Cathy Zoi
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Cathy Zoi is an American business executive, currently CEO of EVgo the US's largest fast charging network for electric vehicles. She is the former Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy.


Career

Zoi is currently CEO of EVgo (the US's largest fast-charging network for electric vehicles) and co-founder and executive chairman of Odyssey Energy (a software start-up offering distributed, renewable electricity to communities and businesses in emerging economies). She formerly served as Chief Strategy Officer at C3 Energy. Prior to that she was a partner at Silver Lake Kraftwerk, "a partnership between
Soros Fund Management Soros Fund Management, LLC is a private American investment management firm. It is currently structured as a family office, but formerly as a hedge fund. The firm was founded in 1970 by George Soros and, in 2010, was reported to be one of the mos ...
and
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
private equity giant Silver Lake Partners.".Carney, Timothy (2011-02-27
Obama's green subsidies attract do-gooder bandits
, ''
Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American conservative news outlet which consists principally of an online/digital website with a weekly magazine, based in Washington, D.C. It is owned by MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, which is o ...
''
Silver Lake is a
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
-based
growth equity Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new mark ...
firm focused on energy and resource technology companies in the U.S. and internationally. Zoi is the founding
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of the Alliance for Climate Protection, which was established and chaired by former Vice President
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...
. Zoi was Chief of Staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the Clinton-Gore administration, where she managed the team working on environmental and energy issues. She was a manager at the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...
(EPA), where she pioneered the
Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ''ENERGY STAR'') is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of pr ...
Program. She has worked for several energy-focused organizations, as group executive director at the Bayard Group, recently renamed Landis+Gyr Holdings, which is a world leader in energy measurement technologies and systems; as the assistant director general of the New South Wales EPA in Sydney, Australia; and as the founding chief executive officer of the New South Wales Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA),https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/agency/2331 a $50 million fund to commercialize greenhouse-friendly technology. Under her leadership, SEDA launched the world's first nationwide green power program and the world's largest solar-powered suburb. In February 2011, it was announced that Zoi had been hired by
George Soros George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
and private equity firm Silver Lake to run an "investment strategy focused on providing growth capital to business innovators in the energy and resource sectors" At Stanford University in Fall of 2012, she taught a course ENERGY 154: Energy in Transition: Technology, Policy and Politics.
Makani Power Makani Technologies LLC was an Alameda, California-based company that developed airborne wind turbines. Founded in 2006, Makani was acquired by Google in May 2013. In February 2020, Makani was shut down by Alphabet, Google's parent company. Hi ...
announced that Zoi was named in its board of directors at the start of 2013. Google purchased Makani Power in May 2013.


Energy Star Program

During her tenure at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Zoi founded the
Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ''ENERGY STAR'') is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of pr ...
Program. The Energy Star program was created in the early 1990s by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...
in an attempt to reduce energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emission Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
by
power plants A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...
. The program was developed by John S. Hoffman, inventor of the Green Programs at EPA, working closely with the IT industry, and implemented by Zoi and Brian Johnson. Energy star#cite note-ES-1 The program was intended to be part of a series of voluntary programs, such as Green Lights and the Methane Programs, that would demonstrate the potential for profit in reducing greenhouse gases and facilitate further steps to reducing global warming gases. Initiated as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy efficient products, Energy Star began with labels for computer and printer products. In 1995 the program was significantly expanded, introducing labels for residential heating and cooling systems and new homes.Carney, Timothy (2011-02-24
New Soros investment fund, profiting off Obama's 'green energy' push, hires top Obama energy aide
As of 2006, more than 40,000 Energy Star products are available in a wide range of items including major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more. In addition, the label can also be found on new homes and commercial and industrial buildings. In 2006, about 12 percent of new housing in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was labeled Energy Star. The EPA has estimated it saved about $14 billion in energy costs in 2006 alone. The Energy Star program has helped spread the use of LED
traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic lights ...
, efficient
fluorescent lighting A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet ligh ...
,
power management Power management is a feature of some electrical appliances, especially copiers, computers, computer CPUs, computer GPUs and computer peripherals such as monitors and printers, that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power st ...
systems for office equipment, and low standby energy use. In 2008, the EPA announced Green Power Partnership program, which was designed to help achieve its goal of encouraging the use of renewable power sources. The renewable energy credits allow companies without direct access to renewable power achieve their goals. However, to avoid companies buying RECs years in advance of any of the hypothetical power ever being produced, RECs are only accepted into the program when the actual equivalent renewable power will be produced. Energy star#cite note-5


Controversy

Zoi had financial interests interest in two energy related companies while at the
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...
. She owned stock in
Landis+Gyr Landis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur H. Landis, American science fiction and fantasy writer * Bill Landis, American baseball player *Carole Landis, American film actress *Charles B. Landis, U.S. Representative from ...
, a smart meter company, at the time of her Senate confirmation, and her husband, Robin Roy, was Vice President for Policy of (and, with her, owned 120,000 stock options in) Serious Materials, a company that manufactures insulating windows. Zoi's holdings were known to the Senate when she was confirmed, and she recused herself from decisions affecting her husband's previous company.


See also

*
Climate Institute of Australia The Climate Institute was a Sydney-based policy think-tank established in 2005 to encourage progressive policies for managing climate change in Australia. Research work undertaken by the institute included an analysis of the vulnerability of spo ...
* Silver Lake Partners


External links


Cathy Zoi-Consulting Professor at Stanford University-Precourt Institute for Energy-Stanford University


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoi, Cathy Stanford University faculty Clinton administration personnel Living people Obama administration personnel Place of birth missing (living people) United States Department of Energy officials People of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Year of birth missing (living people) Duke University alumni Dartmouth College alumni