A A A
Home Staff
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Consulting Staff Print E-mail

M.J. Beck Consulting, LLC staff and advisors represent a mix of highly experienced industry professionals that together provide a broad resource pool to address key issues and concerns of our clients. The team holds complementary backgrounds in engineering, economics, finance, law, and public policy.

In addition to our full time staff and advisors, MJB maintains strategic relationships with other service organizations including; First Quartile Consulting (utilities benchmarking), Karbone, and GE's Applications and Systems Engineering team.

Michael Beck Jonathan McClelland William Klun
Simon Brandon Calvin Sung Dr. Kamal Golabi
Gabor Takacs Alexander L. Huhmann Marty Jacobsen
Brian Westerhaus Roger Campbell Barbara Kates-Garnick

Dana Hall, Esq. Michael DellaGala









Michael Beck

mbMike established MJ Beck Consulting in 2006 as a vehicle to provide specialized service to the energy industry, specifically in the power and environmental areas. He has been involved in energy consulting for over 20 years and has consulted for a variety of organizations on a broad range of topics including generation and transmission operations, strategic planning, asset valuation, knowledge and risk management, environmental strategy, and competitive analysis. An attentive leader with a proven, results-driven record of business development, project management, and problem solving, he uses excellent communications and interpersonal skills to work with clients to deliver measurable, distinctive results. Prior to forming MJ Beck Consulting, Mike held senior positions at Hagler Bailly (formerly Theodore Barry & Associates) and PA Consulting. He holds a BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from Drexel University, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of New Jersey.

Back To Top

Jonathan McClelland

jmcJonathan has spent the last eleven years consulting to the power and utilities sector. Prior to joining MJ Beck he worked in London with Power Capital, a financial advisory firm focused on Renewable Power industry. In this capacity, Jonathan specialized in quantifying the impact of various national, regional and international renewable energy policies on power asset valuation. In North America, Jonathan worked in Washington DC as part of the Global Gas Group of PFC Energy where he analyzed the natural gas operations and strategies of major international and national oil companies. Jonathan began his career in the energy practice of PA Consulting group where he delivered operational, benchmarking and strategy assignments for utilities in Australia and North America. He is the founder and former President of the New York Association for Energy Economics, the current VP of the US Association for Energy Economics and a member of the AP Board of Economists. He also sits on the AOL Energy Editorial Advisory Board. Jonathan holds a Masters in International Relations & Economics from the Johns Hopkins University where he focused on International Energy Policy. Additionally, he holds Bachelor degrees in Economics and Commerce from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Back To Top

William Klun

Klun photo bw.pngBill is an energy finance specialist with over 15 years of experience in energy-related banking, financial advisory and financial risk management. He is an expert in energy finance, including "cutting edge" experience in renewable energy. He has worked with private equity firms and hedge funds identifying, evaluating and structuring energy-related investment opportunities and financings. He has evaluated, structured and closed transactions in alternative fuels, renewable energy and energy technology. Prior to this position, Bill was Vice President and Co-Head of DZ Bank's energy corporate finance group, where he managed $3 billion+ in complex financings for the electric power, oil and gas and refining sectors. In addition, Mr. Klun was the senior bank representative in several high profile restructurings, including Enron, Williams Companies, PG&E NEG and Mirant. Prior to DZ Bank, Mr. Klun was a Principal with PA Consulting, and was a Director at Louis Dreyfus Corporation and the Duke Energy/Louis Dreyfus joint venture, where he structured derivative transactions and financial risk management strategies for the energy industry and corporate energy consumers. Bill has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS Cum Laude from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He has contributed several articles to Institutional Investor on energy finance subjects and authored Market Risk in Electric Generation Finance in Energy Convergence: The Beginning of the Multi-Commodity Market, (Wiley Finance, pub.).

