Team to usher in the next decade of growth in sustainable infrastructure investment
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Generate Capital (“Generate”), a leading sustainable infrastructure investment and operating company, today announced the following additions to its leadership team:
- Bill Sonneborn, President: Mr. Sonneborn builds on the company’s existing market leadership, furthering Generate’s ability to serve the many stakeholders required for the net-zero transition. He brings nearly three decades of experience scaling the world’s leading alternative investment and asset management firms including KKR, EIG, TCW, and the IFC. He has an extensive background investing across multiple asset classes and industries including sustainable infrastructure, energy and disruptive technologies.
- Nancy Tsang, Chief Risk Officer: Ms. Tsang is responsible for enhancing Generate’s risk framework and further embedding risk practices into portfolio management and decision making. She has nearly two decades of experience covering a range of financial and non-financial risks at Morgan Stanley and most recently served as their Global Head of Climate Risk Management.
- Jonah Goldman, Head of External Affairs and Impact: Mr. Goldman will oversee the company’s communications, government engagement and impact assessment and strategy. He previously led Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and has over fifteen years of experience leading integrated advocacy, communications and grassroots campaigns.
- Aaron Bielenberg, Head of Portfolio Management: Mr. Bielenberg is responsible for performance improvement and value creation across Generate’s $7+ billion sustainable infrastructure portfolio. He brings over twenty years of global experience advising energy and infrastructure investors, operating companies, developers, and governments on core business, investment and financing strategy, capital and infrastructure development, and public private partnerships. He was previously a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and prior to that a Partner at McKinsey & Co.
- Mayanka Melville, Head of Data: Ms. Melville oversees Generate’s data science, product and engineering teams and is responsible for applying advanced analytics to improve decision quality across Generate’s business. She brings two decades of investment management experience spanning data science, investment product development, portfolio analytics, and risk management, with domain expertise in AI/machine learning.
Each new team member brings decades worth of expertise across sectors critical to advancing Generate’s investment strategy in leading the next phase of the sustainable infrastructure transition.
“As we celebrate our tenth anniversary and look ahead to our next decade of impact, we are thrilled to bolster Generate’s leadership team with these multi sector experts,” said Scott Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Generate Capital. “This talented team joins the hundreds of Generators dedicated to delivering the increased demand for sustainable infrastructure solutions. Together, we are creating lasting value for our partners and impact in communities across the country.”
The leadership appointments follow key milestones and continued growth for Generate in 2024, including:
- The closing of its latest capital raise with $1.5 billion in new capital commitments from global institutional investors such as CalSTRS, HESTA, QIC and AustralianSuper;
- Generate’s participation in a $650 million investment in Pine Gate Renewables, to accelerate Pine Gate’s work as a national developer, owner and operator of clean energy projects, which extends Generate’s existing partnership with Pine Gate and brings new institutional investors to the platform;
- The appointment of industry veteran Chris Baker as General Manager of Clean Bus Solutions, LLC. This joint venture with Blue Bird is a fleet electrification-as-a-service business designed to meet the increasing demand for electric school buses and further accelerate the adoption of clean student transportation in North America.; and
- The closing of its third joint tax equity facility with KeyState Renewables, Generate NY Community Solar VI, to build, develop and manage 11 projects in New York.
Bill Sonneborn Biography
Bill Sonneborn is President of Generate Capital. Before joining Generate Capital, he was the Senior Director at International Finance Corporation, overseeing investments in Disruptive Technologies, Creative Industries and Funds and on IFC’s management committee. Prior to joining IFC, he was the President of EIG, a leading energy and infrastructure investment firm, and a member of its Investment and Executive Committees. Prior to joining EIG, he was a partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and a member of KKR’s Management Committee. Mr. Sonneborn served as CEO of KKR Asset Management as well as CEO and Director of KKR Financial Corporation, a publicly traded specialty finance firm. He also sat on the board of Nephila Capital, a $10 billion hedge fund that is one of the largest private tech-enabled reinsurance vehicles in the world. Prior to joining KKR, he was with the global investment firm TCW Group, Inc., most recently as President and Chief Operating Officer. Previously, he worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York and Hong Kong, where he focused on mergers & acquisitions. Mr. Sonneborn is a frequent speaker on sustainable infrastructure and technology opportunities. He has given keynote presentations at conferences such as Vivatech, CES, the Global Private Capital Conference and SuperReturn and has appeared on television, radio and in print on venues such as Bloomberg, CNBC, France24, The Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and PEI. Mr. Sonneborn graduated with honors from Georgetown University. He is involved with a variety of non-profit organizations, serving as a director or trustee of Georgetown University, Georgetown University Entrepreneurship Initiative, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health at Stanford University, the Global Private Capital Association and Chairman of the board of St. Albans School in Washington, DC.
