Jeffrey Immelt will be our lead independent director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Since 2018, Mr. Immelt has served as a venture partner on the technology and healthcare investing teams for New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm. From 2001 to 2017, Mr. Immelt served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Mr. Immelt joined General Electric in 1982 upon the completion of his MBA program, and held various roles within the company before assuming his position as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Immelt sits on the board of Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) since June 2019 and Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE: BE) since November 2019. He earned a B.A. degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Mr. Immelt is well-qualified to serve as a director due to his public company operational, C-suite and board experience.
Nora Mead Brownell will be one of our independent directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Brownell is the Founding Partner of ESPY Energy Solutions, a consulting firm. She has also served as a director of Mead Family Investments LLC, an investment firm, since December 2016. Prior to these positions, from 2001 to 2006, Ms. Brownell was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as a Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). From 1997 to 2001, Ms. Brownell served as a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Ms. Brownell has also served on the board of directors of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (NYSE: PCG), National Grid plc (NYSE: NGG), Tangent Energy, Spectra Energy Partners, New World Capital, TerViva Bioenergy, ONCOR, Comverge, Starwood Energy Fund, and the GridWise Architecture Council. Ms. Brownell is well-qualified to serve as a director due to her oversight, public company board and energy industry experience.
Barbara Byrne will be one of our independent directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Byrne served as a director of CBS Corp. from September 2018 until its merger with Viacom Inc. in December 2019, and she is currently the chair of the audit committee of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC), a mass media company. She also served as a director of the Institute of International Education since February 2019 and serves as a member of its audit committee. Ms. Byrne is a former Vice Chairman, Investment Banking at Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) and Lehman Brothers and held senior leadership positions in both the Energy and Technology Investment Banking Groups at each firm. Ms. Byrne served on the British-American Business Council, New York City Board from 2013 to 2017, and on the board of trustees of Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley from 2006 to 2016. American Banker named Ms. Byrne in the top 5 of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” for eight consecutive years through 2017, and she received American Banker’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Finance in October 2018. She has been a lifetime member of The Council on Foreign Relations since 2013. Ms. Byrne graduated Mount Holyoke College magna cum laude with a degree in economics. Ms. Byrne is well-qualified to serve as a director due to her executive, investment and public company board experience.
Dr. Kurt Lauk will be one of our independent directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Dr. Lauk is currently a director of Magna International (NYSE: MGA), a Canadian mobility technology company for OEMs. Dr. Lauk also currently serves as a Board Member of Fortemedia, Inc. He is the President of Globe CP GmbH, a private investment firm he co-founded in 2000. From 2013 to 2019, Dr. Lauk served on the board of directors of Solera, a software company for the automotive industry. From 2004 to 2009, Dr. Lauk served as a Member of the European Parliament, including as a Member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and Deputy Member of the Foreign and Security Affairs Committee. From 2000 to 2015, Dr. Lauk served as the Chairman of the Economic Council to the Christian Democratic Party. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Lauk served as a Member of the Board of Management and Head of World Wide Commercial Vehicles Division of Daimler Chrysler (FRA: DAI). Prior to those positions, from 1989 to 1992, Dr. Lauk served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Audi AG (FRA: NSU). Dr. Lauk was also Chief Financial Officer and Controller of VEBA AG - now known as E.ON AG from 1992 to 1996, Chief Executive Officer of Zinser Textil Machinery GmbH from 1984 to 1989, and a Partner and Vice President of the German practice of Boston Consulting Group from 1978 to 1984. Dr. Lauk currently serves as a trustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and was an honorary professor with a chair for international studies at the European Business School in Reichartshausen, Germany. Dr. Lauk holds both a PhD in international politics from Kiel and an MBA from Stanford University. Dr. Lauk is well-qualified to serve as a director due to his legislative, executive, operational and investment experience.
Tanguy V. Serra will be one of our independent directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Serra has been the President and Chief Investment Officer of Loanpal since January 2018 and the co-founder of GoodFinch LLC, an asset manager, since February 2020. Mr. Serra previously served as the President of SolarCity Corporation, which became a subsidiary of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) in November 2016, from May 2013 to November 2016. Mr. Serra co-founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Vivint Solar, Inc., a solar energy solutions company, from April 2011 to April 2013. From April 2004 to September 2011, Mr. Serra served as a Vice President at TPG Capital, L.P., a private equity investment firm. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Serra held financial analyst positions with Morgan Stanley Capital Partners and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Serra holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from ESCP Europe in Paris.