Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to everything we do. Arevon thrives on and celebrates different views, beliefs, and values. We are committed to our talented team and partners, regardless of background or affiliation, and to actively promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our business. We strive to be a place where you can be you and bring your whole self to work

In 2021, Arevon launched its DEI Task Force, composed of team members from all levels across the business. The taskforce works in collaboration with Arevon’s leadership to foster an environment of learning and celebration. It also recommends policies and systems that drive equitable practices, with a goal of reducing incidents of bias and discrimination. At Arevon, we strive to increase growth opportunities for all of our team members. We are committed to removing barriers and biases in the workplace for all employees and vendors.

Our Team

Government Affairs & Marketing

Katherine Gensler

Vice President of Government Affairs and Marketing

Government Affairs & Marketing

Katherine Gensler

Vice President of Government Affairs and Marketing

Katherine Gensler is the Vice President of Government Affairs and Marketing for Arevon, leading the company’s strategic engagement with federal and state government officials. In addition, she heads the marketing and communications team, crafting the Arevon message for a wide variety of external audiences, from financial partners to community stakeholders. Previously, she spent 13 years with the Solar Energy Industries Association, expanding its advocacy before Congress and the Administration on behalf of the U.S. solar industry. Katherine also served as an energy analyst at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where she advised the Commission on electricity and natural gas policies throughout the west. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin. Committed to educating the next generation of energy leaders, Katherine serves on the Board of Visitors of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

Asset Management

Anand Narayanan

Vice President of Asset Management

Asset Management

Anand Narayanan

Vice President of Asset Management

Anand Narayanan is Vice President of Asset Management at Arevon. He brings more than a decade of experience in solar operations and maintenance and deep knowledge of the various market drivers and technology improvements happening in the solar industry. Prior to joining Arevon, Anand held various roles at First Solar Energy Services, including performance engineer and technical sales manager. At First Solar, Anand was responsible for selling third-party O&M services and brought in more than $2.5 million of annual margin via long-term O&M contracts. Prior to that, Anand was responsible for performance reporting, analysis, and operations. Anand graduated from Arizona State University with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Energy and Power Systems, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Technology for Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Project Finance

Daniel Murphy

Director of Finance and Investing

Project Finance

Daniel Murphy

Director of Finance and Investing

Daniel Murphy is a Director on the Project Finance and Investing team at Arevon, where he is responsible for structuring and raising project-level capital for clean energy assets across North America. Prior to Arevon, Daniel spent more than six years in the Finance & Capital Markets team at Invenergy, leading financing transactions for wind and solar power projects. Earlier in his career, he spent two years at GE Energy Financial Services. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

People and Culture

Yanina Hernandez

Director of People and Culture

People and Culture

Yanina Hernandez

Director of People and Culture

Yanina Hernandez is the Director of People and Culture at Arevon, where she leads Internal HR and Recruiting. She has over 15 years of combined experience and has been with Arevon since it was created in 2017. Her areas of subject matter expertise include employee relations, performance management, benefits administration, disciplinary action, termination practices, benefits administration, new hire onboarding, internal events, and payroll.

Pre-Commercial Operations

Aron Branam

Vice President of Development

Pre-Commercial Operations

Aron Branam

Vice President of Development

Aron Branam is Vice President of Development at Arevon. Prior to joining Arevon, Aron was an Associate Director of Project Management at EDP Renewables where he worked for more than a decade. During this time, he successfully developed and constructed more than 1 gigawatt of wind and solar energy across North America. Aron was responsible for ensuring profitability and on-time construction of utility-scale renewable energy projects throughout the central and western United States. Previously, Aron researched demand-side management programs and technologies as an Energy and Resources Research Fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute. He earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.

