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OUR TEAM AT AEGIS RENEWABLE ENERGY
Aegis Renewable Energy employees are a diverse team of dedicated professionals with a solid track record of experience in the field of renewable energy. Our employees are known throughout the industry for their work ethic, efficiency, reliability, and teamwork, ensuring that Aegis projects are completed on time and on budget.
MEET THE TEAM
Nils Behn - Chief Executive Officer, President
A leader and innovator in the renewable energy field for over 23 years, Nils has continued to broaden his experience and knowledge in successful integration of renewable energy solutions. As a Senior Project Manager for nine years with Northern Power Systems, he gained extensive experience in commercial and military solar electric power system manufacturing and installation. In addition, his role included wind turbine manufacturing, engineering, permitting, and deployment of wind energy conversion systems. As the Director of the Alteris Renewables Wind Division, he contributed to the rapid growth and success of the Wind Division to become the leading Community Wind EPC in the Eastern USA. Following a merger of Alteris Renewables and RGS Energy, Nils successfully spearheaded a spinoff of the Wind Division, forming an independent corporation, Aegis Wind, LLC. The further success and growth of Aegis Wind to include solar energy solutions, has resulted in the company evolving into Aegis Renewable Energy, Inc.
Sonia Behn - Vice President
Sonia is responsible for all accounting-related and finance activities for Aegis. She oversees all financial reporting, operating budgets, monitors variances, and budget deficiencies. Sonia started her career in renewable energy in 2011 when she became part of the Aegis Renewable Energy team. She works closely with the Aegis executives to ensure all departments are working efficiently and effectively. Her capabilities to understand the multiple facets of the company and see the whole picture allows her to communicate and educate her team and assist with guiding the growth of Aegis. With her background in Environmental Science, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources. She is an advocate for environmental stewardship and supports renewable energy to combat climate change. For over 10 years she has been a female leader in the construction and renewable energy sectors and has worked to support and advocate for women in business in the construction and renewable energy fields. She served as a board member in 2018-2020 for Amicus Solar Cooperative, a solar cooperative with over 70 leading solar companies in the United States.
Brian Degen - Chief Operating Officer
Brian brings to Aegis nearly 40 years of senior leadership experience across a wide range of industries, including renewable energy and environmental services and technologies. He has served as COO of a residential and commercial solar energy systems provider, COO and Director of Marketing for an environmental services organization, and CEO, CFO, and Lead Board Director of a highly innovative IOT water-tech company that was successfully sold to an industry-leading water analytics firm. He has also been CFO or COO of multiple growth stage or start-up businesses, Partner of a buy-side private equity advisory firm, and Founding Managing Director of a small private equity firm. Brian began his career with six years in high tech manufacturing at Data General Corporation and successfully launched operating divisions at Fidelity Investments and IDC. Brian earned an MBA and a BS in Industrial and Operations Engineering – both from The University of Michigan.
Rob Bomar - Chief Financial Officer
Rob Bomar joined Aegis with 25 years of management experience with high growth companies in the United States, including 10+ years in the electronic payments industry and 10+ years in public accounting with Price Waterhouse. His responsibilities at Aegis include accounting and financial management, human resource administration, risk management and general administration. Rob enjoys golf, SEC sports, trivia contests and time with his family and golden retriever.
Chris Alger - Director of Operation & Maintenance & Safety
Chris is a 25-year customer service professional. He is a strong communicator and believes in prompt follow-through and teamwork. Chris' 10 years of service management experience has resulted in a track record of continual business and process improvement and strong leadership. His lifelong maintenance background drives his growing knowledge and excitement in the renewable energy field. Chris holds a BA in Business and is nearing completion of his MS in Organizational Leadership. In his free time, Chris enjoys golfing, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Martin Veit - Director Of Construction
Martin serves as our Director of Construction, overseeing the teams that manage projects from site evaluation through construction. His focus is on safe, high-quality solar and storage infrastructure that will solve our planet's climate crisis. He came to Aegis with 5 years of experience installing, troubleshooting, and managing construction sites in the solar industry with fellow Amicus partners Sun Common and iSun. Prior to that, Martin worked in wilderness therapy and ran a company building ropes courses and facilitating leadership training in Austria, the country he grew up in. Martin lives in the Mad River Valley, Vermont, with his wife and daughter where he enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and hiking with his dog Willow.
