Jack founded Zep Solar Inc. in 2009 and is the primary inventor of the Zep System technology that focuses on a business model based on the standardized Zep Compatible platform. Jack has been the driving force and inspiration responsible for creating the company, securing multiple rounds of investment capital, and attracting a stellar team - all while continuing to lead the company and optimize the design of Zep's technologies. Jack has been designing PV systems for 21 years and began his solar energy career by creating one of the first grid-tied PV installation businesses in California in the early 1990’s. He cofounded High Sun Engineering in 2000, the first California-based engineering firm specializing in PV system design and engineering. He is a recognized expert in the photovoltaics industry, and is often sought out by PV manufacturers for consultation on product development. An avid inventor, Jack is the holder of three patents and hundreds of patents pending and is a regular speaker/lecturer on PV technology.

Jack graduated from Humboldt State University in 1991, BS degree in Solar Engineering.

With a broad range of experience in finance, start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, and the solar industry, Mike was selected to take a leading role in the executive management of Zep Solar.

Prior to joining Zep Solar, Mike was the General Manager for the US division of Canadian Solar, Inc. and was responsible for all sales, marketing, planning, sales engineering, operations, fulfilment, and customer service functions in the country.  Prior to that, he co-founded CleanSource Power, serving as its Chief Executive Officer.  This ground-breaking company delivered project development, PPA financing, and sustainability marketing services for a range of top-tier commercial and public-sector clients and sponsors.  Previously, Mike held VP of Sales and VP of Business Development roles at several leading, venture-backed technology start-ups in Boston and Silicon Valley, including Lipstream Networks, Avaki (sold to Sybase, 2005), and Reva Systems. Prior to his venture involvement, Mike also co-founded and managed several successful new-product divisions within Fortune 500 firms (Autodesk, Time Warner), focusing on electronic media and publishing offerings serving a range of consumer and industrial markets.  Mike began his professional career as a commercial banker with Bank of Montreal. 

Mike holds an A.B., cum laude, from Princeton University, and received his M.B.A. from Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business Administration. 

As cofounder, Christina created Zep Solar's initial corporate structure, manages corporate/investor affairs and corporate responsibility, and directs Zep's business operations including finances, legal, HR, and facilities.  She is also a co-inventor of the preliminary Zep Solar technology.

Along with Jack West, Christina also cofounded High Sun Engineering, and was in charge of management and operations.  In addition, she acted as Principal Engineer consulting on solar energy and efficiency for building projects and providing passive and active solar design engineering.  She created, produced, and co-instructed High Sun Engineering's advanced PV design course for engineers.  A 20+ year veteran of the energy industry, she started her career as an energy-efficiency engineer in the late 1980's and entered the solar space in 1994 as VP of Design Engineering at Davis Energy Group, Inc. 

Christina has a BS in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Design and a focus on Energy Policy from the University of California, Davis.

As cofounder of Zep Solar, Daniel has contributed a broad understanding of both trade and business aspects of the PV industry, and over twelve years experience in the sales, marketing & operational activities of multiple solar companies.

Daniel has been active in the solar industry since the beginning of the net-metered photovoltaic systems market in California.  Working as a C10 electrical contractor, a systems-level PV designer, and an independent industry consultant for new product development, he has been at the cutting edge of solar electric system design and construction.  Daniel has lived in solar electric powered homes for over 15 years and installed some of the first net metered systems in California.  He was one of the first North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Certified Photovoltaic Installers and is a former California Certified Journeyman Electrician. 

Daniel graduated from Humboldt State University in 1996 with a BA in Religious Studies with emphases in Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences.

As Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, David offers over twenty years experience in bringing technically-complex electro-mechanical, clean-tech, consumer electronics, wireless, medical, and automotive products to market for accelerated early-stage growth and fortune 100/500 companies. 

David authored and managed MRD, PRD, design control, regulatory-standards SOP's and design history files, and has experience in multiple quality systems (ISO900x, ISO13485, ISO16949), design controls, DFMEA/PFMEA, risk management (ISO14971) and regulatory/safety compliance. David has successfully launched products in North America, Asia, and Mexico, with distribution to OEM's, big box, online, and aftermarket channels. He has expertise in CM/ODM/supplier management, selection and qualification, NPI and manufacturing operations. David has established strategic global supply chain networks spanning multiple technologies and industries.

Joe Marshall oversees Zep Solar's finances including fundraising and financial strategy and planning.

For the last 15 years, Joe's work has focused mostly in the Green/Organic consumer product industry, an industry to which he is passionately dedicated.  Experience includes raising private equity monies, private debt instruments, IPO registration and SEC compliance reporting. Joe was Principal at TBL Capital, a venture capital company focusing on companies committed to a Triple Bottom Line. From 1995 to 2002 Joe was CFO of Imagine Foods, the largest privately held natural food company in the United States at the time of its sale. Joe successfully managed the sale of Imagine Foods to The Hain-Celestial Group of NY. Previously, Joe was CFO of a private software company and Treasurer of a public, $200 million revenue company. Joe also has developed green real estate projects achieving gold LEED status. Joe sits on the Board of a non-profit, Ceres Community Project, which provides healthy meals, cooked by teens, to cancer patients in Sonoma County.

Joe has a BS in Accounting from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard University.  

