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headline: Who RED IsTogether, RED's principals have well over a century of experience developing decentralized energy recycling projects, and have helped to launch some of the most innovative projects in the field. They include:



Tom Casten\Thomas R. Casten, Chairman

Thomas R. Casten has spent 30 years developing decentralized energy recycling projects. He was founding president and CEO of Trigen Energy Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange corporation and its predecessors from 1977 through 2000; and he served until 2006 as founding chair and CEO of Primary Energy Ventures LLC, an Oak Brook, Illinois-based firm with a Toronto Stock Exchange traded subsidiary, Primary Energy Recycling Corp.

Tom also has served as the president of the International District Energy Association, received the Norman R. Taylor Award for distinguished achievement and contributions to the industry, and been named a “CHP Champion” by the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association. He is the co-founder and former chairman of the World Alliance for Distributed Energy (WADE), an umbrella organization of national CHP and distributed energy associations, equipment vendors, government agencies, and foundations that promote distributed generation to optimize the world's power system. In 2006, the WADE board inducted Tom as the first member of the WADE Hall of Fame.

Tom, moreover, serves on the Board of Directors/Advisory Boards of the Carnegie Mellon Electric Industry Center, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Ontario Alliance for Clean Technology (ACT), Climate Institute, and Chicago Council on Global Affairs Energy Task Force. He is a nationally recognized expert on energy and environment issues, and his articles have been widely published. Tom has presented energy recycling at the International Association of Energy Economics, Aspen Energy Policy Forum, Bordeaux Energy Colloquium, World Technology Network, and Clinton Global Initiative. He has testified on several occasions before the energy committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and he has advised Indian, Chinese, and Brazilian government officials on power industry governance.

Tom’s book, Turning off the Heat, published by Prometheus Press in 1998, explains how the world can save money and pollution. He recently co-authored a chapter in Energy Myth and American Society, Thirteen Myths (Sovacool & Brown), challenging the assumption that the U.S. electric system is optimal.

See list of selected publications.
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Sean CastenSean Casten, President and CEO

Sean Casten has worked in the on-site power industry for ten years. From 2000 to 2006, he was president and CEO of Turbosteam Corporation, a company specializing in the design and sale of capital equipment to recover waste energy into electric power in industrial facilities. Turbosteam is now a subsidiary of RED.

Prior to joining Turbosteam, Sean was a manager in Arthur D. Little’s Energy practice, where he specialized on technology and strategic issues surrounding alternative fuels and emerging power generation technologies.

In 2005, he was recognized by the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association, along with Chairman Bill Flynn of the NY Public Service Commission, as a “CHP Champion” in recognition of leadership towards greater national use of clean, efficient and reliable combined heat and power.

Sean was the 2007 chairman of the United States Combined Heat and Power Association and the founding (2005) chairman of the Northeast Combined Heat and Power Initiative. He has authored numerous papers and given numerous speeches on the technological, regulatory and business-practice barriers to and opportunities from on-site power generation.

Sean holds a B.A. from Middlebury College, a M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from Dartmouth College and a Master’s of Engineering Management from Dartmouth College.

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Myra KaregianesMyra Karegianes, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Myra Karegianes was the founding and managing partner of Karegianes & Field, LLC, a boutique law firm representing primarily energy clients, including Fortune 500 companies as well as privately owned mid-size entrepreneurial companies in complex regulatory proceedings before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), including the ComEd and Ameren procurement dockets and the Ameren and Illinois Power merger. Myra also represented corporate clients in a variety of commercial and corporate matters as well as advised investment companies on Illinois energy issues.

Prior to founding Karegianes & Field, Myra was the general counsel to the ICC for almost ten years where she oversaw and handled numerous complex legal matters, including implementation of the Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997; promulgation of rules; rate cases; tariff compliance; investigations; audits; contracts; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") matters; Federal Communication Commission ("FCC") matters; and defense of ICC orders in State and Federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. She also addressed issues pertaining to matters of ethics involving conflicts of interest; acted as liaison to various Federal, State and local government agencies, including the FERC, FCC, United States Department of Justice, the Illinois Attorney General's Office, the Governor's Office and the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Myra holds a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago; a Master of Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the Illinois Bar, Federal Bar, and the United States Supreme Court. Myra is a member of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and the Energy Bar Association (EBA), and serves on EBA’s Climate Change and Emissions Committee.