Austin Brose - Project Manager
Austin brings several years of solar experience to Aegis. He has 2 years experience leading commercial solar installations in New England. He is an experienced renewable energy project manager, commercial crew lead, and residential roofing specialist. Having extensive experience with commercial solar installations he enjoys working with Aegis' customers, subcontractors and vendors. Austin is responsible for all aspects of project execution. Having grown up overseas, Austin developed a passion for bringing clean energy to his community. In his free time, Austin can be found mountain biking in the summer or splitboarding in the winter.
Ryan Dubois - Project Manager
Ryan has nearly a decade of experience in project and program management from his time working on Conservation Easement programs for the federal government. He also brings 2 years of experience managing residential solar projects in Vermont. His passion for the environment and green energy drives his work. As a project manager, Ryan is responsible for the entire project timeline from maintaining the schedule to ensure projects are completed in a timely manner, communicating with project owners, vendors and subcontractors, procurement of materials, etc. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys gravel biking, hiking and downhill skiing.
Daniel Banawa - Solar Designer
Daniel is an energetic, passionate, and result-oriented solar designer with more than 8 years of technical and design experience for large-scale MW PV systems. Daniel is based in the Philippines, and prior joining Aegis, he was involved with utility solar PV and PV storage projects in the Philippines. He has played a significant role in system engineering design, design verification, and optimization for a variety of utility-scale projects. He has extensive experience with PVsyst software for energy estimation, post-processing performance analysis, and engineering design optimization. Aside from that, he is proficient in advanced CAD and AutoDesk, Helioscope, and PVcase. As Aegis Solar Designer, Daniel works cross-functionally with sales, project management, business development, and the construction team to ensure that all design deliverables related to PV are met. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his family.
Leah Bellus - Project Development Manager
From a young age, Leah has been acutely aware of the impacts we have on our environment and has made a trail of contributions with watershed resource planning and GIS, botany, riparian and wildlands restoration, to agriculture and farming; and has been passionately devoted to the renewable industry for the last several years. Leah started her solar journey back in 2018 when she completed her first roof installation. Today, she serves as our Project Development Manager. Over the years she has contributed to the renewable energy industry as a Residential Installation Crew Lead, a Senior Project Manager for ground mounts all over the nation, and worked as an ERP Program Manager helping finesse the systems that help make all processes in the renewable industry run effectively and efficiently. Leah received her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Sustainability with minors in Resource Conservation and Native American Studies. She enjoys skiing, running, fly fishing, mountain biking, gardening and taking a dip with her fiance and dog in the beautiful swimming holes here in the Mad River Valley.
Aaron Lavallee - Inside Sales Manager
Aaron joined the Aegis team in 2021. As the Inside Sales Manager, Aaron works to provide education and excellent customer service while building relationships with current and prospective clients. Aaron has a great desire to create local and community wide renewable energy projects that will provide clean energy at a competitive cost and lower environmental footprint. His passion for a sustainable environment and greener future stems from a lifelong love of the outdoors. Prior to working for Aegis Renewable Energy, Aaron worked in the outdoor industry as a Customer Service Manager. His early years of employment found him engaged in environmental testing and hazardous waste remediation. Aaron holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Sustainability. When not out scoping sites for Solar Projects or reading environmental impact statements (for fun!), he can be found skiing the backcountry of Vermont and spending time with his family in Waterbury, Vermont.
Aaron West - Operation & Maintenance Senior Service Technician
Aaron is a skilled solar technician. He has over 10,000 hours of experience working with electricity and earned his Electrical “Journeyman’s” License in October 2021 and also holds a certificate in OSHA 10 safety training. He comes with many years of solar and electrical experience which includes the installation of multiple commercial solar arrays. As Aegis’s lead Electrician and O&M technician, he specializes in troubleshooting and preventative maintenance services. Aaron prides himself on providing exceptional quality workmanship. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife.
Sam Richardson - Operation & Maintenance Service Technician
Sam has over 3 years’ experience as an electrical apprentice and 2 years studying Level 1-3 training in electrical journeyman classes. He also holds a certificate in OSHA 10 safety training. He brings a unique skill set to Aegis and specializes in technical issues and troubleshooting, software updates, and fleet monitoring. His attention to detail ensures quality workmanship and efficient service processes. He is certified as an FAA part 107 unmanned Aircraft Pilot. He utilizes this training by flying the drone for preventive maintenance purposes which uses aerial thermography to detect issues with solar arrays. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors.
Shawn Farnham- Operation and Maintenance Service Technician
Shawn is new to the solar industry, and comes to Aegis by way of the culinary world. From his time in food service, it taught Shawn creative problem solving, to take pride in your work, and how to work well within a team. He has made this exciting career change to join a growing industry and to be part of a sustainable future. In the time that Shawn has been with Aegis he has received his OSHA -10 certification and hopes to continue to expand his knowledge and experience. When not at work, Shawn enjoys spending time outdoors with family, friends, and dogs.
