Search
Close this search box.

Team

Kanin Energy is a purpose built team of industry professionals that blend optimal big facility experience, deep project finance knowledge, electricity market expertise, and entrepreneurial savvy.

Janice Tran, MSc, CPA

Chief Executive Officer

Dan Fipke, MA

Chief Development Officer

Jake Bainbridge, M.Eng, P.Eng

Chief Technology Officer

Barbara Baker, MA

Senior Director of Origination

Grant Lindsay, P.Eng

Director of Engineering

Randy Rutherford, MBA, M.Eng

Project Development Lead

Kyle Silbernagel, MBA, P.Eng, PMP

Director of Projects

Julian Tejada, P.Eng

Senior Project Engineer

Joshua Ulliac, MBA, M.Eng, P.Eng

Senior Engineer

Juan S. Marin, MSc, P.ENG

Lead Evaluations Engineer

Stanley Egbobawaye

Marketing & Communications Analyst

Savini Jayasinghe

Senior Business Development Analyst

Tammy Clifford

Business Administrator

Tyson Migadel, EIT

Evaluations Engineer-in-Training

Kareem Youssef

Engineering Intern

Advisors

Karl Johannson

Advisor to the CEO

Claire Broido Johnson

Advisor

Chelsey Reschke

Advisor

John Dannan

Advisor

Tom Werner

Advisor

John Dannan

Advisor

Tom Werner

Advisor

Mihir Desu

Advisor

Join Our Team.

Janice Tran

Janice Tran, MSc, CPA

Chief Executive Officer

Janice provides the leadership and financing strategy for Kanin Energy. Prior to Kanin, Janice was an early employee and Director at Generate Capital, a project finance investment firm that focused on investing in renewable energy projects. There she built North America’s largest portfolio of anaerobic digestions assets. Her role spanned across deal execution, origination, market development and asset management.

Prior to Generate Capital, Janice worked at NRG, one of America’s largest power producers, to start their renewable microgrids business line. Janice also co-founded Student Energy, a nonprofit which is today’s largest global charity dedicated to educating and uniting post-secondary students on energy issues.

Janice is a licensed Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) in Canada. She also has a Masters of Science in Sustainability Management from Columbia University in New York, where she received an Earth Institute Fellowship.

Janice also has a Masters in Accounting from the University of Saskatchewan, and double majored with a BA in Philosophy and BComm in Accounting from the University of Calgary.

Dan Fipke

Dan Fipke, MA

Chief Development Officer

Dan provides strategic leadership navigating electricity markets, commercial agreements, regulatory approvals and energy policy development. Prior to joining Kanin, Dan was the Vice President of Commercial and Regulatory for Terrapin Geothermics, an Alberta based geothermal energy company.

Dan spent a decade between the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and Alberta Energy. At the AESO, Dan held various roles including ancillary services procurement (i.e. Operating Reserves, OR Conscription, Transmission Must-Run), energy storage integration, distributed energy resource review committee, and generation forecasting. At Alberta Energy, Dan was seconded to provide technical and regulatory expertise in market design restructuring, agency regulatory governance, and was a member of the Indigenous Electricity Technical Working Group.

Dan holds a Masters in Environmental Management from Royal Roads University and an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Calgary.

Jake Bainbridge, M.Eng, P.Eng

Chief Technology Officer

Jake provides technical leadership in assessing potential projects and technologies and ensuring seamless integration of new equipment with any existing infrastructure. Having overseen projects from feasibility to commissioning, Jake brings relevant industry experience to all aspects of project execution.

As a Professional Engineer with over 15 of experience in the energy sector, Jake has worked on projects in in-situ oil, conventional oil, gas production and distribution, water treatment and renewable power generation.

