Leadership Team

With more than 35 years of experience in the energy industry, Michael Polsky is widely recognized as a pioneer and industry leader in the cogeneration and independent power industry in North America. Polsky founded Invenergy, a leading clean energy company in 2001. Previously, in 1991, Polsky founded SkyGen Energy – a developer, owner, and operator of natural gas-fueled generating plants – which was purchased by Calpine Corporation in 2001. Before forming SkyGen, Polsky co-founded and was President of Indeck Energy Services Inc. In 2002, Polsky endowed a center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business which is named after him. In 2016, Polsky was appointed by President Barack Obama as a Member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Polsky holds an MSME Degree from Kiev Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Jim Murphy is Invenergy's co-founder, President & Corporate Business Leader. With more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry, Murphy has managed the negotiation and execution of nearly $50 billion in private equity and debt investments, power plant acquisitions and sales, and project financing. He has managed organizations across the continuum from start-up through growth and eventually liquidity events. At Invenergy, Murphy is responsible for the general management of the company and overseeing the legal, finance, human resources, public affairs, and business administration functions. He manages relationships with all stakeholders in the company’s business units and is a member of the investment committee for Energize Ventures, the venture capital fund managed by Invenergy, and the board of Reactivate LLC, Invenergy's community solar development platform. Murphy is a Board member of the American Clean Power Association, where he was the inaugural chair, and served for many years on the Boards of Directors of the American Wind Energy Association, American Council on Renewable Energy. Prior to the formation of Invenergy in 2001, he was Chief Financial Officer at SkyGen Energy LLC, Vice President at The Deerpath Group, Inc., and a Manager at Arthur Andersen. Murphy received a BS from the University of Illinois, magna cum laude, and a CPA certification from the University of Illinois.

Jim Shield oversees development for Invenergy’s domestic and international project pipeline across all technologies, as well as project origination, offtake, interconnection, and contracting. Shield also leads Invenergy’s regulatory affairs, markets and corporate strategy functions. With more than 35 years of experience in the energy industry, he has developed more than 30,000 megawatts of power projects. Prior to joining Invenergy, Shield held various positions with Calpine Corporation, including Senior Vice President-East Region. Earlier, he was a key contributor in building SkyGen Energy from a start-up company, and a project manager at Indeck Energy Services. Shield has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from DePaul University.

Bryan Schueler leads Invenergy’s Construction Business segment including procurement, construction, and project management for all Invenergy projects, as well as key domestic and international functions including environmental strategy and compliance, offshore wind, and Invenergy’s Japan presence. During his time at Invenergy, Schueler has been involved in all aspects of the development of Invenergy’s wind, solar, natural gas, storage, offshore wind, transmission, and desalination projects. A 30-year veteran of the power industry, Schueler has experience in plant operations and engineering, as well as the development, permitting, and construction of wind, solar, natural gas, biomass and landfill gas projects. Before joining Invenergy, Schueler was a project director at Calpine Corporation and SkyGen Energy and previously, a performance engineer at a 1,000-megawatt coal station for Commonwealth Edison. Schueler has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Illinois.

Bill Bradley leads Invenergy’s legal and compliance departments. He serves as a member of the company’s Executive Committee and chairs its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Previously, Bradley was General Counsel for GE Energy Financial Services, GE’s global energy investment division, where he was part of the senior leadership team and was responsible for legal, compliance, and regulatory affairs. Bradley has extensive experience in global law firms and as in-house counsel for companies where he has developed and managed sophisticated legal teams. His work in the energy and financial services industry has been principally focused on power and infrastructure development, finance, M&A, and capital market transactions. Bradley is a member of the state bar of New York. He received a J.D. from the University of Richmond and a BS from James Madison University.