Back To Top

Simon Brandon

SimonBrandon.jpgSimon Brandon is a Director at MJ Beck Consulting with broad experience in the financial services and energy sectors. His background includes five years of front office Investment Banking/Private Equity experience in London and New York (with several years experience in buy-side energy asset due diligence) and six years of Management Consulting/Project Management experience in the U.S., U.K. and Singapore. Simon holds a BSc Hons(First Class) in Mathematics and Computer Science from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Back To Top

Calvin Sung

CS_London.pngCalvin has two years of experience delivering value to large utilities, renewable project developers, and city governments in various capacities, including organizational operations and design analysis, asset valuation, program management, and economic analysis. Since joining M.J. Beck, he has provided project analytics support to senior consultants internally, and supported the management of up to $14 million USD of corporate programs externally. He was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal within his first year at M.J. Beck. Calvin graduated in 2009 with an AB degree in Chemistry from Princeton University, and has previously worked at Genentech, Merrill Lynch, and Bloomberg in multiple roles. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Back To Top

Dr. Kamal Golabi

kgAs Science Advisor to MJB, Dr. Golabi specializes in designing optimization models and solution methods for large-scale, complex, multi-objective decision problems. During the last twenty-five years, the focus of his work has been on the design and development of planning, optimization and risk management systems for infrastructure and energy networks. He has also contributed to the theory and application of stochastic dynamic systems, probabilistic inventory theory, multi-objective optimization models, and economic models for energy and natural resources. Dr. Golabi is President and Chief Scientist of Optima, Inc, and has served as consultant and advisor to numerous international and national organizations, foreign governments, state agencies, research institutes and corporations. He has won the Franz Edelman Prize, awarded by the the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and has been published widely. Dr. Golabi received a BS in Process Engineering from the Abadan Institute of Technology, Iran, an MS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Management Science/Operations Research from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Back To Top

Alexander L. Huhmann

alex bw.jpgAlex has over thirty four years experience in the power industry with strong credentials and a solid record of achievement in the technical and financial aspects of evaluating and deploying power generation and emissions control technologies, creating cost-effective generation strategies, and negotiating clean air initiatives. He also has an extensive engineering and economic background in optimizing existing generating technology and integrating new technologies into a company's business strategy. He has published numerous papers in several technical journals and holds a patent for NOx control technology for coal fired utility boilers. Alex worked for Westinghouse early in his career and then for Public Service Electric & Gas, and its subsidiary, PSEG - Power, with responsibilities for Environmental Engineering and Advanced Generation Technologies. Alex holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the City College of New York, an MBA from Rutgers University, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of New Jersey. He holds a Gold Seal Stationary Engineers License as well as a Wastewater Plant Operators License for the state of New Jersey.

Back To Top

Marty Jacobsen

mjMarty is a senior business and consulting professional with a proven track record for delivering sustainable results for clients. He has extensive performance improvement experience covering a broad range of service areas, including strategy formation, enterprise transformation, operational reinvention and technology enablement. Marty has delivered projects for leading electric and gas utilities companies including, Nicor Gas, Xcel Energy/CapX 2020, PPL, Florida Power & Light, Rochester Gas & Electric, Baltimore Gas & Electric, Com Ed, AEP, Cinergy, Piedmont NG, and PECO Energy.

Back To Top

Brian Westerhaus

defBrian is an experienced Program Manager with skills ranging from commercial services management, execution supply chain transformation initiatives, capital project delivery, and cost reduction initiatives. For the past 6 years, Brian has held various leadership roles in delivering major capital projects in the energy sector including major Transmission Line construction and Power Plant rehabilitation projects.

Back To Top

Roger Campbell

RogerCampbell.jpgRoger Campbell is a proven leader in the energy industry with 35 years of service at both the corporate officer level as well as an industry consultant. Roger's expertise includes corporate finance; fuel supply and transportation; generation planning; strategic planning; demand side management; mergers and acquisition; auditing and productivity improvement. He has testified as an expert witness on numerous subjects before various regulatory authorities. Roger brings the ability to communicate with all levels of the organization from the board of directors through the various ranks of management. He has a proven track record of successful results ranging from starting new companies to managing large organizations. Roger has been COO for Express Marine Inc. a national marine transportation company; CFO for Delmarva Power & Light Company; Senior VP for ICF Kaiser and Managing Director for Theodore Barry & Associates. Roger holds a BSBA degree from Bucknell University and an MBA from Penn State.

