Andrew Birch

Co-Founder, CEO, Board Director

Andrew is a cofounder and the Chief Executive Officer of Sungevity Inc., and sits on the company's board of directors. He is equal parts physicist and financial expert, and is the principal architect of Sungevity's capital-light business model, which combines cutting-edge software technology, an innovative financing approach, and the power of the internet to make solar adoption an easy, affordable, and highly accessible clean-energy solution for homeowners. Since he took the helm in 2007, Sungevity has doubled year-over-year sales, grown from a staff of four servicing the Northern California market to a team of more than 500 employees serving 12 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and expanded its business to Europe and Australia.

Prior to Sungevity, Andrew was Vice President of Business Development for BP Solar, the multinational energy company's solar division. Before BP, he spent several years in investment banking as a Vice President in the London offices of Bear Stearns investment firm Cazenove & Co.

Andrew holds a bachelor of science degree with honors in physics from Scotland's University of St. Andrews and a master's degree in photovoltaic and renewable energy engineering from Australia's University of New South Wales. He is a fellow at the UK's Securities and Investment Institute.

Danny Kennedy

Co-Founder, Strategic Advisor

Danny Kennedy is co-founder of Sungevity, Inc.

Kennedy is an internationally recognized opinion leader on climate and energy issues. He is the author of Rooftop Revolution: How Solar Power Can Save Our Economy–and Planet–From Dirty Energy (2012), a book that has been described as a the clean energy manifesto for the next greatest generation. PBS awarded him the “Innovator of the Year” for moving the Planet Forward in 2011; in 2013 Rolling Stone described him and Andrew Birch as a “Solar Mavericks”.

Kennedy also co-founded the Powerhouse, the only incubator and accelerator supporting solar entrepreneurs to succeed. Additionally, Danny serves on the board of VoteSolar, the Solar Foundation, in Washington DC, and several solar startups including Powerhive and Sunergise.

Prior to co-founding Sungevity, he was a campaigns manager with Greenpeace, the largest independent direct-action environmental organization in the world. Among his achievements was his management of Greenpeace's California Clean Energy Campaign. In 2010 Kennedy spearheaded Sungevity's "Solar on the White House" campaign that resulted in a decision by the Obama administration to place solar panels on the First Family residence. The administration honored this commitment in August, 2013.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences from Sydney, Australia's Macquarie University.

Alec Guettel

Co-Founder, Board Founder, Board Director

Alec is a cofounder and board member of Sungevity Inc. He is a longtime environmentalist and successful social entrepreneur with a track record for building mission-driven businesses in a variety of industries. Prior to Sungevity, Alec cofounded Axiom Law, a company that revolutionized the legal industry by slashing high overhead costs and liberating lawyers from the inefficiencies of the traditional law firm model. In 2000, Alec helped grow the firm to over 1,000 legal professionals who provided legal services to half of the world’s F100 companies. Prior to his entrepreneurial pursuits, he served in the Clinton administration as Special Assistant to then EPA Chief, Carol Browner. As a youth activist, Alec cofounded the Student Environmental Action Coalition, which, during his tenure, became the largest nonprofit student organization in the country.

Alec holds a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of North Carolina, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar, and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Andrew Birch

CEO and Co-Founder

Andrew is a cofounder and the Chief Executive Officer of Sungevity Inc., and sits on the company's board of directors. He is equal parts physicist and financial expert, and is the principal architect of Sungevity's capital-light business model, which combines cutting-edge software technology, an innovative financing approach, and the power of the internet to make solar adoption an easy, affordable, and highly accessible clean-energy solution for homeowners. Since he took the helm in 2007, Sungevity has doubled year-over-year sales, grown from a staff of four servicing the Northern California market to a team of more than 500 employees serving 12 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and expanded its business to Europe and Australia.

Prior to Sungevity, Andrew was Vice President of Business Development for BP Solar, the multinational energy company's solar division. Before BP, he spent several years in investment banking as a Vice President in the London offices of Bear Stearns investment firm Cazenove & Co.

Andrew holds a bachelor of science degree with honors in physics from Scotland's University of St. Andrews and a master's degree in photovoltaic and renewable energy engineering from Australia's University of New South Wales. He is a fellow at the UK's Securities and Investment Institute.

Drew Hamer

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Drew is responsible for Sungevity’s current and future financial strategies. He has 25 years of experience in strategic finance, capital formation and allocation, SaaS revenue modeling and domestic and international M&A. Drew came to Sungevity from ON24, an SaaS-based marketing platform, where he served as CFO. Prior to that, he was CFO of Internet monitoring company Keynote Systems, Inc. Drew has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Binghamton University and a Master of Accountancy from the Florida International University School of Business.

Elizabeth Rushforth

Chief Legal Officer

Elizabeth brings over 20 years of legal experience to her role as Sungevity’s Chief Legal Officer, responsible for corporate compliance and governance, as well as risk-management. She comes to Sungevity from MedeAnalytics, Inc., where she served as SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to that, she served as Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer of Unwired Planet, Inc. (formerly Openwave Systems Inc.). Elizabeth holds a JD from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is a member of the State Bar of California and Texas.

Peter Graf

Chief Product Officer

As Sungevity’s Chief Product Officer, Peter is responsible for leading the company’s online platform strategy and execution, including oversight of product management, software development and IT, solar system design, as well as corporate marketing and communications. Before joining Sungevity, Peter served as Chief Sustainability Officer at SAP, a multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. During his tenure he successfully built SAP’s sustainability vision and drove its execution across the company’s worldwide organization, building a new growth business for the company from scratch. During his 20+ years in enterprise software, he has served in a wide variety of senior leadership positions in strategy, marketing and development. Peter holds a PhD in computer science.

Jan Slaghekke

Chief Global Officer

As Chief Global Officer, Jan is responsible for managing Sungevity's activities and strategic relationships in key markets outside of the U.S., including the expansion of Sungevity's global footprint to new markets. Prior to joining Sungevity, he held executive and senior positions with BP over 19 years spanning Europe, Asia and the U.S., including the management of BP Alternative Energy's Wind and Thermal Power business across Europe and Asia. Jan also advised Vestas Wind Systems in the area of organizational restructuring. Jan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University in the U.S., and an International MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University in the Netherlands. He is based in London, England.