CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR) has named Niels Crone Senior Vice President Business Development effective July 18. Crone will oversee the company's business development process, channel partnerships and relationships with the manufacturing, retail and real estate sectors. In addition, Susanne Fratzscher joined CFR as Director Business Development on July 11. Fratzscher will lead CFR's business outreach efforts as well as relationships with the healthcare, higher education and financial services sectors.
Crone joins CFR with a 30-year track record with corporate, consulting, and non-for-profit organizations. He served as Chief Operating Officer of Conservation International (CI) as well as, more recently, founder and Executive Director of CI Consulting, CI's initiative to engage with corporate partners in promoting the conservation of natural capital as a competitive advantage. Prior to joining CI, Crone also served as Chief Financial Officer at The Nature Conservancy and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where he advised key clients in the energy, manufacturing and metals industries. He also held senior positions as Chief Operating Officer at the Global Steel Exchange, and as Director of Risk Operations at Capital One. Crone holds a Master of Business Administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Copenhagen.
Fratzscher comes to CFR with 14 years of experience in leadership positions in renewable energy, business development and project management. As Senior Advisor Renewable Energy for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), she helped leading global companies develop strategies to source renewable energy and create value for their bottom-line and reputation. During her tenure as Managing Director of the Canadian German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Montreal, she was instrumental in building and leading a team to provide consulting services to corporations on international business development strategies, primarily in renewable energy and clean tech industries. Fratzscher holds a Master of International Public Policy fromJohns Hopkins University (SAIS) with focus on energy policy and finance, and a Master of International Business from Passau University in Germany.
Gary Farha, CFR's President and CEO commented, "We are delighted to welcome Niels and Susanne to the CFR team, rounding out the strongest leadership team we've ever had. With the addition of these two experienced business leaders, we have significantly strengthened our business development capacities to better serve clients, and help accelerate the growing trend of large corporations and institutions purchasing large-scale renewable energy (LSRE). The customer-driven LSRE solution market in the US exceeded utility-driven projects for the first time in 2015 and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. Large businesses and institutions want direct access to cost-effective LSRE projects, and CFR's track record of consistently delivering the most transparent, objective and highest value solutions puts us in a great position to have a more fundamental impact on the market. I look forward to working closely with Niels and Susanne as we continue growing CFR in pursuit of our vision to be widely viewed as a key catalyst in doubling renewable energy in the US by 2025."
About CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR)
CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR) is an innovative professional advisory services firm that designs and delivers economically attractive large-scale renewable energy solutions tailored and optimized to customer needs. CFR works on behalf of large businesses and institutions to address and overcome the challenges to directly source renewable electricity through on- and offsite solutions that are compelling alternatives to traditional fossil fuel-generated power sources. CFR integrates renewable energy solutions on a turn-key basis and its leadership team brings to bear 100+ years of renewables, energy, and top-tier management consulting experience to every customer. In addition to delivering breakthroughs in greenhouse gases, CFR's renewable energy solutions are designed to save money relative to grid power, produce attractive NPV cost savings over the life of the contract, and significantly reduce future price risk, creating tangible value for customers.
