Declan Flanagan, Chief Executive Officer
Declan is Founder and CEO of Lincoln Renewable Energy. He previously served as CEO of E.ON Climate & Renewables North America Inc which he joined in 2007 through E.ON's acquisition of Airtricity North America where he also served as CEO. He is a board member of Velocitel Inc. and on the advisory board of the Chicago Clean Energy Trust as well as a former Board Member of American Wind Energy Association. Mr. Flanagan holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, an M.Sc. from the University of Ulster and a B.Sc. in Environmental Science from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Richard Gruber, SVP Business Development
Richard brings to LRE more than 25 years of power and natural gas industry experience and most recently served as President of Schott Solar CSP where he led Schott’s successful entry into the U.S. solar thermal marketplace.
Prior to Schott Solar, Richard served as Vice President of Project Development for First Solar, the world’s largest thin-film solar PV manufacturer and project developer. Richard initiated First Solar’s project business with the successful development of the largest PV solar projects then constructed in the U.S. and established the development team instrumental in First Solar’s acquisition and integration of a multi-billion dollar project development pipeline. Prior to First Solar, Richard held leadership positions at Texas grid operator ERCOT, natural gas utility NUI Corporation and was co-founder and COO of Exchange Development Company, LLC. Richard began his career at Tennessee Gas Transmission.
Richard is a former board member the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) and has testified on energy industry issues before multiple state Public Utility Commissions and state legislatures. Richard attended the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School, holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and a B.A. in Economics from Southern Methodist University.
John Stone, VP Project Management
John has over 20 years experience in the management of large scale construction projects in the power and infrastructure sectors.
Prior to joining Lincoln Renewable Energy, John was with Horizon Wind Power the North American business of EDP Renewables. While at Horizon, John led the construction of over 700 MW of wind power projects in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. Prior to Horizon, John was a vice president with URS Corporation’s Construction Services Division. Earlier in his career John held various project management positions in specialty electrical contracting in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. John began his career as an engineer with Sargent & Lundy.
John holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Trine University.
Patrick Guinness, VP Development
Patrick has over 14 years of experience in project development and corporate finance. Prior to joining Lincoln Renewable Energy, Patrick was co-founder and President of Sustainable Energy Development Company, LLC (SEDCo) which was formed to develop sites for utility-scale solar PV projects. Patrick joined Lincoln Renewable Energy through its acquisition of SEDCo and now leads development activities in the western United States. From 2001 through 2008, Patrick was founder and President of Guinness Development Company, Inc. which developed multi-family residential projects in Colorado. Previously, Patrick held various positions in corporate finance with Key Bank and in mergers and acquisitions with Nissho Iwai, an international trading company. Patrick holds an MBA from the University of Denver’s Daniels School of Business and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Vermont.
Matt Bigham, VP Finance
Prior to joining LRE, Matt served as Senior Vice President at Inland Private Capital Corporation (IPCC), a subsidiary of The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, which collectively owns and operates diversified commercial real estate portfolios totaling 129 million square feet and approximately $25 billion in value. At IPCC, Matt led the underwriting, structuring, financing and preparation of private placement offerings of commercial real estate investments and helped develop and manage an investment platform that has collected approximately $1 billion in capital and has acquired approximately $2 billion in assets. Prior to Inland, Matt worked as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Matt holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Sanjeev Menon, VP Business Development
Sanjeev has over 15 years experience in structured finance (senior & mezzanine debt, tax equity and equity placements) as well as project development.
Sanjeev joined Lincoln Renewable Energy from SunPower, where he led over $300 million in facility financings for US solar PV projects. Prior to SunPower, Sanjeev held various finance positions with United Financial of Illinois, TL1 Partners Inc., and General Electric Capital Corporation, closing over $1 billion in debt and equity financings in power and telecom sectors.
Sanjeev holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas.
Taylor Hammond, General Counsel
Taylor joined Lincoln Renewable Energy from the law firm DLA Piper LLP where his practice focused on real estate, land use and zoning, with an emphasis on transactions involving economic development, incentives and renewable energy projects. Prior to law school, Taylor worked in a variety of medical sales roles with Johnson & Johnson, and was a Captain in the U.S. Army. Taylor holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and a B.A. in English from Duke University. He is admitted to the Illinois Bar.
© 2012 Lincoln Renewable Energy
