Record of success
Management’s leadership with Zond Systems (1980-2000) and Clipper Windpower (2001–2010) proves that new renewable energy technologies can achieve mainstream competitiveness with unrelenting focus on innovation.
Leaders of the transition
Centipod's management lineage originates from the early days of wind, at the same stage wave is now. Our management was there, building a market from the foundation up:
… Virtually on the spot, he [Dehlsen] put in an order for 150 turbines, far more than Vestas had produced till then. Over the decade [1980’s], Zond bought almost all Vestas’ output. Dehlsen did as much as anyone to create the scale market that nurtured the Danish industry.
Technological challenges led to new innovations, from the mass roll-out of variable speed wind to the distributed drivetrains of Clipper. First hand knowledge within the Centipod leadership team gives our company a strategic edge in navigating this new challenge.
A blue frontier
Ocean renewable energy presents an enormous opportunity for 21st century energy needs both for grid power and for blue economy applications. However, the technology needed to harness this potential has yet to be demonstrated by the sector. Centipod holds the technology required to unlock energy from ocean waves, and with decades of experience unlocking new energy markets, is poised to succeed.
Team
Alan McCall
Alan holds an MSc. with a focus in Offshore Renewable Energy from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo. Alan has been in the marine renewable energy sector for over a decade. In his role leading the Centipod Wave Energy program, he manages the efforts of technology development, funding, and project management, to drive the business towards commercialization.
Timma Flanagan
Timma received her Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Renewable Energies in the Marine Environment, principally at Oregon State University. Her thesis focused on modelling wave energy converter arrays. In the field, Timma holds a wealth of offshore experience serving as a research assistant on several multi-week whale research expeditions from 2018-2022. Since joining the Centipod team full-time in 2022, she has led mooring analysis and environmental risk within the team.
Dr. Alix S. Haider
Alix received his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Oregon State University, with a previous MSc. In Systems Engineering. His research interests included system modelling, control, power electronics, and electric drives with application to renewable energy systems. His PhD and post-doc work included collaboration with the Centipod team furthering the development of WEC control system for the 4 years prior to joining the Centipod team full-time in 2022.
Kate Macolini
Kate received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Ocean Engineering from the University of Maine. Kate has gained experience in her career through programming, experimental design, structural analysis, and design within her previous engineering role at a naval architecture-focused defense contractor. Since joining the Centipod team full-time in 2022, she has led efforts to design processes and scripts for mechanical system evaluation.
Leadership
James “Brent” Dehlsen
Prior to Centipod, Brent co-founded Clipper Windpower and participated in Clipper’s path from engineering concept through development stage to commercialization, serving as Executive Vice President of Operations and COO.
James G.P. Dehlsen
James is a pioneering figure in wind power and renewable energy development. Prior to launching Centipod, James founded Zond Systems and Clipper Windpower. In 2008, he was inducted into the National Environmental Hall of Fame as “Father of Wind Energy in the U.S.”
David Arthurs
David has over 20 years of finance and operations experience, having previously served as Chief Financial Officer of a real estate investment fund and Principal and CFO of a water treatment business, which grew from start-up to sale to GE Water under his stewardship.