Board of Directors
Niraj Bhargava
Niraj Bhargava is co-founder, chairman and CEO of Energate Inc. Previously, he was president and CEO of Enerstat Limited which he led through profitable growth and its acquisition. After Enerstat, Niraj became a professor of entrepreneurship at Queen’s University, CEO of Queen’s Centre for Enterprise Development and then dean of the business school at Royal Roads University. Earlier in his career, Niraj practiced engineering at Bell-Northern Research, marketing and business development at Northern Telecom and General Electric and was general manager of GE Energy Management. Niraj has a BASc from University of Waterloo and an M.B.A. from Ivey Business School including an International Business Certificate from Stockholm School of Economics.
Peter Sommerer
Peter Sommerer is currently president of Erlauf Holdings Ltd., a private equity investment company located in Canada and serves on the board of directors of a number of public and privately held technology companies. He also is founder and chairman of Canandia Inc., a privately held company, aimed to provide a platform to Canadian hi-tech companies to build business in and from India. He has held executive positions at Newbridge Networks, which was acquired by Alcatel, and served in management roles at Mitel Corporation and ITT Austria. Peter earned a Social and Economic Sciences Degree from Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration in 1975, after graduating with a professional engineering degree from HTBLuVA Mödling, Austria. In 2007 he completed his doctoral studies with the thesis “Single-market-multi-product companies – Evolution, organization and performance.”
Tom Tamblyn
Tom Tamblyn was responsible for the development of an energy performance contracting (EPC) business for Engineering Interface Limited (EIL), which he joined in 1978, bringing corporate management experience from companies such as Burroughs (now Unisys) and Tenneco. He has also been actively involved with the financial community developing creative financing options for EPC projects and was one of the founding members of CAESCO (Canadian Association of Energy Service Companies) and became the first president elected by CAESCO members. Pursuing the concept of EPC, Tom formed a joint venture with Black and McDonald in 1982, and later founded Tescor Energy Services. As majority shareholder and CEO, he sold Tescor and EIL to Duke Energy in 1998. He is an honours graduate of the University of Toronto in Engineering, with an M.B.A. from York University.
Bernhardt Zeisig
Bernie is a senior partner at Cycle Capital where he has brought over 15 years of venture investing in multiple sectors and more than 30 years of company building experience in both the US and Canada. He has participated in over 50 rounds of financing and has built a proven, trusted network for deal flow, deal management and exits. Bernie began his career at 18 when he built his first successful company. He later became an active angel investor, built a trans-Atlantic joint venture and worked as a management consultant. He has lived and worked in Canada, Germany, Austria, France and Scotland, and most recently in the U.S. Bernie is a frequent speaker on cross-border investment issues, sits on multiple boards and has often advised on policy matters. He holds BAs in Economics from both Carleton University, Canada and Université de Chambery, France, and an MSc in Entrepreneurial Studies from Stirling University, Stirling Scotland.
Janet Griffin
Janet has supported the successful growth of various communications and technology companies as an investment banker, consultant and investor. She began her career with Nesbitt Burns in 1988 and developed a strong focus on growth ventures in the technology sector serving as managing director of the BMO Nesbitt Burns Employee Co-Investment Funds through 2004. Currently she provides objective strategic and financial advice to early stage ventures through her company, Queensborough Advisory Services. Janet served on the board of directors of Comprehensive Care International from 2003 to 2009. She continues to serve on the Advisory Board of CCI. She is also very active in her community, serving on several not for profit boards over the last 15 years including Pro-Action, Cops and Kids, Women in Capital Markets and Alpine Ski Club. Janet graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1988 with an M.B.A.
Lisa V. Wood
Lisa is the executive director of the Institute for Electric Efficiency (IEE), which she launched after more than two decades of consulting with electric utilities on retail customer issues. In her role at IEE, Lisa directs economic, financial, and market analysis studies for leading electric utilities nationwide, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, dynamic pricing, and value of electric service reliability. For the electric utility sector, she has directed numerous economic and market analysis studies with an emphasis on energy efficiency, dynamic pricing, value of electric service reliability, and market share. Lisa has written numerous articles and is a frequent speaker on smart pricing, demand response, energy efficiency, and smart grid issues in the electric power industry. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy and management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.
John C. Fox
John is senior managing director at Perseus, L.L.C., a merchant bank and private equity fund management company headquartered in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Perseus, he was chief operating officer of Ontario Power Generation Inc. (formerly Ontario Hydro), where he was responsible for generation, transmission, distribution and retailing for one of the largest electric utilities in North America. He served as executive vice president of the Canyon Group, a Los Angeles-based marketing and management consultancy during 1992 and 1993. From 1981 to 1992, Mr. Fox held various management positions with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in San Francisco. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Toronto and an M.B.A. from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
