COMPANY MANAGEMENT
John Banigan, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
John Banigan has over 30 years of experience in international financial services and management throughout Latin America, Asia, and the U.S. He has demonstrated client relationship and risk and asset management skills, as well as diverse business unit and regional management capabilities plus strategic planning, project analysis, and negotiation experience. Mr. Banigan has held senior management positions at HSBC and Chemical Bank (JPMorgan Chase); is a member of Japanese Equity Long Short Partners; and was formerly a director of Trophy Property GP Ltd., a US$ 1.0 billion investor in large scale, multi-use prime city developments in China. He is a graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University - BS, International Economics.
Ron Smith, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Ron Smith has served as an industry manager at Booz-Allen Hamilton, Bendix Corporation, and the US Navy. At Booz-Allen, he played a lead role in building the firm’s Worldwide Technology Business Change Management Practice. For the Bendix Aerospace Group, he provided strategic and operational consulting to mechanical and electronic manufacturing divisions. He was a US Navy carrier pilot and served as an organizational development consultant to Navy units, commands, and staff. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, an MS from the University of Southern California, and a BS from Mount St. Mary's University.
Trey Taylor, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer
Trey Taylor founded the Interactive Marketing Institute and has held senior positions at Edison Electric Institute, ITT Corporation, British Telecom, Ogilvy & Mather, and Procter & Gamble. He currently serves on the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Previously he served on the Board of Directors for the Hydro Research Foundation and on the CEO Council for the American Council on Renewable Energy. He holds a BS from Portland State University.
Dean Corren, Chief Technology Officer
Dean Corren has over 35 years of experience in the fields of energy research and systems design. At Verdant Power he has been responsible for all system research conducted from theory to model tests and full-scale prototypes. As the inventor and ongoing innovator of the Company’s tidal power technology systems, Mr. Corren has successfully led the advancement of Verdant Power’s industry leading Free Flow System to a NASA/DOE-based technology readiness level (TRL) 8 (0-9 scale). He also served four terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and chaired the Burlington Electric Commission. He holds an MS in Energy Science from New York University and a BA from Middlebury College.
Aaron Hernandez, Director of Corporate Development
Aaron Hernandez has over 20 years of experience in the corporate and non-profit sectors, focused on contract award acquisition and management; organizational development and operations; corporate communications; and project planning. He holds an MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BA from the University of Michigan.