Influential board contributes expertise to industry veteran’s new company.
Kennett Square, PA (April 27, 2011) – Tangent Energy Solutions today announced the addition of three Independents to its Board of Directors. Each member was selected for his or her ability to support Tangent’s mission to maximize end-customer opportunities in the ongoing overhaul of the energy grid. Joining previous board members Tucker Twitmyer, Chairman; Scott Ungerer; and Dean Musser, President and CEO of Tangent are Nora Mead Brownell; Richard Grigg; and Donald Kendall.
Tangent saves commercial and industrial (C&I) customers 10 percent to 20 percent in energy costs by innovatively managing on-site energy supply and demand. By combining energy efficiency technologies with clean generation assets, Tangent’s customers avoid premium pricing situations and create a hedge against rising energy costs. The on-site resources are provided at no capital cost, and the energy produced is sold to customers at a set rate through a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Each Board member is highly regarded for their energy industry knowledge and expertise in their respective sub-specialties. Tucker Twitmyer, managing director at EnerTech Capital, has successfully invested in alternative energy and smart grid companies for a decade.
Nora Mead Brownell is a former commissioner for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and a recognized expert in U.S. energy regulations.
Richard Grigg most recently served as President of FirstEnergy Utilities, where he led several business units including Energy Delivery, Customer Service and FERC Compliance. He initially joined FirstEnergy as Executive Vice President and COO.
Donald Kendall has an extensive background in power and energy industry financing, where he has completed more than $20 billion in financing transactions. Scott Ungerer is a Founder and Managing Director of EnerTech Capital, and has been investing in energy and clean energy for nearly 20 years.
Leading the company is Dean Musser, former Founder, President and CEO of Enerwise Global Technologies. Among other successes, Musser transformed Enerwise into the largest demand response provider in PJM Interconnection’s region. (PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states – including Pennsylvania – and the District of Columbia.) Musser sold Enerwise to Comverge, which became the largest demand response provider in the country at the time.
“We are fortunate to have a highly involved Board whose knowledge and expertise will be invaluable in optimizing the economic opportunities that the smart grid is creating for C&I energy customers,” said Musser. “We’re excited and honored to have these board members join the Tangent team.”
A venture-backed company, Tangent was founded in 2009 by a management team that has been providing commercially successful energy innovations to C&I customers for 30 years.
Biographies of members follow.
Tucker Twitmyer, Chairman of the Board
A Managing Director at EnerTech Capital, an energy venture capital firm, Tucker covers the alternative energy, oil and gas, and smart grid and energy efficiency sectors. He has been investing in energy and clean energy companies and projects for ten years
Prior to EnerTech, Tucker was a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Katalyst LLC, a private equity services firm; and a Senior Manager at Andersen Consulting, now Accenture.
He currently also sits on the board of OwnEnergy, and is a member of the CleanTech Venture Network Advisory Board. He is a former co-President of Wharton Private Equity Partners.
Tucker received a BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Nora Mead Brownell
Nora most recently served as Founding Partner of ESPY Energy Solutions, LLC, a woman-owned independent energy consulting company that provides strategic planning, marketing, business, regulatory and technical expertise to energy utilities, energy equipment manufacturing and supply companies and financial institutions evaluating investments in the energy sector.
Prior to founding ESPY, she was the sole proprietor of BC Consulting, an energy consulting company. She has also served as a commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where she was an advocate for the development of regional transmission organizations, markets for wholesale power and national energy infrastructure development.
She also previously served as President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and as commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Nora is a visiting scholar at Vermont Law School and a guest lecturer at the University of Idaho. She is a member of the board of directors of Oncor, Inc., Comverge, Inc., and Spectra Energy Partners. She is also an emeritus member of the GridWise Architecture Council and serves on the advisory board of Starwood Energy Fund.
She attended Syracuse University.
Richard Grigg
Richard most recently served as President of FirstEnergy Utilities, where he led several business units including Energy Delivery, Customer Service and FERC Compliance. He initially joined FirstEnergy as Executive Vice President and COO.
Previous to FirstEnergy, Richard was President and CEO of WE Generation, an arm of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC). He was with WEC for nearly 34 years, progressing from his initial position as a manager to various executive positions. In addition to heading WE Generation, he also served as President and COO of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas Company (WE Energies).
Richard is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; and a former member of the board of directors of the Electric Power Research Institute, Ohio Valley Electric Corporation, and Association of Edison Illuminating Companies.
He received a BS and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
Donald Kendall
The Founding Managing Director and CEO of Kenmont, an investment management firm specializing in alternative investments and private equity, Donald has extensive background in the power and energy industries.
Prior to Kenmont, Donald was President of Cogen Technologies Capital Company, LP. He was also Founding Chairman and CEO of Palmetto Partners, Ltd., a family office and investment management company.
Donald has served as a trustee of Hamilton College (Investment Committee) and as a member of the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations. He also serves as a board member of Houston Zoo, Inc., The Jane Goodall Institute, Earthwatch Institute and The Amos Tuck School of Business (Board of Overseers).
He received an AB from Hamilton College and MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business.
Scott Ungerer
The Founder and a Managing Director of EnerTech Capital, Scott examines opportunities in the areas of power generation; electric transmission; energy distribution; smart grid; distributed generation, and transportation. He has been investing in energy and clean energy companies and projects for nearly 20 years.
Prior to EnerTech, Scott was an Officer of Atlantic Energy, and President & COO of Atlantic Energy Enterprises (AEE), a group of non-regulated, competitive energy businesses focused on the commercial, industrial and institutional customer segments. While leading AEE, he created three new businesses and managed assets that generated more than $200 million in annual revenue.
Scott currently sits on the boards of CoaLogix, Comverge (NASD: COMV), CURRENT Group, and The NanoSteel Company. He is also a member of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel Governing Board, is Chairman of the VC Advisory Board for the National Renewable Energy Lab, and a member of the Princeton Alumni Schools Committee.
He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University
Dean Musser, President & CEO of Tangent
President and CEO of Tangent, Dean is an energy industry entrepreneur, business strategist and commercial and industrial energy expert with three decades of experience in delivering rapid returns on investment. A strong leader and communicator, he consistently establishes a vision and immediately executes a plan to meet the established objectives.
Prior to starting Tangent, Dean was COO of Comverge C&I Group, a demand response, advanced metering and grid management solutions company. He was also Founder, President and CEO of Enerwise Global Technologies, where he transformed the company into the largest demand response provider in PJM. Comverge then bought Enerwise to establish one of the country’s largest demand response companies.
Dean also previously served as Vice President of Operations & Engineering for Conectiv Solutions, where he led the spin out of Conectiv to create Enerwise. He started his 30 year relationship with C&I energy customers at Multi-Test Maintenance, a premier engineering service company in the Mid-Atlantic, which he bought and then sold to Delmarva Power to create the foundation for Conectiv Solutions.
He received a BS in Electrical Power Engineering from Drexel University, and an AS in Electrical Engineering Technology from Pennsylvania State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in several states.
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About Tangent Energy Solutions
Tangent Energy Solutions (www.tangentenergy.com) reverses the traditional utility driven approach to developing the smart grid by partnering with commercial and industrial customers to optimize the “grid behind the meter.” By providing clean energy assets and technologies at no capital cost, Tangent saves C&I energy customers 10 percent to 20 percent while increasing the amount of renewable content in their supply. Tangent actively manages on-site assets to decrease a customer’s reliance on grid sourced energy, especially during peak demand periods. As a result, both the end-customer and the utilities benefit. Tangent is a venture backed company founded in 2009 by a management team that has been providing commercially successful energy innovations to mainstream C&I customers for 30 years.