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Cleantech 2009 Speaker Profile: Mary Dent, SVB Financial Group

Mary Dent
General Counsel
SVB Financial Group

Mary Dent is SVB Financial Group's general counsel and secretary, responsible for leading the company's legal department, providing strategic guidance to its management team and board, and spearheading the company's government affairs efforts. Dent also has overall responsibility for SVB's cleantech initiative. This initiative brings together SVB's efforts in four areas that, collectively, are designed to promote the success of SVB's cleantech clients and the development of a robust cleantech sector: Building out a comprehensive cleantech banking practice; informing SVB's clients about relevant business and policy developments; helping to shape policies affecting the sector to ensure they reflect the views and needs of cleantech entrepreneurs; and implementing cleaner, greener business practices within SVB.

Dent has more than 15 years of legal experience in the public and private sectors. She joined SVB Financial Group from New Skies Satellites, a global satellite communications service provider based in the Netherlands. While serving as New Skies' general counsel, she was responsible for all securities and governance matters, including the company's IPO in 2000 on the NYSE and AEX, as well as all regulatory, contractual, and other legal matters affecting the company. She also served as a member of the company's executive management team and, in that capacity, participated in determining and implementing its long term strategy. During the past several years, she played a central role in taking New Skies private in 2004, conducting the company's second IPO on the NYSE in 2005, and in its recent sale to a strategic buyer.

Prior to joining New Skies, Dent was an attorney with Goldberg, Godles, Wiener & Wright, a Washington, DC-based law firm that specializes in legal and policy matters for technology companies. Over the course of her professional career, Dent also worked for Senator Edward Kennedy, was a fellow with the Women's Law & Public Policy Fellowship Program, and served as a law clerk to Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

Dent earned a bachelor's degree in economics from UCLA, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, and a Juris Doctor degree with Distinction from Stanford Law School.

Bio courtesy of SVB.

Don't miss your chance to see Mary Dent speak at Cleantech Investment Strategies on October 7-9th in San Francisco, CA. Hope to see you all there!

Cleantech 2009 Speaker Profile: Paul Dickerson, Partner, Haynes & Boone

Paul Dickerson
Partner
Haynes & Boone

Paul Dickerson, a recognized leader and sought-after speaker on issues of clean tech and energy efficiency, launched Haynes and Boone’s Clean Tech practice group in 2008. Paul, a partner who offices in the firm’s Houston and D.C. offices, returned to the firm to launch the group, a new concentration for the firm that builds upon the firm's broad experience in intellectual property, litigation, technology, financing and many other legal issues that companies in the nascent industry must face.

Paul served as Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) from 2006 until his return to Haynes and Boone (where he worked as an associate from 2000 to 2005). He oversaw the EERE’s $1.8 billion budget and helped move alternative and renewable energy technologies from the “vision” stage to real-world development.

Don't miss your chance to see Paul Dickerson speak at Cleantech Investment Strategies on October 7-9th in San Francisco, CA. Hope to see you all there!

Cleantech 2009 Speaker Profile: Russell Diamond, CIO of Solution Capital Partners

Russell Diamond
CIO, Principal, Investment Committee Member,
Solution Capital Partners

In his role as Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Diamond leads the fund’s investment strategy, manages due diligence, and oversees portfolio construction. Since 2006, he has served as General Partner of R&D Capital Partners, a CleanTech fund investing in clean technology through private equity funds and direct investments. Since 1999 he has been the General Partner of two medical technology venture funds, Saratoga Ventures III and IV. He has been in asset management and alternative investments since 1991, at Prudential Securities, GEM Capital Management, and West Side Advisors. He serves on the Board of American Clean Power, Inc., a commercial and residential solar integrator. He is on the Investment Committee of E+Co, which makes clean energy investments in the developing world, and he serves on the Advisory Board of Building with Books from whom he received their 2007 Global Impact Award. Since 2006 he has been active in municipal initiatives to implement local green initiatives in Westport, CT and Sag Harbor, NY. He earned a BA cum laude from Cornell University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Don't miss your chance to see Russell Diamond speak at Cleantech Investment Strategies on October 7-9th in San Francisco, CA. Hope to see you all there!

Cleantech 2009 Speaker Profile: Scott Brown, CEO of New Energy Capital

Scott Brown
CEO
New Energy Capital

Scott Brown founded New Energy Capital in 2004 and has served as its CEO to date, overseeing all aspects of company formation, deal origination, execution and portfolio management. During the past 25 years, Scott was part of the founding management team at First Solar, has served as President and CEO of Glasstech Solar, Inc., a manufacturer of semiconductor equipment for the photovoltaic industry, and has consulted extensively with state agencies and private equity companies on renewable energy. Between 1999 and 2005, Scott served on the National Advisory Board of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

New Energy Capital invests in, owns and operates renewable energy and distributed generation projects. Since 2004, NEC has invested in ethanol, and biodiesel production facilities, on-site cogeneration, and biomass-fired power generation assets.

Don't miss your chance to see Scott Brown speak at Cleantech Investment Strategies on October 7-9th in San Francisco, CA. Hope to see you all there!

Cleantech 2009 Speaker Profile: Jonathan Bloch

Jonathan Bloch
Senior MD,
Managing Partner,
GKM Newport

Mr. Bloch is a Managing Director of GKM Ventures. Mr. Bloch previously was Managing Director of the Technology Group at Chanin Capital Partners where he specialized in corporate finance and principal investing. He led various early-stage and pre-IPO technology related investments including Software.com, now Openwave Systems (NASDAQ:OPWV).

Jonathan is a former Partner in the law firm of Wyman, Bautzer, Rothman, Kuchel & Silbert.

He received his BA degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his JD. from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Presently, he is a director for TransDimension, Inc., Advanced Data Exchange, Ascendant Solutions, Inc., Santa Monica Amusements LLC, Silicon Bandwidth (observer status) and a member of the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital.


Bio courtesy of GKM Ventures

Don't miss your chance to see Jonathan Bloch speak at Cleantech Investment Strategies on October 7-9th in San Francisco, CA. Hope to see you all there!

Cleantech 2009 Speaker Profile: Tom Amis

Tom Amis
Partner
Alston + Bird

Tom Amis is a partner in Alston & Bird’s Washington office where he heads the firm’s Renewable Energy Group. He has developed and financed projects in a number of industry sectors over the course of his career, with an emphasis on electric power projects. For the past six years, his practice has focused on the renewable energy sector.

Mr. Amis leads an integrated renewable energy practice, incorporating expertise in project development and finance, renewable energy policy, carbon management and renewable energy technology. This synergistic approach positions the group to add significant value to renewable energy transactions.

Acting for both developers and lenders, he has negotiated joint development agreements; joint venture, partnership and other ownership documentation; turbine supply contacts; balance of plant contracts and REC sales agreements; transmission and interconnection agreements; operating agreements; financing documents; and land use agreements. He also is highly experienced in developing projects structured around CERs generated pursuant to the Kyoto protocol.

Tom Amis and his firm was also named one of The Best Lawyers of 2009.

Don't miss your chance to see Tom Amis speak at Cleantech Investment Strategies on October 7-9th in San Francisco, CA. Hope to see you all there!