Management Team

  • John M. Woolard

    President and CEO

    John Woolard is President and CEO of BrightSource Energy, a developer of utility-scale solar power plants.  In this role, John brings more than two decades of experience in the energy technology sector as an executive, entrepreneur and investor. 

    Prior to joining BrightSource Energy, John co-founded Silicon Energy, one of the first successful clean tech companies, and was President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from 1997 to 2003.  John joined the executive team at Itron, Inc. in 2003 following its acquisition of Silicon Energy, and was Vice President of Software Solutions and subsequently the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.  John previously held positions with VantagePoint Venture Partner’s CleanTech Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

    John is a Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and he currently serves on the advisory boards of the Tuolumne River Preservation Trust and U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Energy Institute and Lester Center for Entrepreneurship. John is also a member of the Oakland Zoo’s East Bay Zoological Society Board of Trustees.

    John holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley, a Masters in Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia. John is a lifetime member of the Sierra Club. 

  • Israel Kroizer

    Chief Operating Officer, BrightSource Energy, and President of BrightSource Industries (Israel) Ltd.

    Israel Kroizer is Chief Operating Officer for Engineering for BrightSource Energy, and President of BrightSource Industries (Israel) Ltd. He holds a B.Sc and an M.Sc in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in energy, from the Technion in Haifa, Israel. As the Senior Vice President of Luz International Ltd. and the President and CEO of Luz Industries (Israel) Ltd., he was responsible for the original Luz International thermal design and for the management of more than 500 R&D staff. Between 1994 and 2006, he was the owner of Israel Kroizer Ltd., which developed energy and water projects for municipalities, major industrial clients, and banks. Mr. Kroizer is a world-renowned expert in power generation technology.

  • Jack Jenkins-Stark

    Chief Financial Officer

    Mr. Jenkins-Stark is Chief Financial Officer for BrightSource Energy.  Jenkins-stark brings more than three decades of energy industry and finance experience to BrightSource Energy.  Prior to joining BrightSource Energy, Jenkins-Stark served as Chief Financial Officer at Silicon Valley Bank. He previously served as Vice President of Business Operations and Technology at Itron, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Silicon Energy Corporation.  He has also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of GATX Capital and held senior management roles at PG&E Corporation.  He serves on the Board of Directors for TC Pipelines L.P.  Jenkins-Stark holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and an M.B.A from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • Carlos F. Aguilar

    Senior Vice President, Global Development

    Carlos Aguilar is Senior Vice President of Global Development for BrightSource Energy.  Dr. Aguilar brings more than two decades of experience in international development, operations and finance to his role at BrightSource Energy.  Most recently, he served as Principal Vice President for Bechtel Power Corporation working on US fossil power projects. While at Bechtel, Dr. Aguilar also served as Principal Vice President & Managing Director of Bechtel Enterprises; President of Bechtel Financing Services; Chief Operating Officer of United Infrastructure Company, Bechtel’s civil infrastructure investment vehicle; President of Bechtel de Mexico and Managing Director of Bechtel Enterprises Latin America. Dr. Aguilar is also a former member of the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s Board of Advisors. Previous experience includes Regional Operations Manager and Chief Engineer and Environmental Officer for the Inter-American Investment Corporation, and management roles with Costa Rica’s Investment Board.  Dr. Aguilar holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Technological Economics from Stirling University in Scotland, as well a B.Sc.E. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University. 

  • Charles Ricker

    Senior Vice President, Business Development

    Charles Ricker is Senior Vice President of Business Development for BrightSource Energy. Prior to joining BrightSource Energy, Mr. Ricker headed Texas operations for Growth Strategy Partners, a consultancy specializing in assisting small and medium size companies develop and implement strategies for achieving exceptional growth.  His extensive executive experience includes being co-founder of Orba Corporation, a successful developer, builder and operator of port facilities. After Orba’s acquisition by Litwin Engineers & Constructors, a large engineering and construction company, he served as Litwin’s Senior Vice President, Business Development.  Subsequently he was CEO of H.H. Robertson (UK) Ltd., Senior Vice President of Falcon Seaboard Power, a large independent power producer, and President of Millennium Power Group, which represented major power developers in South America.  Charlie holds an MBA (Distinction) from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and a B.A. (Honors) from Millsaps College.

  • Lynda Ward Pierce

    Senior Vice President, Human Resources

    Lynda Ward Pierce is Senior Vice President of Human Resources for BrightSource Energy. Pierce brings 25 years of extensive human resources experience to BrightSource Energy. Prior to joining BrightSource Energy, Pierce served as Vice President of Human Resources at MobiTV, Inc. She previously served as Head of Human Resources for SVB Financial Group, and as Vice President of Human Resources at Organic, Inc. She has also held senior management roles at Navigant Consulting, Inc. and Mervyn’s Department Stores. Pierce holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis, where she also attended the Graduate School of Management for a master’s in Management.  She later completed the coursework for a master’s degree in Human Resources & Organizational Development from the College of Professional Studies at the University of San Francisco. 