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Dick MunsonDick Munson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Public Affairs

Dick Munson has written about and lobbied for recycled energy over the past several decades. Most recently, he directed the Northeast-Midwest Institute and coordinated with the Northeast-Midwest Congressional and Senate Coalitions, bipartisan caucuses that conduct policy research and draft legislation on agriculture, economic development, energy, environmental, and manufacturing issues.

Dick is the author of several books, including From Edison to Enron, which recounts the history of electricity and suggests an innovation-based vision for the power industry. His Cardinals of Capitol Hill traces the machinations of congressional appropriators who control government spending. Dick also wrote Cousteau: The Captain and His World, a biography of the ocean explorer and filmmaker. His articles on energy and environmental policy have appeared in numerous newspapers and journals.

Dick has served as secretary of the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association, director of the Solar Lobby, director of the Center for Renewable Resources, co-coordinator of Sun Day, coordinator of the Environmental Action Foundation, and lecturer in history at the University of Michigan.

See list of selected publications.
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Tom O'BrienThomas P. O’Brien, Senior Vice President, Business Development

Tom O’Brien’s experience includes being owner and founder of IPS, a global consulting company specializing in energy for heavy industrials. He brings a wealth of experience in creating vision and execution of energy projects for both the supply and demand side of the business. Tom’s industrial experience is broad, including work in oil exploration, transmission, petrochemical, pulp and paper, foods, renewable fuels, and corn wet milling.

Tom started his career with E.I. Dupont in 1976, and has worked for Quantum Chemical for 13 years in optimization, operations, and feedstock management. At Kerr-McGee, he worked in business development for the titanium-dioxide and rare-earth-metals businesses.

Tom started his own consulting practice in 1994. His experience includes petrochemicals, wet air oxidation processes, inorganic chemicals, food, and plastics. His client list included Alliant Energy, Akzo-Nobel, Atlas Roofing, BFC, BP Chemical and Exploration, Cinergy, Eastern Illinois University, Kodak, Millennium, Primary Energy, Nicor, Shell, and W.R. Grace.

Tom has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois and an MBA in Finance from Illinois Institute of Technology.

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Andres PenaAndres Pena, Senior Vice President, Projects and Construction

Andres Pena has over 25 years of experience in the oil and coal industries. He has held positions in operations, management, restructuring, and capital projects, and he has been involved in all phases of the coal and oil value chain for both BP and Exxon. Andres is an international capital project executive with experience in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the U.S.

Andres has worked as a senior program executive for several capital projects where he covered all stages from appraisal to production using Capital Value Project methodologies that ensured delivery within time, budget, and customers’ requirements. He also has led operation-excellence programs to boost efficiencies in international projects for BP and Exxon. He has delivered projects and operation goals in compliance with ethical, safety, and environmental regulations.

Andres holds an advance management degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, an MBA and MSC in operational excellence from Middlesex University in the UK, a corporate finance certification from London Business School, and a Bachelor’s Degree in electronics engineering from Javeriana University in Bogota.

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Hugh W. Smith Hugh W. Smith, President, RED Holding Company, LLC

Hugh Smith is seasoned professional in the electric and gas utility business, as well as the independent power industry. His experience includes serving as president and COO for Renegy Holdings, a renewable energy company focused on the conversion of biomass to electricity. He also worked as senior vice president of energy resources for PNM Resources, overseeing all facets of its generation portfolio. In this role, Hugh developed independent power projects, acquired more than 1,000 megawatts of non-regulated generating plants, directed the construction of power generation facilities and environmental-upgrade projects, and managed the operations of a fleet of more than 2,500 megawatts of power generation assets.

Prior to joining PNM Resources, Hugh served as vice president of energy supply for TECO Energy. In his 24 years with TECO, Hugh worked in operations, environmental, fuel supply, and strategic planning roles.

Hugh has been engaged in the development of renewable resources for several years and served on the Electric Power Research Institute’s Research Advisory Committee addressing progressive technologies to reduce emissions of CO2. He also worked on the New Mexico Governor’s Task Force for Climate Change.