Prior to Kanin, Jake was the Director of Engineering at Terrapin Geothermics – leading in-house research and development into a novel ultra-low temperature Stirling engine, creating tools to assess and qualify waste heat resources at industrial facilities, and developing project execution and integration strategies. Jake has also spent time at Wood Group Mustang as a Project Engineer and Lead Mechanical Engineer for clients including Shell and Cenovus, and was on-site Senior Project Engineer for the construction, commissioning and start-up of Husky’s $2.7Bn Sunrise SAGD facility.

Jake has a Master of Engineering in Aeronautics from the University of Durham, UK.

Jake on LinkedIn

Barb

Barbara Baker, MA

Senior Director of Origination

Barb leverages her over 30 years of diverse experience to effectively straddle technical and commercial resources to deliver executable projects as Senior Director of Origination at Kanin Energy. Before joining Kanin, Barb was the Managing Director of her consulting practice supporting power generation development across renewable, batteries, and natural gas fuels.

Before Kanin, Barb worked locally and internationally, from work in Western Canada, Ontario, and Vietnam. Notably, she massively grew Genalta’s business development team and funnel, working to achieve a 20-fold increase in project size and a 15-fold growth in client funnel that led to six commissioned projects. Before Genalta, Barb worked with an exceptional team to develop ENMAX Energy, helping to take it from $600m to $2.0B through strategic power sales and purchases from power generators, MAP Auctions, financial derivatives, and off-take agreements.

Barb holds a Masters of Arts (Economics) and an undergraduate in Physics, both from the University of Alberta

Barbara on LinkedIn

Grant Lindsay, P.Eng

Director of Engineering

Grant has over 20 years of energy project design and development. Grant has led project engineering teams through initial development stages through to final plant commissioning on waste heat to power projects in Canada and the USA. Grant has designed the largest biomass ORC project in Canada and has overseen over 1.5 million MWh of deployed ORC systems in North America.

Grant holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Grant on LinkedIn

Randy kanin

Randy Rutherford, MBA, M.Eng

Project Development Lead

Randy brings extensive experience driving growth within new and evolving renewable energy markets, combining strong commercial and engineering aptitude to efficiently build lasting stakeholder relationships within dynamic and complex development environments. 

Prior to joining Kanin, Randy served as a Developer-In-Residence at Generate Capital, a leading clean energy infrastructure investment firm, and has spent over 15 years in renewable fuels and waste-to-energy.  During this time, he has driven value across the entire spectrum of commercialization and project development including feedstock procurement, logistics, manufacturing, compliance and offtake.  Randy brings deep experience building supply chains for large-scale waste-to-energy projects across North America, initiating and managing highly profitable biofuel distribution agreements, developing markets for value-added co-products, evaluating new M&A opportunities, and liaising between investors and entrepreneurs within the tech transfer office at NREL.       

Randy holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Dartmouth College and an MS in Civil Engineering and MBA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

Randy on LinkedIn

Kyle kanin

Kyle Silbernagel, MBA, P.Eng, PMP

Director of Projects

Kyle brings substantial experience leading diverse teams of subject matter experts to scope and execute energy projects. As a Professional Engineer with significant experience in the energy industry, Kyle has managed projects ranging from smaller detailed technical problem-solving jobs to large multi-year $100M+ capital programs.

Prior to Kanin, Kyle served as a Senior Opportunity Engineer at Cenovus Energy executing complex risk-mitigation and optimization projects at Foster Creek and Christina Lake SAGD energy facilities. Kyle brings experience from a diversity of roles in project management, facilities engineering, reliability engineering, and facilities strategy. He played key roles in the brackish water equipment replacement program, in many risk-mitigation driven operations projects, and in developing a project management office.

Kyle holds a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary, an MBA from at Colorado State University, and is a certified Project Management Professional.

Kyle on LinkedIn

Julian T

Julian Tejada, P.Eng

Senior Project Engineer

As a professional engineer with over a dozen years of experience working in the energy industry, Julian has been successful working with various company clients, field personnel, and contractors ensuring projects are completed by their established milestones.