Technology

Gregg Groshon

Technology Manager

Technology

Gregg Groshon

Technology Manager

Gregg Groshon is the Technology Manager at Arevon. He has over 15 years of experience in IT leadership roles in bio-tech, software, higher education, and financial sectors where he has planned and implemented IT strategy. Gregg has focused on cloud migration strategies, complex data center moves, infrastructure upgrades, security audits and assessments, and the creation of information technology policies and governance. Gregg has worked in complex secured environments with significant intellectual property and information subject to HIPPA and PCI compliance. Gregg holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Utah and a Master of Science in Information Management from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Accounting

Ashley Lines

Senior Director of Accounting

Accounting

Ashley Lines

Senior Director of Accounting

Ashley Lines is the Senior Director of Accounting at Arevon, where she supports a team of accountants responsible for the financial reporting of Arevon’s portfolio ranging from assets in the development stage to full operations. Since Arevon’s establishment in 2017, she has been an integral part of the accounting division, guiding her team through a software transition as well as complex acquisitions, sales, and restructures. Ashley has over twenty years of combined experience in accounting and financial reporting with expertise in renewable energy having worked in the industry since 2014.  Prior to Arevon, Ashley worked as a consultant with Keegan, Linscott, and Kenon, PC providing financial asset management services in the renewable market. Earlier in her career, Ashley spent eight years specializing in property management of both residential and commercial assets.

Controller

Austin Billingslea

Vice President, Controller

Controller

Austin Billingslea

Vice President, Controller

Austin Billingslea is Controller and Vice President and has been with Arevon since 2017. Prior to joining Arevon, Austin was the Chief Financial Officer at Sub-Sahara Capital Group LP where he oversaw the firm’s operations, compliance, accounting, and investor relations activities. Prior to Sub-Sahara Capital Group LP, Austin was an assurance senior manager with more than 11 years of experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. His responsibilities included leading multi-national and private company audit engagements. Austin graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a Master of Science in Accountancy and Information Systems. Austin is an active CPA in Arizona and a member of the AICPA and Arizona Society of CPAs.

Origination

Paul Smerchanski

Vice President of Origination

Origination

Paul Smerchanski

Vice President of Origination

Paul Smerchanski is Vice President of Origination at Arevon Energy where he is responsible for finding customers for clean energy projects across North America. He has spent over a decade at renewable and energy storage project developers working on projects in the US and Canada, in roles spanning development, strategy, and origination. Paul has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Compliance

Brianne Brock

Senior Manager of Compliance

Compliance

Brianne Brock

Senior Manager of Compliance

Brianne M. Brock, Arevon’s Compliance Senior Manager, leads the Compliance Department and brings more than 15 years of experience in Compliance and Internal Audit across a multitude of industries. Since joining Arevon,  Brianne has standardized Arevon’s company-wide policies and procedures. Prior to joining Arevon, Brianne served as Vice President of Compliance at MUFG serving their Finance Management of the Americas’ division. Brianne earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Sacramento prior to relocating to Arizona in 2003.

Investments

Joe Santo

Director of Investing

Investments

Joe Santo

Director of Investing

Joe is a Director on the Arevon Investment team, where he leads sourcing, underwriting, and execution of renewable energy and energy transition investments. Prior to Arevon, he worked at NextEra Energy for four years where he was responsible for M&A, evaluating and investing in distributed generation, community solar, storage, microgrids, fuel cells, hydrogen, and mobility opportunities. Prior to NextEra, Joe worked at GE Ventures where he was focused on investment opportunities in energy storage, mobility, and grid optimization. Earlier in his career, Joe worked as an attorney in the private equity and mergers and acquisitions practice group of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he assisted clients on more than $80 billion of transactions. Joe holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government from Dartmouth College.

Procurement

Jeremy Rand

Vice President of Procurement

Procurement

Jeremy Rand

Vice President of Procurement

Jeremy Rand is the Vice President of Procurement at Arevon. His team is responsible for sourcing all capital equipment, EPC, O&M, and Service contracts. Jeremy has more than 10 years of renewable energy experience in performance engineering, EPC, Solar/BESS O&M, construction, and risk management. Prior to joining Arevon, Jeremy was the Director of Sales Operations and Fulfillment with First Solar, coordinating all shipments, deliveries, and contract management for First Solar’s module, EPC, and O&M businesses.

