Wind Capital Group - Leadership
Thomas S. Carnahan - Chairman of the Board
Tom Carnahan is the founder and chairman of the board of Wind Capital Group. In 2005, seeing a clear need for alternative energy source development in his home state of Missouri, he drew upon his background in law, politics, development, and farm management and partnered with Missouri farmers and rural electric cooperatives to develop the state’s first wind farm.
Since then, Wind Capital Group has become one of the fastest growing wind developers in the country.
Mr. Carnahan is actively involved in growing not just his own company, but the wind industry as a whole. He serves on the American Wind Energy Association Executive Board and as a regular and enthusiastic spokesman for wind energy.
Before entering the wind energy industry, Mr. Carnahan was a partner in the law firm of Carnahan & Garvin, LLC. Mr. Carnahan has a B.A. degree from William Jewell College and a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri School of Law.
Ciaran O'Brien - Chief Executive Officer
Based in Wind Capital Group’s Chicago office Ciaran O’Brien brings 20 years of energy and project finance experience to Wind Capital Group. Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Ciaran worked with Airtricity, one of the leading European and American wind development companies, and was one of the founders of its North American business unit. During his tenure at Airtricity, Ciaran successfully led over $2 billion of equity and debt fundraising.
Ciaran’s experience includes working for Anglo American PLC in their base metals division and with Deloitte in Ireland.
George M. Knapp - General Counsel
George Knapp is responsible for planning and directing all aspects of Wind Capital Group’s legal affairs and managing the company’s real estate and contract administration groups. Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Mr. Knapp was a Senior Counsel with FPL Energy, where he served as lead counsel on renewable energy project development, financing, acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings and asset management.
Prior to joining FPL Energy, Mr. Knapp resided in Washington, DC, serving as a partner in several major international law firms. Mr. Knapp represented project sponsors, financial institutions, governments and other key energy project participants and played a leading role in contract negotiations, financings and energy transactions in more than 40 states and 40
countries. Before entering private practice, Mr. Knapp served as Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Pipeline Rates at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
David Boyce - Executive Vice President, Development and Operations
David Boyce brings 16 years of finance and power generation development experience to Wind Capital Group. Prior to joining, he held the position of Senior Vice President at E.ON/Airtricity responsible for project financings and tax structuring as well as supporting development, contract negotiations, and acquisitions. David has also held senior finance and development positions at CoBank, Americas Power Partners and Calpine/Skygen. As the Managing Director of Structured Finance at CoBank, Mr. Boyce established its wind energy lending practice.
Mr. Boyce holds bachelor degrees in Finance and Accounting from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Dean Baumgardner - Executive Vice President - Technical Services and Construction
Dean Baumgardner is responsible for the development and operation of wind energy facilities that support the rural economy for Wind Capital Group. He has more than 20 years of experience in planning and development of renewable energy resources, as well as utility operations in the Midwest.
Prior to joining Wind Capital Group, Dean was responsible for business development at WindConnect, an engineering and general contracting subsidiary of Alliant Energy serving the wind industry.