Brad Karp
President & Chief Executive Officer
Brad Karp has leadership responsibility for Excel Energy's growth through focused strategy, management direction and capitalization. Prior to joining Excel Energy in 2004, Mr. Karp held positions with Duke Energy Corporation from 1988 to 2000 (and predecessor companies), including serving as President of Duke Energy Merchants from 1998 to 2000. Following his career with Duke Energy, Mr. Karp served as Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations for EDF Trading, a subsidiary of Electricite de France until 2003. Later in 2003, Mr. Karp organized Renaissance Partners for private equity investment in energy sector companies. Mr. Karp holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Harvard College and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society.
Mark Agee
Vice President, Corporate Development
Mark Agee is responsible for Excel Energy's strategic partnerships. A 25-year veteran of building energy technology and telecommunication companies, Mr. Agee joined Excel Energy in 2005 from Syntroleum Corporation, a leading developer of natural gas to ultra-clean distillate transportation fuels, where he served as President and COO from 1994 through mid 2002. In 1989, Mr. Agee formed Convergent Communication, Inc. as a start-up reseller of switchless long distance services until its acquisition in 1993. In 1981, Mr. Agee co-founded XETA Technologies, a telecommunications tracking service for hotel operators. Mr. Agee hold a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa.
Paul Hildebrand
Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer
Paul Hildebrand is the founder of Excel Energy and has devoted his professional career to the development, marketing and implementation of technologies oriented to improving the efficiency of energy consumption in residential, commercial class and light industrial buildings. Over this 20+ years span, Mr. Hildebrand has held senior positions in all of commercial and technology facets: wireless engineering and design, industry research and development, marketing and business development. Mr. Hildebrand's efforts have directly resulted in the awarding of 4 patents with an additional patent pending for the Excel Remote Management System. Mr. Hildebrand is a frequent guest lecturer at government agency, U.S. military and trade association conferences and has received the Letter of Commendation from the Office of Energy-Related Invention, U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Hildebrand holds a Bachelor or Science degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Physics from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and pursued post-graduate studies in Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.
Cliff Smith
Vice President, Operations & Technology
Cliff Smith brings over 15 years experience in design, development and implementation of leading edge automation and RF data collection applications. Over his career, Mr. Smith's ability to architect and articulate creative solutions to challenging problems has landed him in a variety of opportunities with a wide range of responsibilities, including technical consultation, sales and pre-sales, partner relations, strategic planning, project management, as well as software design and development. Smith has held senior engineering and product development positions for Intermedics Inc., Schlumberger Corporation and Sequoyah Technologies LLC. Mr. Smith holds a degree in Electronics Engineering from DeVry University.
Pete Merenda
General Manager, Sales and Marketing
As General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Pete Merenda is responsible for the acquisition and retention of national chain accounts. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Merenda has 15 years experience in business development and strategic marketing of systems, software and services, both directly and through channel alliances. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Merenda held management positions with Agilysys, Inc., where he led or contributed to the formation of distribution channels for ISV solutions, IT Financing, IBM systems and Professional Services during the company's 1000% growth. Prior to Agilysys, Mr. Merenda served as Manager of Professional Services with Radiant Systems, Inc. in its Convenience Store Division. During his term with Radiant Systems, Mr. Merenda's accomplishments accounted for acquisition of several national chain accounts amounting to a 100% increase in the company's install base. Merenda holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Georgia.
Ron Roller
General Manager, Savings Optimization
Ron Roller has enjoyed a 30-year career in the energy and technology industries focused on marketing, sales and general management. Mr. Roller rejoined Excel Energy in May 2004 to lead Sales & Marketing efforts after five years with The Williams Companies during its ownership of Excel Energy. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Roller held various senior sales management and marketing with Excel Energy. In years prior, Mr. Roller devoted 20 years to the energy industry holding positions ranging from the President of an Oklahoma-based mining company to Operations Manager overseeing offshore drilling operations in India. Mr. Roller holds a Bachelor of Administration degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University with minors in Economics and Accounting.
Holly Hoover
Controller & Corporate Secretary
Holly Hoover joined Excel Energy as Controller in August of 2006 and was appointed as Corporate Secretary in October 2006. She has over 15 years of financial and human resources experience and specializes in assessing, designing and implementing scalable company-wide processes and operational procedures. After a post-college position at IBM, Ms. Hoover transitioned to the small systems integration arena gaining experience with varied industries including robotic and bar code data collection automation, ERP and mainframe software sales and consulting, internet application development and integration, and regenerated material manufacturing. Prior to becoming part of the Excel Energy team, Ms. Hoover served in financial and HR capacities for VARTEC, Inc., CIMCASE International Corporation, Sequoyah Technologies, LLC, and Sustainable Solutions, Inc. Ms. Hoover holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Business Administration from East Central University.