Engineering

Nick Maynard

Senior Director of Engineering

Engineering

Nick Maynard

Senior Director of Engineering

Nick Maynard has been with Arevon for nearly two years and has more than 12 years of experience in engineering, construction, and the project management of large commercial and utility-scale photovoltaic & BESS projects in the United States and Guam. His experience in renewable energy includes engineering, finance, and construction support for greenfield development and merger and acquisition projects. Before joining Arevon, Nick led the design, installation, and commissioning of approximately 2.0GWdc of solar PV projects, amounting to approximately $2 billion in capital. Since joining Arevon, Nick has engineered another 1.5GWdc of PV and 760MW of BESS in California, Nevada, and Indiana. As the Senior Director of Engineering, Nick’s responsibilities include executive reporting, the establishment of processes and procedures, fatal flaw analysis, negotiation of EPC technical language, review of QA/QC reports, cold and hot commissioning, and owner engineer’s support. Nick obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

Origination

Michelle Rodriguez

Director of Origination

Origination

Michelle Rodriguez

Director of Origination

Michelle Rodriguez is the Director of Origination at Arevon, where she markets Arevon’s development pipeline and negotiates offtake structures for projects. Prior to joining Arevon, Michelle held positions at REsurety and at EDPR, all in origination and business development roles. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rice University.

Data Analytics

Chase Warr

Director of Operations

Data Analytics

Chase Warr

Director of Operations

Chase Warr is the Director of Operations at Arevon, where he manages project performance, SCADA engineering, software development, and reporting. He has nearly 8 years of experience in the renewables industry in roles spanning commercial asset management, finance ,and reporting. Chase has a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business.

Tax

Eric Huswick

Director of Tax

Tax

Eric Huswick

Director of Tax

Eric Huswick is the Director of Tax at Arevon, where he oversees all matters of Income and Indirect Taxes for the Company and assets it manages. Prior to his time are Arevon, Eric spent five and half years at Deloitte Tax in its Denver, Seattle and London offices. At Deloitte, Eric worked on a large portion of the income tax spectrum with a focus on partnership issues (Subchapter K), ASC 740 for multinational corporations, and corporate tax matters (M&A and Subchapter C). Eric holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, with a focus on Accounting from the University of Washington and a Masters in Taxation from the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Denver.

Interconnection

Brindavani Malladi

Senior Director of Interconnection

Interconnection

Brindavani Malladi

Senior Director of Interconnection

Brindavani Malladi (Brinda) is the Head of Transmission and Interconnection at Arevon, where she leads strategic transmission and market assessments and manages the interconnection of new projects in markets across the United States. Prior to joining Arevon, Brinda spent over 13 years at PJM performing generation interconnection, deactivation, and transmission expansion studies with focus on process improvements. Earlier in the career Brinda wrote and published technical papers on Congestion Pricing and Interconnection process. Brinda holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from University of New Brunswick.

Construction

Greg Patzer

Senior Director of Construction

Construction

Greg Patzer

Senior Director of Construction

Greg Patzer is the Senior Director of Construction at Arevon where he helps support the various execution teams as their respective projects move from late-stage development through commercial operation. Greg brings to the role more than 27 years of construction experience in the infrastructure, conventional power, commercial building, and renewables industries. A native of Arizona, Greg obtained a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Arizona State University. He is also a proud Army veteran having served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Regulatory Affairs

Srinivas Kappagantula

Director of Regulatory Affairs

Regulatory Affairs

Srinivas Kappagantula

Director of Regulatory Affairs

Srinivas Kappagantula is the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Arevon, where he leads regulatory and compliance initiatives for assets Arevon owns and/or manages. Srinivas is responsible for overseeing compliance activities associated with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Federal Energy Regulatory Corporation (FERC), public utility commission, and other local agency standards, rules, and statutes. Srinivas brings more than a decade of deep cross-industry experience in regulatory affairs, risk management, operations, and internal controls. Prior to joining Arevon, Srinivas spent ten years at PJM, where he was responsible for creating, implementing, and maintaining PJM’s NERC compliance program. Prior to PJM, Srinivas successfully helped AECOM and Stantec clients, working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several state environmental agencies overseeing the implementation of remediation measures to address soil and groundwater contamination issues. Srinivas holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Toledo, and a Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from JNTU, Hyderabad, India.