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Aaron WaltersAaron Walters, Chief Financial Officer

Aaron Walters brings more than ten years experience in the financial services industry, focused broadly throughout the capital markets. Prior to joining RED, Aaron served as vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC, covering the financials, health care, and technology sectors for Lazard's large-cap and small-cap growth equity funds. In addition to his portfolio responsibilities on both products, Aaron was also involved with the fundraising side of the business, making presentations to institutional investors, pension and endowment funds, plan sponsors, and the consulting community. Aaron came to Lazard in 2005, when it acquired his predecessor firm, Knelman Asset Management Group (KAMG), which Aaron co-founded in 2000.

While at KAMG, Aaron was intimately involved in the venture capital investing that the firm did for its high-net worth clients, including the identification, evaluation, due diligence, investing, and management of the firm's direct venture investments.

Prior to becoming a co-founder of KAMG, Aaron spent two years as an analyst at Morgan Stanley working on the buy-side as a fixed-income generalist (in both products and industries). His responsibilities included credit analysis of bond issues as potential investments to be added to the firm's institutional fixed income products.

Aaron holds a Bachelor of Science with honors in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics (LSE). He is a CFA charter holder, and member of the CFA Institute (CFAI).

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Craig BennettCraig Bennett, Vice President and Associate General Counsel

Craig Bennett has over fifteen years experience practicing law — ten of which are in the energy industry. Mr. Bennett is the former vice president, associate general counsel, and secretary for Primary Energy Ventures LLC where he was responsible for legal support for development, mergers-and-acquisitions and operations-and-maintenance functions, as well as litigation management and regulatory compliance. Craig also served as the corporate secretary to Primary Energy Recycling Corporation (PRI.UN), a publicly traded Canadian corporation managed by Primary Energy Ventures LLC.

Prior to Primary Energy Ventures LLC, Craig was the general counsel for Infilco Degremont, Inc. of Richmond, Virginia, a supplier of potable and waste water treatment equipment for industrial and municipal customers globally. Prior to Infilco Degremont, he was in-house counsel at Trigen Energy Corporation of White Plains, New York. In addition to his legal responsibilities, Craig was a registered lobbyist addressing industry and federal legislative issues for Trigen in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining Trigen, Craig served as the legal advisor to the Adjutant General of New Jersey, a member of then Governor Christy Todd-Whitman’s cabinet, focusing on federal and state administrative law. He began his legal career as a prosecutor for the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAG). He has served in numerous capacities within the JAG Corp — Civil Affairs communities both domestically and overseas. Craig currently is a Colonel and the Staff Judge Advocate for the New Hampshire Army National Guard.

Craig holds a BS in Business Administration from Bryant University and a Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, and he is a member of the Energy Bar Association.

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Leif Bergquist Leif Bergquist, Vice President, Business Development

Leif Bergquist has worked in the energy field for 35 years. His experience includes district energy, CHP, waste to energy, geothermal, and most other technologies that are used in large energy systems. With his broad experience, he brings an innovative approach to a wide variety of energy projects.

Leif started to work in the district energy industry in Sweden, where he got experience from construction, operation, design, and administration. In 1980, he joined the predecessor to Trigen Energy as director of engineering. As such, he got involved in district heating/cooling, industrial outsourcing, and trigeneration. Beginning in 2000, Leif also worked with geothermal, landfill gas, and woodchips projects for U.S. Energy Systems.

Leif started his own consulting business, Maja Energi, with the main emphasis on developing industrial outsourcing projects in Mexico.

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Eric Gottung Eric Gottung, Vice President, Business Development

Eric Gottung brings a broad range of industrial and utility power industry experience, including roles in general management, business development, project management, engineering management, and technology development.

Eric spent 20 years with Alstom-ABB-Combustion Engineering where he held a number of positions, including general manager of U.S. industrial boiler operations, commercial director of heat recovery steam generators, along with various project and engineering management roles. His project work in both industrial and utility power spans a number of countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. More recently, Eric spent several years at the United Technologies research center leading development efforts in on-site power and emissions control technologies.

Eric has broad technical experience in both engineering and development. In addition to his extensive involvement in the commercial development of circulating fluid bed boilers and large heat recovery steam generators, he has worked on earlier stage technical developments in gasification systems, fuel cells, organic ranking cycle and a novel electrostatic precipitation technology. Eric has co-authored a number of technical papers and holds several patents.

Eric holds a B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering and a Master of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. He received an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Eric obtained his professional engineering license in Connecticut.

