Board of Directors

Carlos Guinand is an entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Sonnedix, an international renewable energy producer. In his executive role, he has been instrumental in setting the company's strategic direction and growth while overseeing its governance and performance through his expertise in management and operational matters. Carlos also chairs the Performance Committee and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee.

Sonnedix was founded in 2009 as a small player in the nascent solar industry. Under his leadership, the company partnered with J.P. Morgan Asset Management in 2014. Sonnedix has over $8 billion in assets, a total capacity of over 10GW across ten countries, and over 650 operating power plants.

He has been fundamental in establishing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles for Sonnedix and has guided the company's entry into new energy markets. His deep knowledge of the renewable energy industry, international business acumen, and keen capacity to anticipate market trends have also helped Sonnedix deliver high-performance, cost-competitive renewable energy technologies to many countries around the world.

His leadership and strategic decision-making were once again demonstrated in 2024 when he was appointed Chairman of Nadara. This appointment followed his role as Chairman of Ventient Energy in 2022. His business expertise contributed to the successful merger between Ventient Energy and Renantis, which led to the formation of Nadara, one of the leading independent generators of renewable energy in Europe.

Over the course of his career, Carlos has gained wide-ranging expertise across industries, including the solar sector, and has significant experience managing a portfolio of private equity investments in South America and Europe.

Axel Thiemann has been with Sonnedix since 2011, becoming CEO in 2018. Under his leadership, Sonnedix has experienced rapid growth and diversification to more than 3.5GW operational capacity. Today, Axel leads a global team of over 500 employees in 10 countries.

Axel is passionate about providing clean, affordable, and reliable energy to drive global decarbonization. As CEO he has initiated Sonnedix's hybridization strategy - expanding into battery storage and wind alongside solar, to better meet the challenges and needs of the energy transition.

Before taking on the role as CEO, Axel held various leadership roles at Sonnedix, including COO based in London and overseeing M&A, integration, and strategy in Miami. Prior to Sonnedix, Axel held senior roles with Barclays Bank in London, was a consultant with McKinsey and Company in Cologne, Germany.

Axel graduated as an Electrical Engineer from Hannover University in Germany and holds an MBA from IESE Business School, Spain.

Susan Gonzalez is an independent board director and senior consultant with more than thirty years of experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors.  Known for her strategic planning, asset management and development expertise Susan currently serves on the boards of South Jersey Industries, Generate Capital PBC (Chair, Finance and Audit Committee) and Sonnedix Power Holdings (Chair, Audit and Risk Committee).    Susan also acts as an advisor to the Infrastructure Investments Group, J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

From 1998 to 2018, Susan was General Counsel and Managing Board member of InterGen N.V., a global independent power producer and ancillary services company with extensive international operations. Susan was recognized as an expert in the areas of risk management, governance and compliance on the senior executive team that took InterGen from a greenfield development company to a ‘best in class’ operating and development company, taking over 20 projects to completion and achieving $24+ billion in corporate and project financing.  Prior to this, Susan served as counsel to Stratus Computer, Major Australia Timber, and United Technologies Corp (Sikorsky Aircraft). From 2006 to 2018, Ms. Gonzalez was an Advisory Board Member to FM Global, a global commercial and property insurance company.

Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School and a Certificate in Comparative Law from the Universite Jean Moulin.

Strategy Consultant and Private Investor; Co-Founder and Principal, The KT Family Trust (a private revocable trust) and Managing Principal, TBL Strategy (a strategic advisory firm).

Petros Kitsos is widely acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent strategic advisors in the Aerospace, Defense and Diversified Industrial sectors where his advisory and transactional involvement and expertise have contributed to the significant and successful growth of a variety of companies in the past twenty-two years.

Mr. Kitsos is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Hamilton College, and holds an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. He also attended St. Antony’s College, Oxford.

The KT Family Trust is a private investment entity that focuses on significant minority investments in businesses geared towards industrial manufacturing and energy independence. TBL Strategy provides strategic advisory and consulting services to C-level executives across a broad array of industries.

Mr. Kitsos enjoyed a distinguished fifteen-year career in investment banking with Citigroup, Salomon Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers where, among other responsibilities, he served as Head of the Global Defense & Aerospace Group, Head of Western Region Mergers & Acquisitions and Co-Head of the Los Angeles office.

Mr. Kitsos served as Alumni Trustee of Hamilton College from 2004 to 2008 and as Alumnus Trustee of Anatolia High School from 1999 to 2003. He also served (from 2006 until 2011) as Director and chair of the Compensation Committee of a public company in which the Trust was (at that time) a significant investor.

Mark Scarsella is a Managing Director in the Infrastructure Investments Group, based in London. Mark is primarily responsible for leading on IIG’s activity across the European energy sector and has held board positions across a number of utilities and energy companies. Mark joined in 2013 from Deutsche Bank where he was a member of the European Equities group. Prior to that, Mark was with KPMG in Australia, before transitioning to KPMG UK, practicing as a Chartered Account. Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Adelaide, Australia and is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Ms. Plessinger is an independent board member with over 35 years of experience in energy and utility finance, investment, board governance, and private equity. She serves on the board of Sonnedix, chairing the Investment Committee and participating in the Growth and Performance Committees. She also sits on the board of Enstor, a private natural gas storage and midstream operator and is the former chair of the board of SouthWest Water Company.

From 1992 to 1997, Ms. Plessinger was Research Director at Angelo Gordon & Co., L.P. Utility Department, and was co-portfolio manager/analyst of hedged utility funds. She also served as a Utility Analyst at Merrill Lynch Asset Management's Global Utility Fund having begun her career at Franklin Resources (now Franklin Templeton) as an analyst for various funds.

As a Managing Director at Shoreline Utility Advisors from 1998 to 2000, Ms. Plessinger lead research on electric and natural gas utilities and advised on mergers and spin-offs. She then joined ArcLight Capital Partners as a Principal at its founding in 2001, working with portfolio management teams in midstream and regulatory areas. She later became a consultant for the firm and worked as an energy consultant from 2011 to 2017.

Ms. Plessinger holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). She is currently on the Investment Committee for the UNL Foundation and is a past president and current member of the UNL College of Business Finance Advisory Board. She was co-president of the Acalanes High School Athletic Boosters, served as the city liaison for the Oakland Girls Softball League, and held the position of treasurer for two nonprofit organizations, including Hillcrest Language School.

Anders Dahl is a Non-Executive Director in the Boards of Värmevärden, Klimatet Invest, and Charge Amps, with over thirty years of knowledge in energy, industrial, and financial companies.

Anders started his international career in 2000, as Production Director of Vattenfall’s heat and power plants in Poland. Later, in 2005, he was appointed to build up the company’s wind power development from scratch, currently ranking as top 2 global offshore wind. During his time at Vattenfall, Anders also occupied the role of Head of Division of Renewables and Distribution & Sales, including a role as member of the company’s Executive Group Management.

Additionally, Anders has been member of the Board of Directors of different companies in connection to Vattenfall’s operations in Sweden such as the nuclear plants of Forsmark AB and Ringhals AB, Vattenfall Service Nordic AB (chairman) and KSU AB (chairman). From 2013 to 2015, he was member of the Board of the Swedish Energy association, Svensk Energi, and since 2012, he is a member of IVA (The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences).

Mr Dahl graduated from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering – Energy.