Management Team

CarbonFree has a skilled and experienced management team, focused exclusively on solar power project development. Team members are:

David Oxtoby, MBA, CFA

CEO

David is an experienced CEO with a strong background in finance. For the five years prior to founding CarbonFree in 2006, David was the Vice President – Investments for OPG Ventures Inc., a $70-million venture capital fund focused on clean technologies. David has also worked as a Senior Equity Analyst with BMO Nesbitt Burns and as President of the Indonesian operations of Paribas Asia Equity (now BNP Paribas), an investment bank. In the late 1990s, David was CEO of Careclinix Inc., an Internet-based company backed by the Brightspark Group.

David earned a BA in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He is a CFA charterholder and member of the Toronto CFA Society. David has been a director of a number of private companies, and is a member of the Business Board of the University of Toronto and a director of The University of Toronto Press.

Laurence Goldberg, LLM

COO and General Counsel

Laurie is an experienced business lawyer and business principal. Until joining CarbonFree, Laurie practised for a number of years with Lang Michener LLP, a prominent Canadian law firm. Prior to Lang Michener, Laurie was a founding partner of a technology boutique law firm, spent four years practising law in Europe (based in post-revolutionary Prague, and also London) and served as associate commission counsel to a Government of Canada Royal Commission. Laurie is also an experienced investor and advisor to a number of private companies involved in a range of business sectors.

Laurie was called to the Ontario Bar in 1985. He holds an LL.M. (London School of Economics), Certificate in Air and Space Law (University of London), LL.B. (Osgoode Hall Law School/York University) and a B.A. (University of Manitoba). Laurie is a director of a number of private companies and is the vice chairman of the board of AMREF Canada (African Medical & Research Foundation).

Philip Robins, BASc, MBA

VP – Business Development

Pip is a senior executive with more than 25 years of international management and business development experience in the construction, manufacturing, and energy industries. Prior to joining CarbonFree, Pip worked for 11 years for Norsk Hydro, primarily in the company’s aluminum extrusion business area. Based in Europe, Asia, and then North America, he was successful in numerous roles, including Plant Manager, Regional Manager, and VP Strategy and Business Development. Most recently, he was a Senior Vice President for Hydro Aluminum North America, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. In the early 1990s, Pip was a senior consultant with International Leadership Olle Bovin SA in Switzerland, providing project management support on global power plant projects. Previously he worked for more than ten years as an Engineer and Project Manager on hydroelectric, building, and oil and gas construction projects in Canada and Australia.

Pip earned a BASc (Honours) in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA from the International Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland.

John Koontz, BS (Finance)

Regional Manager

John has several years of project management experience, having worked in residential and commercial construction project management. John began his career by starting his own construction company, which achieved annual sales of $1 million, and he then worked for several larger companies including Toll Bros. Inc. and Hensel Phelps Inc. John has managed range of projects, from the construction of a $30 million, 40-home neighborhood in Virginia to the recent $160 million Patent Office renovation in Washington, D.C.

John earned two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Richmond – one in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, and the other in Studio Art.

Mike Kurz, B.Eng

Project Development Associate

Mike brings a solid background in mechanical and environmental engineering to the CarbonFree team. He has co-authored two journal articles on the subject thermodynamics and heat exchangers, and previously worked for the Slide-Master Division of automotive parts maker Magna International.