Development

Chris Matthews

Director of Development

Development

Chris Matthews

Director of Development

Chris Matthews is the Director of Project Development at Arevon, where he oversees the development of projects in the Midwest and eastern regions of the U.S., focusing on MISO, SERC, PJM, and NYISO. Prior to joining Arevon, Chris was a Senior Project Development Manager with AES Clean Energy where he led greenfield development and permitting of DG and utility-scale solar and solar + BESS projects in NYISO and PJM. Earlier in his career, he spent 4 years developing distributed and utility-scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects with EDP Renewables and Greensmith Energy. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Geosciences from Virginia Tech.

Development

Josh Coon

Director of Development

Development

Josh Coon

Director of Development

Josh Coon is a Director of Development at Arevon, where he leads the development and execution of PV solar and battery energy storage projects in the Western U.S. Prior to his time at Arevon, Josh spent more than four years managing renewable energy projects at EDP Renewables and is experienced in all stages of the project lifecycle from greenfield development through construction. Throughout his career, Josh has been responsible for the development of over 1 GW of renewable energy projects and has constructed more than 500 MW of solar/wind and 600MWh of energy storage. Josh holds a Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering from Pennsylvania State University with a focus on renewable energy technologies.

Community Relations

Jeffrey Lee

Director of Community Relations

Community Relations

Jeffrey Lee

Director of Community Relations

Jeffrey Lee is the Director of Community Relations at Arevon. Prior to joining Arevon, Jeffrey served as a Government Relations and Community Engagement Manager for Southern California Edison (SCE). During this time, he led community relations efforts around SCE’s clean energy transition while ensuring meaningful and inclusive partnerships with communities across Southern California. Jeffrey holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from Syracuse University. Committed to civic duty, Jeffrey serves his community as a planning commissioner, represents his city in the council of governments in energy and environment matters, and is a board member for his local chamber of commerce.

Treasury

Deirdra Redmon

Treasurer

Treasury

Deirdra Redmon

Treasurer

Deirdra Redmon is the Treasurer at Arevon, where she manages corporate liquidity and leads the structuring and raising of corporate and non-project sources of capital. Prior to Arevon, Deirdra spent more than six years in the Treasury team at First Solar, Inc., four of those as Assistant Treasurer, and six years leading corporate and manufacturing financing during her tenure at the company. She has more than 10 years of Treasury and Public Accounting experience and is also a CPA. Deirdra holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Accounting from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Our Executives

Kevin Smith

President and Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Smith

President and Chief Executive Officer

Smith joins Arevon with more than 30 years of experience in both conventional and renewable energy. Most recently, he was CEO Americas for London-based Lightsource bp, where he drove the company’s expansion in the U.S. market, with more than $4 billion in assets entering operation or construction over the last four years, while building the development team and compiling a 20,000 MW development pipeline.

Prior to leading Lightsource bp’s expansion in the U.S., Smith was CEO for SolarReserve, Senior Vice President at Invenergy, LLC, President of Insight Energy, and Chief Operating Officer of London-based Rolls-Royce Power Ventures. Over his career, Smith has actively led the development, financing, and construction of privately-owned energy projects in 25 states in the U.S. and more than a dozen countries across five continents, focusing on solar generation over the last 15 years. He earned his MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and his Mechanical Engineering degree from Purdue University.

Tommy Greer

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Tommy Greer

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Tommy Greer is Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Arevon, where he is responsible for all commercial activities within the organization across multiple technological sectors. Prior to joining Arevon, Tommy spent more than 13 years at EDP Renewables where he served as the Head of Origination for North America and was responsible for executing more than 5,000 MW of PPAs with load-serving entities, corporations, traders, and institutional customers. During his time there, the structured power and environmental attribute transactions completed by his team exceeded $7 billion in notional value. Tommy holds a Master of Arts in Climate and Society from Columbia University, a Master of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, and a Master of Business Administration from Rice University.

