Bend, Or., USA - May 25, 2010, Bend, Or., USA - Vulcan Power Company, a developer of geothermal energy projects, announced that Richard Atkinson has been appointed CFO, and Joseph Lessard SVP of development.
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Mr. Atkinson has 30 years of public company, corporate finance experience. Prior to Vulcan, he spent over 23 years with Sierra Pacific Power Resources, currently known as NV Energy.
More recently, Mr. Atkinson served as CFO for US BioEnergy, a major ethanol producer. While there, he played an instrumental role in the initial public offering of US BioEnergy’s common stock, as well as the completion of $477 million of project financing to fund the construction of new ethanol plants.
In addition to his role as CFO at Vulcan, Mr. Atkinson is a member of the Board of Directors of Capstone Turbine Corporation, a leading producer of low-emission micro turbine systems. Mr. Atkinson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon, as well as a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Mr. Lessard has worked in power plant operations and energy sector development for 21 years. Prior to joining Vulcan, he served as vice president, Americas for Globeleq, Inc., a power provider in emerging markets, where he led business development activities in Latin America. Under his direction, Globeleq successfully entered the power markets in Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.
Mr. Lessard was directly responsible for originating, negotiating and closing five greenfield and merger and acquisition transactions representing over $300 million, as well as several bond and bank financings. Most recently, he served as the chief financial officer and vice president, Americas for EnDevCo, Inc.
Mr. Lessard has also served as principal and vice president at Hart Energy International, a start-up power development company focused on emerging markets. From 1994 to 1999, he was regional managing director of Coastal Power Company, where he managed regional business units in Southeast Asia and in the northeast US. ■