Prior to Kanin, Julian was a Project Engineer at TNT Engineering Ltd. where he executed projects ranging from conventional oil & gas pipeline installations to complex facility construction projects for a variety of clients including ARC Resources and Whitecap. In addition, Julian has also managed assets in the Crossfield and Suffield areas as a Facilities Engineer with Harvest Operations Corp.

Julian holds a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary.

Julian on LinkedIn

Joshua U.

Joshua Ulliac, MBA, M.Eng, P.Eng

Senior Engineer

Joshua brings extensive experience related to the intersection of mechanical and electrical energy systems. He brings over a decade of experience working with cross-disciplinary teams on the design of holistic programs and project designs for a range of industry sectors, including agriculture, food, forestry, oil and gas, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

Before joining Kanin, Joshua worked at an electrical engineering design firm specializing in industrial control system design, low-voltage power distribution and protection, and system commissioning. Joshua then worked for New Energy Corporation on developing, testing, and installing hydrokinetic power generators. He worked with utilities and clients to complete system control system design, safety systems, and interconnection. Most recently, Joshua worked with ICF on designing and implementing energy efficiency programs across North America and worked with their advisory group to study the impacts of beneficial electrification, focusing on electric vehicle adoption scenarios and grid impacts for Canada and the United States.

Joshua holds a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s (M. Eng.) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and an MBA with a Finance Specialization from the University of Calgary.

Joshua on LinkedIn

Juan Marin

Juan S. Marin, MSc, P.ENG

Lead Evaluations Engineer

Juan has a background in mechanical engineering, from Colombia with a passion for working in clean energy. He previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Alberta in diverse topics such as heat exchangers, fluid dynamics, and microfluidics. Juan is a lifelong learner that constantly looks for new technologies to learn about and ways to implement them to attain a more sustainable future.

Juan holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Los Andes and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta.

Juan on LinkedIn

Stanley E.

Stanley Egbobawaye

Marketing and Communications Analyst

Stanley is a computer scientist, specialized in digital marketing, web analytics, and SEO.

After graduation, Stanley took up key roles at the National Institute for Policy and strategic studies, NIPSS Kuru – Nigeria’s foremost policy and strategy think tank. Here he developed exceptional leadership and strategic skills. His rare integrity, and drive for results earned him roles of increasing responsibility there, which culminated in co-launching a pioneer Center at the National Institute.

Stanley is eager to join the quest for a climate-stable planet. He seeks to do this by utilizing his digital communication skills in clean energy.

He got his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Benin.

Stanley on LinkedIn

Savini J

Savini Jayasinghe

Senior Business Development Analyst

Savini brings a wide range of experiences ranging from waste, agriculture, and sustainable development to allow her to use creative problem-solving skills to bring forth positive change.

Before Kanin, Savini worked at Reclay StewardEdge, a global environmental consultancy agency. There she used her analysis and outreach background to facilitate the Schools Program to address knowledge gaps and issues in institutions for Recycle Everywhere; in addition to the Audit Program which works to understand trends that enable increased recovery rates across Manitoba. Additionally, Savini previously worked at Strategic Systems Engineering, a climate mitigation engineering start-up where she spearheaded the company’s brand repositioning and managed stakeholder relations and operations.

Savini holds a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science from the University of Manitoba and is eager to work towards a just energy transition.

Savini on LinkedIn

Tammy

Tammy Clifford

Business Administrator

Tammy brings a wealth of experience in both business administration and executive support. Having worked in both the public and private sector, she has assisted teams in workflow process improvements and operational efficiencies. Prior to Kanin, Tammy worked in healthcare administration, and as plant administrator at the TransAlta Cogeneration facility in Windsor, Ontario. There she played an integral role in asset optimization of the PPA contract, assisted with day ahead market strategies for incremental power generation and operating reserve, and administered the operation and maintenance agreement for the thermal host site.

Tammy holds a diploma in Executive Office Administration and earned a university certificate in Business Management from Athabasca University.

