Past Webinar

Ruairi is a respected high-performance building design expert. His aim is to elevate the built environment and restore order to the climate for future generations. He specializes in commissioning services for new and existing buildings, building energy assessments, high performance building design, energy modeling/advanced building simulation, and measurement and verification consulting.

Sarah Zaleski currently serves as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department Building Technology Office where she leads commercial zero energy efforts, district-scale solutions, and a portfolio of data infrastructure projects. In previous roles at DOE, Sarah led local government clean energy innovation programs. Sarah has over 15 years of experience in sustainability and energy work. Before DOE, Sarah worked for Baltimore City where she helped establish their Office of Sustainability.

Ryan Knudson, is the AVP for Operations and Energy Management at Macerich. He is responsible for the development, execution and operations for all Capital Expense Energy and Smart Building projects as well as national program vendor management. He oversees the daily operations of Macerich’s portfolio with a focus on same center NOI growth.

Akshai Rao, a vice president at Yardi, is responsible for the development of procurement and energy management solutions to ensure high-performing buildings. Prior to Yardi, Akshai spent five years at Bain & Company where he focused on technology and telecom.

Jean-Simon Venne is a tech expert who thrives on developing and implementing new technology to solve long-standing commercial issues. He has over 25 years of experience in the fields of telecommunications, biotechnology and energy-efficiency specializing in the fast and efficient migration of technological innovations to commercial applications. With an industrial engineering background, Jean-Simon is uniquely trained to optimize the value creation opportunity that exists where new technology intersects with business and energy markets.

Gary Fescine FMA, RPA is the president of GFC his own consulting firm. He has recently retired from BlackRock where he was global director of facilities, building operations, overseeing 77 sites in 23 countries. He has held a number of related positions including director of facilities at The New York Times and director of operations at the New York Post. Mr. Fescine was the recipient of several energy savings awards including the Energy New York Award in 2017.