A prominent supplier of energy storage systems in North America, Convergent Energy and Power (Convergent), announced the appointment of Russ Laplante as its Chief Financial Officer. Alongside current CEO and co-founder Johannes Rittershausen, Convergent Co-Founder Frank Genova, who previously served in that capacity, will move up to the position of Co-Chief Executive Officer.
“Russ brings a strong track record driving financial excellence and leading strategic initiatives across the renewable energy landscape,” stated Rittershausen. “As we build and operate energy storage systems to modernize our aging power grid, I have no doubt that Russ’s expertise in financing and managing energy storage and solar will benefit Convergent and the communities where we operate.”
Prior to joining Convergent, Laplante was Chief Investment Officer at Savion, a utility-scale solar and energy storage project development firm, where he oversaw M&A for ten years and led project financing, valuation, and tax equity transactions. Laplante was a founding member of OwnEnergy, a utility-scale wind development firm, where he oversaw development, offtake, and construction financing before joining Savion. He was also Vice President of Business Development at Tradewind Energy. Laplante, who is a Chartered Financial Analyst®, started his career as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs.
“Convergent is a best-in-class energy storage developer, owner, and operator that has been around since the inception of the battery energy storage sector,” Laplante stated. “I look forward to leveraging my experience in the renewable energy sector to help Convergent advance the clean energy transition and maximize the growing demand for energy storage.”
Laplante will be in charge of business growth, capital markets, taxation, accounting, and financial planning and analysis, and he will report to Genova.
“It has been a privilege to serve as Convergent’s CFO for so many important milestones at Convergent and within the broader energy storage industry,” stated Genova. “With the growth of our business, we are thrilled to add experienced leaders like Russ to our team. I am looking forward to working with him and, together with Johannes, creating solutions for our customers that reduce electricity costs and increase grid reliability.”
“As co-founders, Frank and I have worn many hats, and we have shared leadership responsibilities since the early days of the company,” Rittershausen stated. “Today, we have grown to more than $1bn of systems in operation or under development, and with the growth of that portfolio, it makes sense to bring on Russ as CFO so that Frank can apply his significant expertise in development and operation to our robust pipeline of projects.”
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