Management
First Century Energy's leadership team offers a unique blend of entrepreneurship and management experience in renewable energy and energy efficiency, real estate development and construction, utililties and government, as well as the financial and services sectors.
R. Stanley Allen, President, is a successful entrepreneur and executive having founded or co-founded four companies and raised over $300 million in private and public financing. Stan has been CEO of American Quality Cable, Applied Video Technologies, Cypress Communications and First Mile Communications, all companies focused on delivering building-centric technology solutions analogous to the distributed renewable energy market. He is currently a Director of Cypress Communications. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Stan was a real estate consultant for Coopers & Lybrand and a real estate investment analyst for Wellington Management Company of Boston. Stan holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Virginia.
George Mori, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, has managed strategic development and legal matters for high-growth firms in several industries, including real estate and internet technology. Most recently, George was a senior executive with Novare Group Holdings, LLC, an Atlanta-based real estate firm focused on large-scale, mixed-use development in cities across the Southeast and Sunbelt regions. While at Novare Group, George led corporate development efforts for the firm and successfully managed all retail development and leasing functions for the firm’s $150MM portfolio of retail assets under ownership and in development across its markets. Previously, George managed business development and strategy for EzGov, Inc., a successful technology start-up providing internet solutions to government customers across the U.S. Prior to joining EzGov, George practiced law with Atlanta firm Alston & Bird LLP and, earlier in his career, worked in consulting with Accenture. George is also a Director with Mori Luggage & Gifts, Inc., and a member of Leadership Georgia. George has a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Georgia.
Peter Corbett, Vice President Engineering and Construction, has 30 years of experience in the solar installation, construction and contracting industries. Pete is a NABCEP Certified PV InstallerTM, a LEED AP BD+C, and is OSHA 30 Hour Certified. He is also a Director of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, and plays an active role in the Georgia Public Service Commission and state legislature in working to expand opportunities for solar energy in Georgia and the Southeast. Prior to joining FCE, Pete was Managing Director of NewSolergy a company providing solar PV installation services for commercial and residential PV installations. Pete was also President of Corbett Holdings, Inc. a developer of retail, office, and mixed use real estate and co-founder and Partner of MetroGroup Development. Pete previously had development, construction and contracting experience with Branch Properties, Miller & Solomon General Contractors, and J Raymond & Associates General Contractors. Pete holds a B.S. in Building Construction from Texas A&M University.
Ben Taube, Advisor, is experienced in developing cleantech companies, with a focus on energy efficiency opportunities that yield bottom line savings. As head of BLT Sustainable Energy, Ben drives the formation of strategy for clients that are seeking key partnerships with utilities, market adoption for clean technology and funding channels. Previously, Ben served as the founding executive director of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA). Ben was awarded the 2011 Atlanta Business Chronicle Environmental Emerging Leader Award. He is a recipient of the Atlanta Business Chronicle 40 Under 40 leaders award and serves on the Board of the Green Chamber of the South; Ben holds a bachelors degree from the University of Memphis and a masters in environmental policy and management from the University of Denver.
Jeff Small, Jr., Director, brings substantial industrial real estate, institutional finance, and corporate leadership experience to FCE, along with a passion for renewable energy development. Jeff is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MDH Partners, and is the former President and CEO of M.D. Hodges, one of Atlanta’s largest industrial development firms. He served as CEO of M.D. Hodges for eight years before orchestrating the sale of Hodges to Blackstone Real Estate Advisors in 1999. From 1999-2004, Jeff led the firm for Blackstone before directing the sale of Hodges again to ING Clarion, resulting in an IRR of over 26% to Blackstone. Jeff is the grandson of M.D. Hodges, the founder of the company which bears his name. Prior to joining Hodges, Jeff practiced corporate law at the Atlanta law firm King & Spalding. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and a summa cum laude graduate of Yale University.
Kurt Zuch, Director, has 20 years of industry experience and extensive contacts in the utility industry. Kurt is currently Chief Executive Officer and founder of Five Point Partners, a special provider of business strategy, solution procurement, client-side delivery support and application management consulting services to organizations within the energy and utility industries. Prior to founding Five Point Partners, Kurt was the founder and Managing Partner of Capstone Consulting Partners, Inc. which provided strategy, solution delivery and application management consulting services to companies within the energy industry. Capstone was acquired by Alliance Data (NYSE:ADS) and Kurt served as Senior Vice President over Strategy and M&A for the Utility Services Division. Kurt has also held positions with Excelergy Corporation, Novient, and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Kurt has a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Virginia Tech