Steve Dowdy leads the commercial execution and energy trading teams responsible for structuring new energy transactions and optimizing Invenergy’s portfolio. He has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, including operations, asset management, mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructuring, marketing, risk management and new business development. During his career, Dowdy has directed more than $25 billion in energy related transactions and corporate restructurings. Prior to joining Invenergy, he was Vice President, International Power Sales for Mainstream Renewable Power. Prior to Mainstream, Dowdy was Vice President, Strategic Origination and Development for Calpine Corporation. Dowdy earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Paul Abitante leads the company’s international development teams responsible for the development and acquisition of thermal, renewable energy, and energy storage projects in Latin America, UK, Europe, and the Middle East. Abitante has more than 30 years of power generation industry experience, including project engineering, development, permitting, project management, project finance, asset management, commercial structuring, contract negotiations, partnerships, and acquisitions and divestitures. During his career, in addition to roles held in the US, Abitante has held positions based in Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and Mexico and has led and supported dozens of transactions in these markets. Prior to joining Invenergy, Abitante had leadership positions with BP Alternative Energy and El Paso Energy International. Abitante earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Manhattan College.

Mick Baird is a member of Invenergy’s senior management team and responsible for overseeing the company’s renewable development in North America. Baird leads the teams responsible for wind and solar project identification, project development, and acquisition activities in North America. Baird has more than 25 years of power generation industry experience, including project development, project management, permitting, engineering, construction contracting, technical and financial due diligence for acquisitions and financings and negotiating and structuring power purchase and transfer agreements. Prior to joining Invenergy, Baird worked at Weston Solutions, Inc. and Wisconsin Energy Corporation where he managed a variety of energy projects. Baird earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University and an MBA from Marquette University.

Dan Ewan is responsible for the execution of Invenergy’s construction activities. He leads a team of project managers and project controls professionals to successfully manage the construction of multiple wind, solar, storage, thermal and transmission projects. Ewan has more than 35 years of experience in the energy and utilities industries including business development, project development and management, federal and state permitting, engineering, equipment procurement, project financing, project construction and facility start-up. Prior to joining Invenergy, he was director of project development at Calpine Corporation, project manager at SkyGen Energy, LLC, and has held multiple engineering, construction and start-up positions at ABB Impell Corporation and Commonwealth Edison. Ewan earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University of Science and Technology, and his MBA from University of Chicago. He also holds a Certificate in Financial Markets & Trading from Illinois Institute of Technology.

Art Fletcher leads the engineering and project management groups through development and construction of Invenergy’s wind, solar, and energy storage projects. He has more than 30 years of experience in managing heavy civil and power construction projects domestically and abroad. During his 13 years with Invenergy, he has overseen the construction of over 8,000 megawatts of wind, solar, storage and natural gas energy generation projects. A registered Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois, Fletcher graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering and holds a MS in Geo-environmental Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Mary King leads all of Invenergy’s Human Resources functions that focus on building and developing our exceptional teams, including corporate and Services employees at all U.S. and international locations. Mary also leads all people-centered activities including spearheading the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Mary was most recently Vice President of Talent and Chief Diversity Officer at Pacific Gas & Electric and previously held Human Resources and Employee and Labor Relations roles at Calpine and Indianapolis Power & Light. Mary served five years with the United States Army in the Signal Corps and sits on the Board of the Sentinels of Freedom, an organization supporting severely wounded veterans as they transition back into civilian life. A licensed attorney, Mary holds a J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Erin Lieberman serves as Invenergy’s Executive Vice President of Environmental Compliance and Strategy and leads the company’s efforts to advance the development, construction and operation of environmentally responsible clean energy projects. In this role, Lieberman oversees teams supporting land-based renewables, offshore wind, and long-distance and multi-state transmission. Working at the intersection of energy and the environment, Lieberman has more than 15 years of experience providing legal and strategic policy leadership related to public and private land permitting, renewable energy and transmission development, and asset management compliance, with a proven record of identifying and achieving meaningful solutions. Previously, Lieberman worked at a national environmental non-profit organization on federal wildlife and federal land policy, working directly with the White House, leadership at federal agencies, and congressional members. She holds a BS from the University of California-Berkeley and a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Omar Martino oversees Invenergy’s regulatory, markets and transmission interconnection activities. Omar comes to Invenergy with over a decade of energy industry experience and previously held similar positions with Lightsource BP, EDF Renewable Energy, Terra-Gen Power and RES-Americas. Omar has experience leading both domestic and international teams, and draws on his expertise in market policy and regulatory affairs to support Invenergy’s significant renewable energy project pipeline. Omar holds a B.S.E.E and M.S.E.E. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an M.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado at Denver, and a J.S.M. in Risk Management & Compliance and Financial Services from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

