Pasadena-Based Heliogen Expands Leadership Team

The Pasadena-based renewable energy company Heliogen on Tuesday announced the appointment of seven new members of its leadership team, drawing on personnel with experience in company’s including NRG, SpaceX, Bechtel, Idealab, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs.

The new leadership team members are joining the solar power business in order to help “speed the company’s progress toward helping to solve pressing global challenges brought on by climate change by providing decarbonization technology that aims — for the first time in history — to be more cost-effective than fossil fuels, Heliogen said in a written statement.

The unprecedented challenges of today require exceptional talent to solve, Heliogen founder and CEO Bill Gross said.

“The sheer scale of the challenges and opportunities around the climate crisis calls for an assembly of the brightest and boldest minds from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds, and identities to rise to the urgent challenge of the current moment,” he said.

“As we assembled Heliogen’s leadership team, we pursued leaders who have demonstrated professional excellence in energy, technology, and finance while being deliberate about casting a wide net to include diverse and forward-thinking candidates,” according to Gross. “With the cleantech market attracting more investor and mainstream attention than ever before, I’m proud to introduce such an accomplished group of leaders, all of whom are making pivotal contributions to further Heliogen’s mission of replacing fossil fuels with sunlight.”

The new team members are:

Tom Doyle, who will serve as co-head of the development group. He previously served as an executive vice president at NRG Energy, as well as president and CEO of NRG Energy’s renewable energy business, NRG Renew.

Andy Lambert, who will serve as senior vice president of production and supply chain. He formerly worked at SpaceX and BMW.

Christie Obiaya, who will serve as chief financial officer. She formerly served as chief financial officer and head of strategy for energy business at Bechtel.

Rashaun Williams, who will serve as co-head of the development group. He serves as a general partner in the MVP All-Star Fund.

Thomas Patrick, who will serve as chief of staff. His experience includes serving as CEO of the USA Corporation and the Americas region and co-head of the Corporate & Investment Bank in the Americas.

Debbie Chen, who will serve as general counsel. She formerly served as general counsel at Idealab.

Tanya Peterson, who will serve as vice president of human resources. She previously served as head of human resources at Los Angeles Capital Management.

The new members will join the existing leadership team, which includes Chief Technology Officer Steve Schell and Head of Strategy and Analytics Vikas Tuteja, the company said.

More information on Heliogen is available on the company’s website heliogen.com.

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