Hunter Behn - Operation and Maintenance Service Technician
Hunter has over 1 year experience as an electrical apprentice and completed level 1 training in electrical journeyman classes at Vermont Technical College. He has over 3 years working in the field on new solar projects as a general laborer as well as supporting the operations and maintenance team. He enjoys working outside. He enjoys hiking, kayaking and playing chess in his free time.
Heath Galloway - Vice President of Operations
Heath installed his first solar panel on a roof in Boone, NC in 1998. Since then, he has dedicated his career to the industry, leading operational teams in the residential, commercial and O&M sectors. Heath oversees Aegis's Operations and O&M team providing a foundation for safety, quality workmanship and excellent customer experience.
Prior to joining Aegis Renewable Energy in 2024, among many other things, Heath led residential operations for Sungevity for over nine years, growing the company from a five-person start up to over 1000 employees and ~40 MW of annual residential installations. Heath also worked with the Commercial Carport team at SunPower where he helped to drive design, procurement and installation throughout North America. Perhaps the most notable solar installation of Heath’s career was on the state house roof for President Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives. Heath and his wife, Adele, and their four legged family members live on an upstart farm in Waitsfield where they are actively developing a diversified and regenerative approach to food and fiber production. Heath is a longtime outdoor enthusiast and can be found running/hiking on trails, swimming and or canoeing in the Mad River Valley area.
Martha Hoyt - Project and Technology Manager
Martha brings a wealth of project collaboration, coordination and technology expertise to her role at Aegis through her previous roles as a product manager and customer success manager. Her career journey began in software at IBM, leveraging the large and innovative company to learn as much as possible about many areas of software development over 24 years. She excels at working teams to gain a full understanding of requirements, success goals and building journeys to achieve short and long-term business and technology objectives. Ultimately, making teams work better together to do more with available resources is her guiding principle. She is passionate about building renewable energy, nature conservation and many CO2 reduction activities through her job at Aegis and activities at home and with her local communities.
Jessey Webster - Construction Manager
Jessey comes to Aegis after 5 years of working in the renewable energy industry. He has has held multiple positions over the years. Experience as a solar Installer, crew lead, site survey crew, and project manager has provided him with a broad understanding of all aspects of solar energy construction process. He is passionate about sustainability and renewable energy. On his free time he enjoys adventuring outside with his partner in the mountains. He loves to snowboard, mountain bike and climb. If there is a forest around he is bound to explore it.
Floyd Porter - Accounting Manager
Floyd brings several years of experience in the construction industry to Aegis. The past three years of his experience in the construction industry have been in accounting after going back to school for a career change. Having worked in multiple facets of the construction industry Floyd enjoys helping projects succeed with real time project accounting insight, and detailed financial planning. As accounting manager Floyd is responsible for working with leadership for financial planning as well as operating the day-to-day accounting functions of the company. Floyd grew up in Vermont and enjoys hiking, kayaking, and rock climbing with his wife and spending time with two dogs Butters, and Hercules.
Ryan Robbins - Controller
Ryan has worked in several diverse industries. Most recently he came to Ascend from leading the finance team of a midsized construction company after leading the North American Division finance team for an international manufacturer company. He is an energetic and outgoing Finance Executive possessing a broad set of financial and administrative strengths with a client-centric focus. Ryan is extremely detail oriented and organized. He has also streamlined processes to accommodate massive company growth and helped facilitate said growth through his background in data analytics. He got his undergraduate degree from UVM in Finance and his MBA from Castleton in both Accounting and Data Analytics.
Don Walters - Board of Advisor and Experienced Solar Executive
Don is an experienced executive with a comprehensive knowledge of all facets of the power sector. His results-oriented leadership style and his hands-on approach have been successful with companies executing new strategies or growing their existing business. His experience at companies such as Constellation A, Calpine, Kelson, and Nexamp included positions in business development, financing, EPC, O&M, and asset management. Don is currently the founder of OPES21, a company focused on providing solutions to the power industry for the 21st century with an emphasis on renewable energy.
OUR BOARD OF ADVISORS
Seth Henry - Board of Advisor and Executive Chairman of smartShift Technology
Seth is the CEO of Algorex Health Technologies, and an investor in and advisor to several growth technology companies. Seth’s experience as an executive and/or founder includes several high growth and innovative technology businesses including Arcadia.io, smartShift Technologies and C-bridge internet. His focus as an executive is creating differentiated offerings that result in satisfied, repeat customers.