Back To Top

Barbara Kates-Garnick

def[Currently Serving as MA Deputy Secretary for Energy] Dr. Kates-Garnick is a leader in the energy and environmental fields with a broad career that has included serving as a corporate officer in KeySpan, a Fortune 500 utility, establishing a start up venture as a successful energy supplier, appointment as a Massachusetts public utility commissioner and as a management consultant on engagements dealing with critical public policy issues relating to energy and the environment. Based on her breadth of her experience, Dr. Kates-Garnick has expertise in strategic decision making in complex organizations, both from a regulatory and corporate perspective, the cost/benefit of implementing environmental mandates, how organizations respond to change, and the adaption of emerging technologies, most recently in clean tech and renewable energy.

As Vice President of Corporate Affairs at KeySpan, Dr. Kates-Garnick directed the government and media relations, crisis communications and operations support in New England and community outreach corporate wide. She has been a strategic decision maker on public policy issues at the city, state and federal level on issues ranging from energy siting, energy markets, green house gases, energy efficiency, alternative energy investments, hazardous waste, and has resolved complex operational problems that have a public sector component. Known for building partnerships with both the public and private sector, Dr. Kates-Garnick created the KeySpan “College to Career Program “which has become a model program for retaining minority university students in Boston area corporations and for helping businesses identify opportunities to enhance diversity. As a path breaker in the implementation of energy deregulation, Dr. Kates-Garnick lead the New England office of one of the nation’s most successful competitive energy suppliers where she designed the strategy leading to the sale of the first deregulated electricity in the nation. She has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Power Subcommittee and numerous state legislatures and regulatory bodies. As a Public Utility Commissioner in Massachusetts, Dr. Kates-Garnick facilitated the adaption of the early energy efficiency programs that propelled Massachusetts into a leadership role in the design and implementation of those programs and addressed environmental issues related to generation and hazardous waste cleanup. In her consulting practice, Dr. Kates-Garnick provides strategic advice on a wide range of economic and regulatory issues faced by the energy, environmental and telecommunications industries as they confront change and transformation.

Back To Top

Carl Liggio

clDr. Liggio has a bachelors, masters and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and a Masters in Systems Analysis and Economics for Public Decision Making from the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering also from The Johns Hopkins University. He previously worked for Orion Power Holdings as a pricing and operations strategist, performing quantitative analysis, asset optimization and commercialization. Orion was purchased by Reliant Energy where he was briefly a market analyst. He left Reliant to start Meissa Consulting LLC, a consulting company specializing in operations management consulting. In 2006 he joined US Power Generating Company where he was the Director of Commercial Strategy and Alternative Energy Programs. At the time USPowerGen had no energy management infrastructure in place. Dr. Liggio was instrumental in building the asset management desk and its business processes. At USPowerGen he was an asset manager for the New York City portfolio, and later supported the asset management desk, analyzing operations, developing and validating bidding and commercial strategies, and developing tools to manage the commercial operations.

Back To Top

Dana Hall, Esq.

dhDana is an experienced energy policy analyst and educator with experience tracking energy policy developments at the state regional and national level. She is a qualified lawyer and has been admitted to the Bar in New York and New Jersey. As the Energy Policy Coordinator at the Pace Energy and Climate Center she led energy policy projects related to promotion and support of distributed generation, particularly affecting the solar, combined heat and power, and hydroelectric generation industries. In this role she chaired and organized conferences including “PACE at Pace: A Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing Symposium”, and “Illuminating Solar Finance: Shedding Light on the Elements of Financing Solar Projects.” Dana has worked previously with NYSERDA having worked on several Center projects related to renewable energy, distribution resource planning, standby rates, demand response, and energy efficiency. She has contributed to the submission of Comments to regulatory bodies in New York and New Jersey on matters affecting the distributed generation markets for the CHP and solar industries. She is a member of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Energy Committee and on the Governing Board of the Low Impact Hydropower Institute.

