Management Team
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CEO
David Oxtoby, MBA, CFA
David is an experienced CEO with a strong background in solar power. He has worked in Cleantech Finance for almost a decade, and is a frequent speaker at solar and renewable energy conferences. 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 energy and environmental 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 1990s David worked in London as senior consultant with the corporate strategy firm SIAR-Bossard (now Capgemini Consulting).
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 for several years was a member of the Business Board of the University of Toronto, a director of The University of Toronto Press and a director of the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
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COO and General Counsel
Laurence Goldberg, LLM
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).
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CFO
Daniel Soper
Dan joined CarbonFree early in 2009 and brings experience as both a principal investor and a hands-on operational manager. From 2004 through 2009, Dan was Senior Vice President of Callisto Capital, a private equity firm, where he successfully deployed capital and actively managed private investments in various portfolio companies achieving high equity returns for investors. Dan's experience includes overseeing an investment in an international energy performance contracting firm.
Before joining Callisto, Dan was Chief Operating Officer of Danier Leather, a TSX-listed company, from 2001 to 2003, and a Senior Vice President at Chapters Inc., where he was responsible for the introduction, development and management of the Chapters Book Superstores from 1994 to 2001. This division of Chapters grew to be a $375 million business under Dan’s leadership. Dan started his career at Bain & Company, working in both the Toronto and San Francisco offices from 1990 to 1994.
Dan is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, with a BA in Economics. He is currently a director of the University of Toronto Press and an independent school in Toronto.
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VP - Business Development
Philip Robins, BASc, MBA
Pip is responsible for the origination and development of CarbonFree’s solar projects in the eastern United States. He works directly with commercial, institutional and government customers, and with leading installers, to provide financing solutions for photovoltaic projects sized 250kW and larger.Prior to joining CarbonFree in 2007, 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.
Pip’s previous experience also includes working in the construction phase of utility-scale hydroelectric, natural gas and coal-fired power projects as a project manager, a business consultant and an engineer.
Pip graduated with a BASc (Honours) degree in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia and with an MBA degree from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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VP - Business Development
Joel Donen, BSc, MEd
Joel leads CarbonFree’s sales efforts in the attractive Ontario market. He is focused on securing rooftop solar leases with commercial, industrial and institutional building owners, both directly and via a network of sales channel partners.
Joel brings first-hand experience in business development for solar projects. Joel was previously a Regional Sales Manager for Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., a project development subsidiary of solar module manufacturer Canadian Solar Inc. Prior to entering the solar industry, Joel worked for more than six years as CEO of a private Canadian software company.
Joel graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Saskatchewan and earned a Master’s in Education degree in coaching studies from the University of Victoria. Joel’s board-level experience includes a period of serving as Chairman of Furniture Bank, a Toronto-based charity providing free furniture to more than 1,500 families each year.
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VP - Technology
Antonio Antonopoulos, MSc (Renewable Energy)
Antonio is an experienced renewable energy project developer and engineer who has worked on a number of projects in Europe and the Middle East. While employed by a renewable energy consultancy in Italy, Antonio worked on projects including the Energy Supply Strategy for the Masdar Development in Abu Dhabi (“the world's first 100%-renewable, sustainable city”).
Antonio earned a European Master of Science in Renewable Energy from the EUREC Agency in Brussels, through the Universität Oldenburg, with specialist coursework on hybrid energy systems undertaken at the Universität Kassel in Germany. He also holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto. In addition to English, Antonio speaks Greek, German, Italian, Spanish and some French.
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VP - Project Development
Ven is responsible for Ontario project development at CarbonFree Technology. Prior to joining CarbonFree, Ven was President and CEO of The SPi Group Inc., a leading mid-market provider of IT and related services to the energy industry. The company provided outsourced billing and transaction management services, primarily to energy marketers and utilities operating in deregulated markets. Ven was responsible for managing the roll-out and operations of SPi's mission critical retail electricity market clearinghouse service through electricity market deregulation in Ontario, supporting over 70 utilities and electricity marketers during the simultaneous go-live and enrollment of nearly one million end-use customers onto retail choice.
Before joining SPi, Ven worked for eight years for the IBM Software Group at its Toronto Lab. He held a number of development roles of increasing responsibility in the programming tools area, where he worked successfully to bring a number of innovative technologies from the IBM Research Division to market.
Ven holds a BASc degree in Engineering Science and an MASc degree in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Toronto. He has been active in a number of energy industry associations, and he is a member of the Board of Directors of Word on the Street (Toronto), Canada's leading celebration of literacy and the written word.
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Project Manager
Ron is responsible for the origination and development of CarbonFree’s solar projects in the western United States. He works directly with corporate, institutional and government customers, and with leading installers, to provide financing solutions for PV projects sized 250 kW and larger.
Prior to joining CarbonFree, Ron was Regional Director and Project Developer for a Denver-based solar energy installer. In this position, he developed medium- and large-scale solar projects for corporate and public entities in Utah, and he assisted his team in obtaining financing and 8A partners for state and federal projects in the Rocky Mountain region.
Before entering the renewable energy sector, Ron was an executive in the travel industry for 25 years. He established key supplier relationships and managed complex travel logistics in more than 40 countries, including some of the most remote places in the world.
Ron earned a BS from the University of Utah in Mass Communication and the study of the American West. He is a frequent lecturer on solar energy at Salt Lake Community College’s ‘Green Academy’ and he is a founder and trustee of Utah Power Producers, a renewable energy trade association. His community service includes being a trustee for Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy and for KRCL, a community radio station in Salt Lake City.