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Gary Hoppenrath Gary Hoppenrath, Vice President, Engineering and Construction

Gary Hoppenrath has over 30 years experience in the chemical process industry, having held positions in process engineering and management, marketing, operations, and project management. He’s an internationally experienced program manager with demonstrated abilities in budgeting, resource allocation, contract negotiation, scheduling, and implementation.

Gary served as technical manager-South America for Akzo Nobel, a Fortune 500 company. He ensured compliance with relevant legislation and Akzo Nobel’s policies and rules of conduct concerning safety, health, environmental, and regulatory affairs. Gary developed action plans for technological development of processes and plants and assured plans were implemented and controlled as approved. He also served as a member of the Surface Chemistry Management Team, responsible for manufacturing and technology.

Gary also worked with Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical. He received a BSChE from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, as well as a project management certificate from Tulane University.

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Myra KaregianesScott Kerrigan, Vice President, Controller

Scott Kerrigan is responsible for RED’s accounting, finance, project due diligence, compliance and general operations. He brings to RED over ten years prior experience in management and operational roles with entrepreneurial organizations and another ten years experience in corporate finance and commercial lending.

From 2000 to 2006, Scott was director of U.S. operations for Composite Materials Technologies Plc, an international provider of brand protection and identity technologies and solutions, where he was responsible for domestic manufacturing and fulfillment, strategy, marketing and technology development. Scott also arranged financing for a fully leveraged management-led buyout of this former FTSE-listed company in 2000. From 1997 to 2000, Scott was vice president of operations for Medicor Corporation, a privately held medical device manufacturer with managerial responsibility for accounting and finance, engineering, quality control, and product development. Prior to receiving his degree in law, Scott worked for ten years in commercial finance with Bankers Trust Company, Heller Financial, and GE Capital, where his responsibilities included commercial loan portfolio management, commercial loan underwriting, due diligence, market development, and workouts.

Scott has co-authored articles on commercial arbitration and fraudulent conveyance and holds a United States patent for a medical device design. He received a B.A. degree in industrial design from the University of Illinois at Chicago; an M.B.A. in finance and accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University and is admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois.

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John Whitehouse John Whitehouse, Vice President, Business Development

John Whitehouse brings to RED over 25 years of experience in the industrial and petrochemical industries. Centering on energy and process optimization, his industrial experience includes petroleum additives, polymers, oxidation processes, food, fertilizers, and other petrochemicals.

John began his career with Amoco Corporation as a process engineer, and went on to hold positions as technical supervisor, process control coordinator, and operations manager. John joined Tom O’Brien at IPS in 1998, working on energy-related projects for several clients, including BP, Akzo Nobel, and WR Grace. John also worked in CHP Business Development with Cummins, NPower, and Charles Equipment Company (Waukesha). Just prior to joining RED, John served as president of Berndorf Belt Systems, supplying premier steel belt processing systems to the refining, petrochemical, and food industries.

John graduated with distinction from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Chemical Engineering, and he received an MBA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

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John Wilson John Wilson, Vice President, Business Development

John Wilson has over 21 years experience in the energy industry, mostly focused on engineering and business development. He has extensive design experience with natural gas equipment and engineering systems related to the transmission, distribution and storage of natural gas facilities.

John started his career at Northern Illinois Gas Company (Nicor) in 1987. He worked as a technical sales engineer for commercial/industrial accounts since 1991, managing customer accounts and selling natural gas applications to large industrial customers. Experience and training included cogeneration, power generation, absorption and direct fired chillers, boilers, desiccant systems, engine-driven prime mover systems and other energy efficient equipment such as lighting retrofits and natural gas vehicles. John also served as the sales and marketing manager for Nicor’s unregulated business, Nicor Technologies.

Beginning in 2002, John was a founding senior manager of EN Engineering. His various duties included project management and engineering, developing the scope of work and cost estimates, completing the engineering design, specifying equipment, performing environmental analysis, applying and receiving all permits, analyzing bids, procuring materials, managing all contracts and contractors, overseeing field installation, and testing and commissioning for utilities and commercial/industrial clients. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from University of Wyoming.


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RED's principals have helped to launch some of the most innovative energy recycling projects in the field.

To keep current on their work, subscribe to RED Alert!, our periodic e-newsletter. 


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