James Rafferty oversees Invenergy’s Site Operations group that includes renewable and thermal project operations as well as the Technology Solutions functions. Previously, Rafferty was Invenergy’s SVP & Chief Administration Officer with responsibility for Human Resources, IT, Business Administration and Business Transformation. Prior, Rafferty was Invenergy’s VP of Asset Management, responsible for the operation and asset management of Invenergy’s wind power generation facilities. He has more than 20 years of experience in the power industry, including engineering, project management, commissioning, and asset management. Prior to joining Invenergy in 2008, Rafferty held various roles in IT, project management, and finance at Exelon Corporation. His last position at Exelon was Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis for the Exelon Nuclear business unit. Previously in his career, he was a consultant for a supply chain automation company, working on various projects to optimize manufacturing facilities. Rafferty holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University, and an MBA from DePaul University.

Ted Romaine leads Invenergy’s Origination team, responsible for strategic customer engagement and partnerships pertaining to wind, solar, energy storage, transmission, and new technology solutions. This includes transactional structuring and long-term collaboration through PPA’s, Transfer Agreements, and Joint Development Agreements, leveraging Invenergy’s unique capabilities for meeting utility and corporate customers’ energy needs. Romaine has closed more than 12,000 megawatts of customer transactions and launched Invenergy’s industry-leading Corporate & Industrial PPA market segment in 2015. Romaine began his career as a Civil Engineer Officer in the U.S. Air Force. Following that, he worked at Johnson Controls where he held a variety of development, sales, and strategy roles addressing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and lithium-ion energy storage. Romaine earned a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, an MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado, and an MBA from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

Shashank Sane leads the Invenergy Transmission business with responsibility for the multi-faceted execution of complex transmission projects, including analyzing the market for new development opportunities, working with customers to commercialize the projects, and building relationships with key stakeholders to advance projects that benefit communities and customers. Previously, Shashank led Invenergy’s Corporate Development team where he executed on value accretive M&A transactions and identified new business opportunities for Invenergy. Earlier in his time at the company, Shashank held various finance-oriented roles, successfully completing over $5 billion in financings and divestitures. Prior to joining Invenergy, Shashank spent time advising energy companies at Oliver Wyman, after beginning his career in investment banking at Lehman Brothers. He earned a BS in Finance and International Business from the New York University’s Stern School of Business, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Meghan Schultz leads Invenergy’s finance and capital markets team, which is responsible for raising capital for all power projects that Invenergy builds around the world, as well as the company’s global risk function. Schultz’s responsibilities also include portfolio finance for operating projects, execution of M&A transactions, and investor relations with Invenergy’s investor and lender partners. Schultz has overseen the execution of more than $28 billion in private equity investments, power plant acquisitions and sales, and project debt and tax equity financing. She has been involved in the execution of over 18,000 megawatts of renewable energy projects and 3,000 megawatts of new natural gas projects. Schultz is a founding member of the Chicago Chapter of Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE) and received the WRISE Leadership Award in 2018. Schultz was named in the Top 10 of A Word About Wind’s “Women’s Power List 2021”, a list of the global wind sector’s 100 most influential female dealmakers, powerbrokers and influencers. She has also been recognized as a Power Finance and Risk Sponsor Finance Official in 2016 and 2019. Prior to joining Invenergy in 2008, Schultz was a Vice President at Bank of America and at ABN AMRO. She earned a BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

Kelly Speakes-Backman is a nationally recognized thought leader in the clean energy industry and leads Invenergy’s communications, government affairs and marketing activities. Most recently, she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the Department of Energy. A ‘Day 1’ appointee of the Biden Administration, she led the Office’s $3.2 billion portfolio of renewable power, energy efficiency and sustainable transportation. Kelly has also served as the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association and as a former Commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission. She has spent 25 years working on energy and environmental issues in the public, NGO and private sectors.