As Sr. Director of Global Marketing, Songül brings more than seven years of solar energy industry international strategic marketing and marketing communication expertise that she developed at top global solar energy manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to Zep Solar, Songül worked at the largest PV module manufacturer, Suntech Power International in Switzerland as Sr. Marketing Manager of Europe, at Trina Solar in China as Marketing Manager for North America, and start-up Open Energy Corporation in United States as Director of Marketing. At her previous positions, Songül was responsible for developing and implementing regional strategic marketing and marketing communications activities spanning from corporate/product branding, product marketing, b2b/b2c marketing, market research/intelligence, digital marketing, sales/business development support and channel marketing.

Songül holds a BS degree in Management/Marketing at San Diego State University and an AA degree in Communication at the Art Institute of California in San Diego, USA.

With more than 10 years of solar industry sales experience, Daniel has a wealth of renewable energy knowledge in the upstream and down stream segment and benefits from a huge industry network. He has a proven track record of forging new sales channels in European markets. Prior to Zep Solar, Daniel worked at Conergy's EPC company, SunTechnics, where he held a variety of sales management positions in Europeand Asia-Pacific. Recently he was central Europe sales manager for Trina Solar and country manager Germany for SolarAccess.

As Director Business Development and Sales Europe, Daniel drives the company's regional strategy and channel development. Based at Zep Solar's European Headquarters in Germany, he will give the company a strong foothold in the world's largest solar market.

Daniel studied environmental and business management and graduated with a Business Diploma at the University of Applied Sciences Trier and also holds an MA in International Marketing from the University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg/Victoria University Melbourne.

Chad brings more than a decade of PV experience to Zep Solar having worked most recently as Senior Trainer at SunPower Corp where he was instrumental in developing an industry leading IREQ accredited training program and field quality assurance program for the dealer network. He has also worked as Technical Sales Manager at Fronius USA LLC and as a PV Designer, Installer and Sales Manager for some leading PV integrators in the US.

As Director of Applications, Chad manages the Applications Engineers, Technical Support, Training and Field Applications Engineers. In this role he is able to share his experiences and passions for renewable energy education, innovative design and PV system quality to a growing network of designers and installers in the US and Internationally.

Chad is a NABCEP certified PV Installer, holds a number of certificates through Solar Energy International and has a Bachelors degree with Honors in Mathematics and Economics from the State University of New York at Cortland.

 Nate oversees the technical development of Zep Systems and manages all product and Zep Compatible certifications. He has over ten years of R&D experience in renewable energy technologies and began his career as a research engineer developing solar hydrogen and PEM fuel cell systems at a university lab. Over the past decade he has gained further professional experience in the mechanical design engineering of photovoltaic products, manufacturing/test equipment and tracking systems. His most recent, non‐consulting position prior to joining Zep Solar was as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer at SunPower Corporation in the Ground Mounted Systems Product Development Group where he was responsible for the design of fixed‐tilt, single axis tracking systems that have been used in utility scale installations around the world.

Nate is a CA registered Professional Engineer in Mechanical Engineering. He has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resources Engineering from Humboldt State University and a Master of Science in Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia..

Ty brings to Zep Solar over 15 years engineering design and manufacturing experience across multiple industries, including automotive, robotics, semiconductors, as well as energy efficient products and sustainable construction technologies. New to the solar industry when he joined Zep, Ty's diverse background offers a fresh perspective to solar racking design, and he has created or directly contributed to the many innovations in Zep Solar's product line. Educated and experienced as both a product designer and manufacturing engineer, Ty provides a cross-discipline approach to design products that consider human factors, aesthetics, ease of installation and maintenance, quality, design for manufacturing, and transportation logistics. As Director of Product Development, Ty leads a talented team of designers with a combined 20 years in the solar industry.

Ty graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and received an MS in Manufacturing Systems from Stanford University.

James Everett is a partner at Aquillian Investments, and takes primary responsibility for the firm's investment strategy. As part of that role, he leads the firm's research and investment due diligence. He has been a student of sustainability for the past twenty years.

Before joining Aquillian, James was Conservation Finance Manager for the Pacific Forest Trust where he conducted financial analysis and marketed carbon offsets generated from sustainable forest management. James also managed integrated conservation and development projects for the World Conservation Union in Iran. Previously, James worked in commercial finance with GATX Capital, where he conducted financial analysis and due diligence on investments in transportation, IT, and natural resources. He also worked in timberland investment with Wagner Forest Management; led a research and demonstration center for appropriate technology; assisted with installation of some of the first grid-tied PV systems in northern California; and has run his own arboricultural consulting business.

James holds a Master of Forestry degree from Yale University and a BS in Environmental Policy and Management from Humboldt State University, and completed the UC Berkeley Venture Capital Executive Program.

Mark was Zep Solar's first VP of Engineering and is Zep's newest board member. A technology entrepreneur with a passion for growing ideas into successful companies, Mark has worked in technology product companies both large and small during his 24 year career in Silicon Valley. At Finisar Corporation, Mark served as their VP of Engineering from their very early days as a startup through their highly successful growth phase into a large multinational optical supplier. He led the product development teams to create world class optical transceiver products, as well as innovative test equipment and networking gear. Many of Finisar’s products defined the standards that revolutionized the data communications industry for gigabit optics. Mark was heavily involved in their technical and manufacturing strategy, including an important transition from US based manufacturing to an overseas manufacturing model. Mark also worked on corporate strategy for Finisar, including IT growth decisions, patent strategy, and multiple corporate acquisitions from analysis through implementation. He currently holds 7 US patents.

Mark has been a judging chairperson for the California Clean Tech Open business plan competition since its inception in 2006. He has a BSEE from MIT in Electrical Engineering.