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Executive Leaders from the Venture Capital, Private Equity, Water, and Electric Industries to Participate in AC-NET 2009 Cleantech Business Plan Competition
Thursday, March 19, 2009 -
The Anaheim Center for New Energy Technologies (AC-NET) announced its lineup of keynote speakers and final round judges for its 2009 Clean Tech Business Plan Competition, which will conclude on April 15, 2009 at California State University, Fullerton. The competition boasts a lineup of cleantech leaders that includes executive leaders from the venture capital, private equity, water, and electric industries.
“The knowledge and experience our speakers and judges bring to the competition is impressive,” remarked Mayor Curt Pringle, City of Anaheim. “All participants – students, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and attendees – will benefit from the innovation and focus brought to this event.”
Two keynote speakers are scheduled to make a presentation about clean technology that day, and five esteemed judges will appear at the event to decide who will win first place and take home the grand prize of $25,000, second place $10,000, and third place $5,000. The two keynote speakers and five final round judges are listed as follows:
Keynote Speakers:
- Steve Hauser, GridPoint
- Walter Schindler, Sail Venture Partners
Final Round Judges:
- Perry Cole, Energy Capital Partners
- Steve Block, Tech Coast Angels
- Gary Augusta, OCTANe
- Ron Davis, Burbank Water & Power
- Timothy Brick, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Steve Hauser is head of market development at GridPoint, a company specializing in smart grid technology to benefit electric utilities, consumers, and the environment. Hauser is also President Emeritus of the Gridwise Alliance, a consortium of public and private stakeholders dedicated to transforming the nation’s electrical grid into an efficient electrical system integrating infrastructure, processes, devices, and information.
Walter Schindler, a Managing Partner at Sail Venture Partners in Southern California, is the event’s second keynote speaker. Schindler possesses many years of experience as a venture capitalist specializing in the energy/cleantech sector, has served as interim Chairman and CEO of ORYXE Energy International, and is the Co-founding Director of the Southern California Entrepreneurship Academy.
Joining Hauser and Schindler at the event will be final round judges Perry Cole, Steve Block, Gary Augusta, Ron Davis, and Timothy Brick. Cole is a Managing Director at Energy Capital Partners, a private equity firm with a $2.25 billion fund that invests in power generation, electric transmission, midstream gas, and other energy infrastructure assets. Block, an attorney, is a well-known member of Tech Coast Angels, the nation’s largest network of angel investors. Augusta is the CEO and Executive Director of OCTANe, and a member of the UC Irvine CEO Roundtable. Davis is General Manager for Burbank Water & Power, a municipal utility delivering water and electricity to Burbank’s residential and commercial customers. Brick is Chair of the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that provides drinking water to nearly 19 million people.
Sponsoring the competition is GridPoint, a leading cleantech company that has raised over $220 million in financing from investors such as Goldman Sachs, Susquehanna International Group (SIG), and Altira. The company’s SmartGrid Platform helps utilities and their customers control load, store energy, and produce power. Positioned as one of the largest companies in the smart grid sector, GridPoint is currently working with Austin Energy, Duke Energy, and Xcel Energy on improving the nation’s electrical grid.
The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, a business organization that has served Anaheim businesses for 113 years, is also sponsoring the competition. Dedicated to maintaining a strong local economy to encourage reputable businesses to choose Anaheim as a location, the Chamber offers a wide variety of supportive programs and services to encourage the success of current businesses in the City.
The media sponsor for the competition is the Frank Peters Show, produced by Frank Peters. Peters serves on the Advisory board for TriTech Consulting SBDC and is Chairman Emeritus of Tech Coast Angels. The Frank Peters Show, a podcast about angel investing and venture capital, is a source for information, interviews, and opinions for many in the angel investing community.
Supporting sponsors for the competition include BIOCOM, a regional association representing over 575 companies in the life sciences community; BridgeGate, an executive search recruiting firm in the technology and clean technology market; Artilient, a management consulting and business advisory firm; The Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fullerton; and the Santa Ana Regional Small Business Development Center.
For a full description of all participating speakers, judges, and sponsors for the AC-NET 2009 Clean Tech Business Plan Competition, or to learn more about the final round of competition on April 15, 2009 at California State University, Fullerton, please visit www.ACNET-Anaheim.net or call toll free 1-877-79-ACNET.