Back To Top

Michael DellaGala

michael_dellagala.JPGMike DellaGala is an Advisor to MJB and Managing Director of DG Energy Partners. DG Energy was founded to provide solar EPCs and Integrators with tax structured project financing, economic analysis and PPA services. Prior to founding DG, Mike served as REgeneration Finance’s Vice President of Structured Finance where he modeled and structured financing for more than 25 MW of distributed generation solar development, totaling $75 million in tax equity, $160 million in construction debt and $60 million in term debt utilizing the Master Tenant/Lease Pass-through structure. Working closely with the sales and legal teams, he originated and assisted in the negotiation of PPA contracts for more than 13 MW, adding roughly $6.5 million to firm’s revenue at financial closing and $61 million over the term of the PPA contracts. Mike has financial modeling experience in additional tax structures including the “partnership flip”, sale/leaseback and New Markets structures. Mike also has market experience as a fixed income risk analyst and as an interest rate derivatives sales associate. He holds a MSc in Financial Engineering from New York University and he holds an MA in Economics from Fordham University and a BA in English from the University of Massachusetts.

Back To Top

Sandy Kreis

gtlSandy Kreis is an advisor to MJB. Sandy was an analyst for IHS Emerging Energy Research's Renewable Power Generation Advisory, where her research focused on US Renewable Portfolio Standards, federal climate policy, renewable Power Purchase Agreements, and the global geothermal and energy storage markets. Before joining IHS EER, Sandy worked as a political department associate for Environment California and as a researcher for the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at Tufts University. She is fluent in Spanish and is attempting to learn Mandarin. She has received two scholarships, including the Global Leadership Seminar on International Climate Change Strategies in Tailloires, France and an Asia Foundation Scholar for the state of energy and environmental issues in China. She holds a MALD in International Business Relations and Environmental & Energy Policy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a BA in American Studies and Spanish from Georgetown University. Hoya Saxa! In her free time, she is an accomplished equestrian, former ballerina, a videographer, an advanced bikram yogi, and a solo woman traveler - having conquered everything from the San Blas Islands in Panama to the Mekong River in Laos.

Back To Top

Gabor Takacs

gabor_takacs2.jpgGabor has been in the energy-environment business for over ten years. Born and raised in Hungary, he joined M.J.Beck for a 6 months research project for his PhD thesis. Gabor worked for 3 years for a think-tank NGO, and 3 years in the public administration where he was head of department of the green investment scheme and managed over 180 million USD government grants. In the past 5 years he worked for different governmental bodies (e.g., Ministry of Environment and Water, National Development Agency) on renewable energy and energy efficiency regulation and subsidy schemes and for international organizations (e.g., USAID, UNDP, IEA-CTI). He has extended project-development and project-management experiences on large scale biogas and biomass projects, and environmental policy advocacy expertise on carbon market and wind-power regulation. Gabor has bachelors (biology, geography, economics) and masters (economics, environmental policy and regulation) degrees and is currently working on his PhD dissertation. He studied in Budapest/Hungary and in London/UK (London School of Economics), lived in the Netherlands and in the UK. He got scholarships from the British Commonwealth Office-Chevening Scholarship, Fulbright Scholarship and the Hungarian-American Enterprise Foundation Scholarship.

Back To Top

Gordon T. Little

gtlGordon joined M.J. Beck in a part-time analyst role in August, 2011. He is currently completing a Masters of Science degree in International Relations at New York University, in which he is specializing in Energy & Environmental Policy. Having worked in a range of private, non-profit and government roles across Europe, Australia and the USA early in his career, Gordon has gained valuable experience across many industries. For an international logistics company, he devised a method to offer carbon offsets to freight customers. Gordon has also worked in strategic advisory roles at the Australian Trade Commission and Deloitte Consulting. He holds Bachelors degrees in Commerce and Political Science (with Honors) from the University of Melbourne.

Back To Top