3rd Tuesday: Housing Reinvention Panel

Arch is the founder and CEO of SPAN. SPAN is developing products to enable rapid adoption of renewable energy and deliver an intuitive interface for the home. Their current offerings include smart electric and car charging panels. Previously Arch was Tesla Energy head of products, application and sales engineering for Tesla Motors; a technical advisor for The Westly Group, one of the largest venture funds in North America focused on energy, transportation, and buildings; and co-founder of Verdigris Technologies, an artificial intelligence IoT platform that makes buildings smarter and more connected. Arch has a Masters in Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Greg is a Partner at Fifth Wall, where he leads the Climate Technology Investment team. Prior to joining Fifth Wall, Greg was a Partner at BMW i Ventures where he led the Sustainability investing practice, investing in companies such as Prometheus Fuels, and PureCycle (NASDAQ: ROCH). Before joining BMW i Ventures, Greg led Finance & Operations for both The Boring Company and Neuralink simultaneously. Greg started his investment career at Battery Ventures where he covered early-stage enterprise technology startups, as well as industrial technology buyouts. Successful exits from his work there include Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), AppDynamics (acquired by Cisco Systems, Inc.), and IST (acquired by Scott Brand). Greg was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and currently lives in Oakland, CA. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School where he received a BS in Economics and a BS in Computer Science.

Inspired by a NASA collaboration, Orbital Systems makes showers that use 80% less water and heat by recirculating, purifying and sanitizing the water. Instead of using 25 gallons during a standard 10-minute shower, the device needs just 1.5 gallons. The device can also be wirelessly monitored and controlled, enabling users to track savings. A 2016 honoree of Forbes 30 under 30, Mehrdad holds an MFA in Industrial Design, plus additional studies in National and Financial Economics and Design Management from Lund University in Sweden. He earned the Green Mentorship Award 2012 by Niklas Zennström and in 2014 he won SKAPA Utvecklingsstipendium, Sweden’s most prestigious innovation award as well as Technician of the Year, receiving the award from the Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce. Prior to founding ORBITAL SYSTEMS, Mehrad was involved in design collaboration projects at NASA’s Johnson Space Center related to Mars Missions. In 2015 ORBITAL SYSTEMS received an Edison Award in NYC and a Space Technology Certificate for breaking grounds on an international level with its disruptive technologies. The company was also nominated to INDEX: Award, the world’s most prestigious design competitions, placing second after Tesla Motors in the HOME Category.

Michael Sachse is an experienced executive who has scaled start-ups through periods of rapid growth. He was previously CEO of Stardog, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NEA, and CMO at Opower, where he helped to guide the company through its IPO and acquisition by Oracle. Michael is currently the CEO of Dandelion Energy, a company whose mission is to enable the widespread adoption of geothermal. Originally conceived at X, Alphabet’s innovation lab, Dandelion is now an independent company offering geothermal heating and cooling systems to homeowners, starting in the Northeastern US. The team brings leadership experience from X and SolarCity and shares a personal commitment to mitigate climate change by making renewable technologies more accessible.

Dennis is a catalyst. An expert at driving market transformation programs, he knows people, money and how to get things done. As president of the Alliance, he leads our strategic vision and smart growth of our community. Prior to the Alliance, Dennis helped change the face of the housing industry in Saudi Arabia through two key initiatives: the Ministry of Housing’s Building Technology Stimulus Initiative (BTSI) and SABIC’s Home of Innovation™ program. In BTSI, Dennis helped to create a nationwide program to develop a modular housing industry—modeling 26 strategic initiatives that would jumpstart the creation of a robust construction ecosystem, evaluating 200+ global technology providers, and securing initial approval for $4B in government investment. Within one year, the commitment grew to $40B. Dennis was also a key player in SABIC’s Home of Innovation program, a $30M+ multi-year market engagement program focused on encouraging collaboration among the housing value chain and ensuring that better construction practices are adopted throughout the region. Together with his team, Dennis established and managed a global ecosystem of more than 1,000 subject matter experts, including 46 leading manufacturer partners. The program resulted in the Middle East’s first LEED platinum home, a pilot community of 1,200 LEED Silver homes and a LEED gold interactive exhibition center, which has become the epicenter for collaboration in the region. As of 2016, the program yielded 40+ business opportunities with more than $200M in new value creation. Before and after going global, Dennis acted as a consultant to and developer of residential and mixed-use real estate projects in southwestern PA, several of which are considered pioneering examples of placemaking in North America—including Venango Trails, Edgewater and Newbury. In his spare time, he enjoys big adventures with his wife and sons on the water and in the mountains and supports the efforts of other entrepreneurs—advising and investing in their startup companies.