  • Daniel T. Judge

    General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

    Dan Judge is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for BrightSource Energy. Dan joined BrightSource after serving as Senior Counsel at Calpine Corporation, where he was responsible for the legal aspects of project development and financing efforts in the western region.  Prior to Calpine, Dan was Vice President and Senior Counsel at Bechtel Enterprises, the infrastructure project development and investment arm of the Bechtel group of companies.  There, he supported the development of airports, bridges, and water systems, in addition to power projects.  Dan began his legal career with the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where he specialized in corporate securities, project finance, and commercial finance law.  Dan has a J.D. from Boalt Hall, University of California at Berkeley, and an A.B. in American Studies from Stanford University.

  • Joshua Bar-Lev

    Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

    Joshua Bar-Lev is Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for BrightSource Energy.  Joshua joined BrightSource Energy after serving as Chief Counsel at the Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  In this role he was responsible for legal activities of the utility’s gas supply, electric transmission, gas transmission, and generation business unit, with a particular focus on regulatory matters before FERC and the CPUC.  During his 28 years with PG&E, Joshua served in several key roles including: lead attorney of the Company’s proposal to restructure and deregulate its intrastate gas and electric procurement and transmission business, and lead attorney of the company’s successful regulatory applications to emerge from bankruptcy.  He also served as lead attorney for the Canadian restructuring project, the largest gas supply restructuring in North America. Joshua is a Founder and former Chair of the Coalition for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology, a group of California environmental organizations, conservation and renewable energy company’s active at the CPUC and legislature. He is a member of the Federal Energy Bar Association (FEBA), the State Bar of California, and the American Bar Association (ABA), and served as Articles Editor for Natural Resources and Environment magazine of the Environment, Energy and Resources section of the ABA. Joshua graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with Honors in Economics, from the University of Michigan, and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

  • S. Andrew Siegelstein

    General Manager, BrightSource Construction Management Company

    Andy Siegelstein is General Manager of BrightSource Construction Management Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of BrightSource Energy, Inc. Mr. Siegelstein managed more than 2,400 MW of projects prior to joining BrightSource. He brings more than 34 years of experience in engineering and construction for power and energy projects to his role at BrightSource, where he manages project execution. Prior to joining BrightSource, Mr. Siegelstein managed power and energy projects at Ansaldo, Oxbow Power Corp., Calpine Corporation, Shaw and other companies, in Vice President, Director and Project Manager positions. Mr. Siegelstein holds a MBA from New York University in international business and finance, and a Bachelors in mechanical engineering from the City College of New York.

  • Doug Buchanan

    Vice President, Project Development

    Doug Buchanan is Vice President of Project Development for BrightSource Energy.  Mr. Buchanan brings nearly three decades of experience developing more than 1.5 gigawatts of power generation facilities as well as several large-scale infrastructure projects in both the public and private sectors around the world. Prior to joining BrightSource Energy, Mr. Buchanan served as a vice president of project development for Calpine Corporation and in management roles at Bechtel Enterprises, Inc and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.  Mr. Buchanan is a registered Professional Engineer and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the California State University at Chico.

  • Krista A. Kisch

    Vice President, Project Development

    Krista Kisch is Vice President of Project Development for BrightSource Energy. Ms. Kisch brings more than 15 years of experience in project and transmission development to her role at BrightSource Energy. Prior to joining BrightSource, Ms. Kisch served as vice president of business development, western region for First Wind, where she led the development efforts from start up to a 5,000 megawatt (MW) wind energy portfolio, including Milford Wind Corridor Phases I-V of which Phase I, 203.5 MW, reached commercial operation in 2009.  Ms. Kisch has also held management positions at Shell WindEnergy and various Enron companies including Enron Wind, Enron Energy Services and Azurix. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a specialization in Finance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

  • Natalie Schaefer

    Vice President, Project and Structured Finance

    Natalie Schaefer is Vice President for Project and Structured Finance at BrightSource Energy. Natalie’s professional experience includes more than 14 years in both project finance and business development both in the US and internationally in the independent power industry.  Prior to joining BrightSource Energy, Natalie served as Vice President of Project Finance for Invenergy, financing both wind and natural gas fired plants in the US and Canada. Before that, Natalie worked at the AES Corporation as a Project Director, where she focused on business development and project finance in Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.  She holds a BBA from James Madison University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.