Justin Johnson

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Justin Johnson

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Justin Johnson is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Arevon. As COO, Justin and his team are responsible for all development, construction, and operations activities for the nation’s second-largest solar portfolio. Justin has more than 20 years of energy and operations experience in procurement, asset management, performance and engineering management, development, and construction. He was instrumental in founding Arevon in 2017 and led the organization in its role as exclusive asset manager to the Capital Dynamics Clean Energy Infrastructure funds. Justin previously held senior roles at Capital Dynamics, EDP Renewables and Horizon Wind Energy. Prior to joining the renewable energy industry, Justin served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force for seven years in flight test engineering and project management roles. Justin is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and earned a Master of Business Administration from Babson College.

Bob Krakauer

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Bob Krakauer

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Bob Krakauer joins Arevon as the Chief Financial Officer, leading the company in strategic financial planning, analysis, and operational finance. He brings more than 30 years’ experience in optimizing and developing finance operations, as well as implementing major strategic programs and improving business performance. He has led multiple leveraged buyouts and successfully raised capital in public and private equity, debt, and credit markets. His extensive experience as a senior executive and Chief Financial Officer spans multiple industries including semiconductor manufacturing and enterprise software. Bob previously served as CFO of Lifelock, MagnaChip Semiconductor, ChipPAC, and Allied Signal Electronic Materials. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration in Operations and Decision Science from Santa Clara University in California.

John Breckenridge

Senior Advisor

John Breckenridge

Senior Advisor

John Breckenridge is Senior Advisor of Arevon which spun out of the Capital Dynamics Clean Energy Infrastructure platform in 2021. Previously, John was a Senior Managing Director at Capital Dynamics and Head of Clean Energy Infrastructure (CEI) for seven years, where he grew the team from $400 million AUM to more than $7 billion. Under his leadership, the CEI team received the 2019 Financial Investment of the Year and the 2018 Financial Deal of the Year at the annual S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards. The team was also recognized in 2019 and 2020 as a Sector Leader in renewable power generation from GRESB, due to its outstanding leadership in sustainability.

John has more than 20 years of direct private equity investing experience, preceded by more than 18 years of operations management. Prior to joining Capital Dynamics, John was a managing partner at Bregal Energy, where he led a team exclusively focused on power generation and natural gas-focused investments. Prior to that he spent six years as a partner at CCMP Capital (formerly JP Morgan Partners) where he invested in energy and industrial opportunities. John also served as Chief Operating Officer at Densei Lambda KK, a publicly-traded Japanese corporation with eight factories and more than 4,000 employees located around the world. Earlier in his career, John led several large divisions of Invensys and Exide Electronics in the U.S. and held positions in engineering, sales, and general management at AT&T and StraforFacom SA. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont.

Vesco Petrov

General Counsel

Vesco Petrov

General Counsel

Vesco Petrov is the General Counsel of Arevon and is responsible for all legal operations. Vesco has more than a decade of legal experience honed in a law firm, start-up, and public corporation setting. Across these venues, Vesco has specialized in utility-scale solar generation transactions, with a specific focus on EPC, M&A, warranty, and dispute resolution matters. Prior to joining Arevon, Vesco held legal positions with First Solar, DEPCOM Power, and Bradley Arant Boult & Cummings. Vesco holds a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama.

Jon Faltis

Chief People Officer

Jon Faltis

Chief People Officer

Jon Faltis is Chief People Officer at Arevon. Jon has over a decade of experience in human resources and talent management at various infrastructure companies providing engineering, architecture, construction management, and project management.  Previously, he served as Chief Business Officer and Chief Accounting Officer overseeing Arevon’s financial accounting and reporting, tax, treasury, and financial operations. Jon has nearly two decades of experience in leadership roles in corporate management, finance/accounting, human resources, information technology, and general business operations across a broad range of leading companies in the energy and infrastructure industries. Prior to Arevon, Jon held senior roles at Capital Dynamics on the Clean Energy Infrastructure team and was instrumental in founding Arevon in 2017. Earlier in his career, Jon spent a decade in various Chief Financial Officer roles for energy and infrastructure firms. Jon holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.