Nancy Tsang Biography
Nancy Tsang is the Chief Risk Officer at Generate Capital. Prior to Generate, Ms. Tsang spent 18 years across Morgan Stanley’s Fixed Income and Risk Management divisions. Most recently, Ms. Tsang was Global Head of Climate Risk Management. Prior to that, Ms. Tsang held senior risk management roles covering Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Swap Dealers, Operational Risk, Regulatory Risk and Model Control. Ms. Tsang also served as Chief Administrative Officer, driving the Risk Management division’s people, talent, location and governance strategies. Before that, Ms. Tsang worked as a portfolio manager at Northwater Capital. Earlier in her career, Ms. Tsang worked in Morgan Stanley’s Fixed Income division across High Yield Research and Securitized Products Group. Ms. Tsang earned a B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Management and a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jonah Goldman Biography
Jonah Goldman is the Head of External Affairs and Impact at Generate where he oversees our communications, government engagement, and impact assessment and strategy. Prior to Generate, Mr. Goldman led Breakthrough Energy a network founded by Bill Gates including investment funds, nonprofit and philanthropic programs, and policy efforts linked by a common commitment to scale the technologies we need to achieve a path to net zero emissions by 2050. During that time, he also served as Mr. Gates’s senior advisor for policy and government relations. Prior to Breakthrough Energy, Mr. Goldman spent nearly 15 years in Washington, D.C., leading integrated advocacy, communications, and grassroots campaigns. He led a series of policy efforts on a variety of issues – from civil rights to education reform to nuclear non-proliferation. Before that, he served as primary spokesperson and chief strategist for the largest national campaign to protect voting rights. Mr. Goldman holds a J.D. degree from Boston College Law School and a B.A. degree in History from Binghamton University.
Aaron Bielenberg Biography
Aaron Bielenberg serves as Head of Portfolio Management at Generate Capital responsible for performance improvement and value creation across Generate’s $7bn+ sustainable infrastructure portfolio. Mr. Bielenberg has 20+ years of global experience advising energy and infrastructure investors, operating companies, growth companies, developers and governments on core business strategy, investment strategy, financing strategy and capital deployment / infrastructure development and public private partnerships, value creation initiatives, technology roll out programs, transformations and restructurings in North America, Europe, Middle East and Latin America/Caribbean. Prior to Generate Mr. Bielenberg was a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group leading work with infrastructure investors on portfolio value creation and supporting governments on large scale infrastructure development and construction programs. Prior to that Mr. Bielenberg was a Partner at McKinsey & Co. where he led large scale transformation programs at power and water utilities, supported development finance institutions and government agencies on infrastructure investment and funding strategy and supported infrastructure investors on strategy and performance improvement programs in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America and served on the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s private sector advisory board. Mr. Bielenberg was a Hamilton Scholar at Columbia Law School where he was awarded a J.D. and graduated from Brown University with a B.A. with Honors.
Mayanka Melville, Biography
Mayanka Melville serves as Head of Data at Generate Capital, where she oversees our data science, product and engineering teams, and is responsible for applying advanced analytics to improve decision quality across Generate’s portfolio. Prior to Generate, Ms. Melville spent two decades at Capital Group, holding leadership roles in data science, quantitative research, portfolio construction and risk management, investment product development, and operations. Earlier in her career, she worked at Deloitte Consulting, in their digital strategy and transformation practice. She serves as President of the Board of Directors at Peace over Violence, and is a Board member for Chrysalis. Ms. Melville is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), holds a B. Tech degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, and was a Palmer Scholar at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, where she earned an M.B.A.
About Generate Capital
Generate Capital is a leading sustainable investment and operating platform driving the infrastructure transition. Generate aims to provide the capital and help that developers, businesses, cities and communities need to accelerate cost savings, resilience and decarbonization. Since 2014, Generate has invested in and operated sustainable assets across six sectors: power, mobility, waste, green digital, water and agriculture, and industrial decarbonization. With more than $10 billion raised since inception, 50+ technology and development partnerships and more than 2,000 assets globally, Generate’s one-stop-shop offers proof, not promises that sustainability pays. For more information, please visit www.generatecapital.com.
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