leadership
Thomas S. Carnahan - President and CEO
Tom Carnahan is the founder and president of Wind Capital Group. In 2005, seeing a clear need for alternative energy source development in his home state of Missouri, he drew upon his background in law, politics, development, and farm management and partnered with Missouri farmers and rural electric cooperatives to develop the state’s first wind farm.
Since then, Wind Capital Group has become one of the fastest growing wind developers in the country.
Mr. Carnahan is actively involved in growing not just his own company, but the wind industry as a whole. He serves on the American Wind Energy Association Executive Board and as a regular and enthusiastic spokesman for wind energy, Carnahan recently appeared on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and is a sought after speaker in the area of wind and renewable energies. Mr. Carnahan has also appeared on ABC World News, Fox Business News, CNBC and other major networks as an expert on wind energy development.
Before entering the wind energy industry, Mr. Carnahan was a partner in the law firm of Carnahan & Garvin, LLC. In 2008, he was recognized as one of St. Louis’ “Forty under Forty” most influential business leaders by the St. Louis Business Journal.
Mr. Carnahan has a B.A. degree from William Jewell College and a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri School of Law.
Dean Baumgardner - Executive Vice President - Technical Services and Construction
Dean Baumgardner brings more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry to Wind Capital Group. Based in the Company’s Madison, Wisconsin office, Mr. Baumgardner leads technical teams responsible for planning, engineering and construction of high quality wind energy facilities, including wind resource analysis, environmental assessments, site planning, transmission access and construction management. Mr. Baumgardner is accredited by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Penn State University.
Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Mr. Baumgardner was responsible for business development at WindConnect, an engineering and general contracting subsidiary of Alliant Energy serving the wind industry. Previous experience includes economic development, affordable housing, utility operations and construction management of electrical substations, transmission and underground electrical distributions systems in high growth and environmentally sensitive areas.
Ciaran O’Brien - Executive Vice President - Chief Financial Officer
Based in Wind Capital Group’s Chicago office Ciaran O’Brien brings 20 years of energy and project finance experience to Wind Capital Group. Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Mr. O’Brien worked with Airtricity in both Europe and the United States and was one of the founders of its North American business unit. During his tenure at Airtricity, Mr. O’Brien successfully led over $2 billion of equity and debt fundraisings.
Mr. O'Brien's experience includes working for Anglo American PLC in their base metals division and with Deloitte in Ireland. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland.
David Brija-Towery - Executive Vice President - Administration and Corporate Secretary
David Brija-Towery comes to Wind Capital Group from John Deere Wind Energy, where he served as Business Development Manager. Prior to joining John Deere’s business development team, which established the John Deere Wind Energy program, he served in various positions within the John Deere organization, including Manager, Finance, for the Hitachi and Overseas Divisions, Dealer Administration for the company’s Construction Division and Senior Technical Accountant with John Deere Credit. Mr. Brija-Towery obtained his B.A. in Accounting and Management at UW-Madison and his M.B.A. from Duke University’s - Fuqua School of Business.
He
continues to retain his CPA credentials and has previously served as Chairman
of the Audit Committee for the American Wind Energy Association.
George M. Knapp - General Counsel
George Knapp is responsible for planning and directing all aspects of Wind Capital Group’s legal affairs and managing the company's real estate and contract administration groups. Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Mr. Knapp was a Senior Counsel with FPL Energy, where he served as lead counsel on renewable energy project development, financing, acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings and asset management.
Prior to joining FPL Energy, Mr. Knapp resided in Washington, DC, serving as a partner in several major international law firms. Mr. Knapp represented project sponsors, financial institutions, governments and other key energy project participants and played a leading role in contract negotiations, financings and energy transactions in more than 40 states and 40
countries.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Knapp served as Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Pipeline Rates at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Mr. Knapp is past chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources and the International Energy Transactions Committee of the Energy Bar Association.He is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia. He received his law degree from George Washington University and his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, Los Angeles.
David Boyce - Executive Vice President, Development & Operations
David Boyce is responsible for project development, operations, power marketing and turbine procurement strategy. Prior to this position, Mr. Boyce was a Senior Vice President of Finance at Wind Capital Group, responsible for power marketing, turbine procurement, acquisitions, and project financing. Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Mr. Boyce had a senior finance role at E.ON Climate & Renewables and Airtricity, focused on tax investments, acquisitions, and project finance. He has also held past energy-related senior employment positions at CoBank, Americas Power Partners and Skygen/Calpine.