Renewable Energy Investor Forum

Who We Are

Founding principals:

Geoff Sharples brings expertise in project finance, experience financing commercial solar and a passion for renewable energy, providing valuable leadership to REIF. Through his company SeventhGen Financial, Geoff finances commercial scale solar projects by enabling all parties to understand the tax consequences of their investments. Having project-financed power plants in North Africa and Europe, Geoff is intimately familiar with risk and return issues related to power projects. His experience includes structuring and negotiating finance and project agreements, financial analysis and project management. Projects include the 471 MW Rades power plant in Tunisia.

Through consultative sales engagements in the high-tech sector Geoff has created and analyzed business plans and financial models from a broad spectrum of industries. Geoff has trained and managed multi-disciplinary teams and managed the sales process for a high growth software company. Combining experience in renewable energy, business planning, consultative selling and project finance with analytical discipline and rigor, Geoff offers structure and surety to financing renewable energy projects.

Geoff holds an MBA degree from Cornell University in finance and marketing and a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. (return to top)

Daniel N. Robin brings more than 20 years executive/board, financial and venture development experience to his partnerships, teaching, and consulting, with a background in sustainability performance management, leadership and business development, and cleantech commercialization (www.In3inc.com). Daniel is an investor, advisor or board member of numerous bio-renewables companies, including Wise Solutions, Fresh Power, Whole Energy Fuels Corp., and Pacific Biofuel. Previous clients include Pacific Gas & Electric, Diversey-Lever, and the Government of Kuwait.

Daniel is also adjunct professor of strategy and management at Fisher Graduate School of International Business in Monterey, CA, one of the top-ranked business schools in the US, serves as board secretary of the 501(c)3 Sustainability Academy, a Central Coast "think, do, and teach tank," and co-founder of the Central Coast Commercial Sustainability Network (www.cccsn.net), where the need for a Bay Area project finance forum first originated.

Daniel has chaired biorenewables conferences, keynoted and conducted workshops at industry events and symposiums, including West Coast Green (on biomaterials innovation), Green Trade Network Summit 2008 (presenter and panel moderator), Sustainable Brands 2008 (workshop leader and presenter), Commercializing Bioresins (conference co-chair and workshop leader in 2005-2006), and many others, on topics such as raising capital, and food-friendly biorenewables.

Daniel has published more than 150 articles and extensive curriculum on leadership, ethics & governance, and sustainable business practices. Current consulting involves strategic & business planning, corporate finance, marketing strategy and competitive analysis, international technology transfer, and evaluation of financial opportunities.

Daniel received a bachelors in Computer & Information Science from UC Santa Cruz, completed advanced studies in Marketing and International Business (UC Berkeley), earned certificates in coaching, master's level/trainer certificates in neurolinguistics and public speaking. (return to top)

Alan J. Bilinsky, In3 advisory board member, is President and Founder of Perfect Energy Solutions, whose mission is to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions to residential, commercial, non-profit and government agencies.... He is the founding director of the Marina Small Business Incubator (MSBI), as well as having been a Silicon Valley software architect. Alan served as Director of Business Development for Kanisa, Inc. (www.kanisa.com) where he helped raise approximately $7M in venture capital, arranged licensing and strategic partnership agreements with F500 companies (such as IBM, etc.).

Alan has founded and successfully exited several businesses as well as done extensive early stage high-tech start-up work at the University of Michigan and with private clients. In these roles, Alan has helped raised private and venture capital. He is experienced in technology transfer, intellectual property, grant writing and licensing.

Alan is involved with a variety of community activities from testing the water that goes into the Monterey Bay to advising local arts organizations to promoting sustainability through the Central Coast Commercial Sustainability Network. (return to top)

Jay Brandeis brings a capital markets and business development background to his role at REIF. He has extensive sales and client management experience from his work in the technology and financial services industries.

Jay is currently a Business Development Manager at Broderick Associates, a sales and strategic marketing firm servicing the professional services community. At Broderick, Jay helps to launch messaging campaigns and lead generation programs that build brand awareness and generate new business for Broderick clients.

Before Broderick, Jay worked as an Account Executive with Thomson Financial, the world's leading provider of financial data to the investment community. There, he sold web-based applications and advisory services to Investor Relations Executives. Prior to Thomson, Jay honed his marketing and selling skills helping to land key accounts at eWork Inc., a technology company supplying human capital management services. Jay has also spent time at Robertson Stephens, working in the Private Client Services group, providing financial services to some of the country's leading executives and their organizations.

Jay holds a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Economics from Denison University in Ohio. He spent part of his undergraduate program studying in Australia at the University of Queensland, and has since continued his studies with extension courses at the University of California, Berkeley. (return to top)

This website is for information and facilitation purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security.