua from 2009-2011.
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?”
Adam T. Cain joins the SP team as Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel. He brings his experience and network as a partner at one of Los Angeles’s premiere law firms, Liner LLP, and as a partner at one of the largest global law firms in the world with over $2 Billion in revenue, DLA Piper, LLP.
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.
Lucian is an analyst in SP’s New York office responsible for conducting market research and overseeing SP’s pipeline management software.
Angela is SP’s Executive Administrator responsible for executive support, corporate communications, project management, client relations services and office management.
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.
Dina is responsible for SP’s creative marketing campaigns including all print, design and digital content.
Kelly joins Sustainability Partners as Senior Estimator 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.