Renewables, wind, solar, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fracking—these elements of the new energy economy have local and global impacts. Join us for a discussion of these and other energy industry trends.
Program
6:00 PM-6:30 PM: Networking and Beverages
6:30 PM-7:30 PM: Panel Discussion/QA
7:30 PM-9:00 PM: Networking & Discussion
Speaker Profiles
Pete Kadens (Speaker)
President and Chief Executive Officer, SoCore Energy
Pete is an accomplished speaker and leader on green initiatives and is known nationwide for his innovative approach to the proliferation of renewable generation. Pete and his team have grown SoCore from a startup to a successful multi-million dollar solar business. Prior to SoCore, Pete founded and was the CEO of Acquirent, an outsourced sales company. Prior to founding Acquirent, Pete spent three years at the investment bank of UBS. Pete is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Streetwise, one of the largest homeless aid organizations in the Midwest, and serves as a Director of the Bucknell University School of Management. He also has served as a Director of The Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois from 2002-2011. He was also honored as a member of Crain’s “40 Under 40″ Class of 2012. He holds a BA from Bucknell University and was awarded the Bucknell University Distinguished Citizenship Alumni Award in 2010.
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Steve Vock (Speaker)
Professional Engineer, Director of Energy Services, Titus Energy
As the Director of Energy Services, Steve uses his 20+ years of experience to lead the Titus Energy team in all aspects of the business requiring strategic direction and execution. He is instrumental in the success of Titus' efforts in energy procurement, energy conservation, site audits, best practice development, sustainability, facility optimization and all renewable technologies. Steve has worked Zero Zone, Environment Systems, Inc. and Customer Mechanical Equipment in areas of engineering and business development. Steve graduated with a civil engineering degree from Bradley University.
Carmelo Torrisi (Panelist)
Vice President & Managing Director, Faithful+Gould
Carmelo Torrisi is the Vice President and Managing Director of the Chicago Office of Faithful+Gould, an international consultancy providing project management, project controls and cost management services for construction projects. Immediately prior to joining Faithful+Gould, Carmelo was the Director of Operations S&C Electric Company where he oversaw all engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects throughout North America. Under Carmelo's direction, S&C provided full EPC services on several renewable energy projects including several utility scale wind farms, utility scale solar farms, and stored energy projects throughout the U.S. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington University and a Master's of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management.
Jason Zielke (Speaker) '08
CTO & SVP, Clean Energy Trust
Jason Zielke, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and SVP is a member of the founding management team at Clean Energy Trust, launching and expanding CET from an idea into a thriving organization within 3 years. CET's mission includes developing a new ecosystem for clean energy in the Midwest by connecting universities, researchers and entrepreneurs with sources of capital and technical assistance. CET has raised over $6M in funding since its inception in 2010 and its client companies have raised over $37M in follow-on funding. Under Jason's leadership, the CET portfolio continues to expand, including:
- The creation of an aviation biofuels consortium along with United Airlines, The Boeing Company, UOP/Honeywell, and 40+ other organizations, including the US Navy and
- Launching the Joint Center Energy Storage Research), aka the "battery-hub", with a network of Department of Energy National Labs, Johnson Controls, Applied Materials, Dow Chemical, and with 9 leading venture firms
Prior to the Clean Energy Trust, Jason was a Venture Associate at Dillon Kane Group, a Chicago based advisory firm, where he evaluated potential cleantech and software investments, and supported the development of 4 new companies, including an aviation software company and a battery component company that he co-founded and spun out of Argonne National Laboratory. He began his career as a chemical engineer at UOP/Honeywell. He has a B.S in Chemistry from Southern Illinois University, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, where he was also research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He earned his MBA from The University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business.