Tammy on Linkedin

Tyson Migadel

Tyson Migadel, EIT

Evaluations Engineer-in-Training

Tyson enjoys working on challenging engineering problems and is passionate about developing sustainable energy solutions for now and future generations. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary and has previously worked as a Research Engineer focused on computational fluid dynamics. He aims to continually develop and learn about new technologies and skills to further his own professional growth and Kanin’s goal of a more sustainable future.

Tyson on LinkedIn

Kareem Kanin portrait

Kareem Youssef

Engineering Intern

Kareem is an Engineering Intern from the University of Calgary (UofC) that possesses an unwavering commitment to advancing sustainable and renewable energy solutions. Currently pursuing a Bachelors’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Digital Engineering, Kareem’s lifelong passion drives his dedication to this field.

Kareem actively engages with the university community, seeking opportunities to foster discussions and involvement in sustainable energy topics. As the co-founder and president of the Student Energy UofC Chapter, Kareem spearheads initiatives to provide professional development opportunities for students aspiring to pursue careers in the energy sector. Additionally, he actively supports the Student Success Centre’s mission of guiding fellow students towards academic success.

Kareem continuously seeks learning opportunities, and firmly believes in the long-term potential of his contributions to Kanin Energy’s development.

Kareem on LinkedIn

Karl Johannson

Karl Johannson

Advisor

Mr. Johannson has extensive commercial and operational experience in the Upstream and Midstream Energy market segments, including Natural Gas and Energy Pipelines as well as in Electricity generation and specialty chemicals.

Since joining TransCanada in 1994, Mr. Johannson has held various leadership roles, as Senior Vice President, Power Commercial; Senior Vice President, Canadian Power; Senior Vice President, Canada and US Northeast Pipeline; President, Natural Gas Pipelines; and most recently as Executive Vice President & President, Canadian and Mexico Gas Pipelines and Energy. Until 2018, Mr. Johannson was the Chairman of TC Pipelines L.P., a NYSE listed Limited Partnership.

Mr. Johannson is currently a member of the Board of Directors of ClearStream Energy Services Inc., a TSX listed company, a member of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and a member of the Mount Royal University (MRU) Board of Governors. Besides ClearStream, AESO, MRU and TC PipeLines L.P., Mr. Johannson has served on the Board of Directors of several companies and associations, namely Bruce Power LLP., Chairman of Cancarb Limited, a specialty chemical company producing primarily thermal carbon black, Director of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA), Canadian Gas Association (CGA), and the Canadian Electric Association (CEA).

Mr. Johannson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Calgary. He is also a graduate from Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

Karl on LinkedIn

Claire Broido Johnson

Claire Broido Johnson

Advisor

A senior operations and finance executive, Claire Broido Johnson has a proven track record in creating and managing successful businesses and driving operations: including as founder of SunEdison and program executive at the Department of Energy during the Obama Administration. At DOE, Claire guided the deployment of $11 billion in economic stimulus funds in 2009-2010 to improve the economy through the deployment of energy and energy efficiency technologies.

A bottom-line focused innovator, Claire also runs CBJ Energy where she developed an energy efficiency financing product for Serious Energy, launched new products and new states for Next Step Living, and managed energy projects and research for Katerra. Recognized for financial and operational expertise, she currently serves on the boards of BlocPower.io, the National Sierra Club Foundation and Living Classrooms. Claire is also on the advisory board of Upsurge Baltimore, a Baltimore-based incubator, and a member of the Blu Ventures network of early-stage DC/Baltimore investors.

Claire earned a B.A. in environmental science and public policy from Harvard College, where she helped to create that major, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Claire on LinkedIn

Kanin Energy Chelsey

Chelsey Reschke

Advisor

Chelsey is a builder—energy networks, high-performing teams, and purposeful businesses. Drawing on her vast industry experience, from field execution to business operations, Chelsey oversees the business planning, strategic pursuits, and day-to-day efforts of the Oil and Gas group at Stantec, a globally ranked top ten engineering design firm. Previously, Chelsey led a privately held manufacturing company specialized in construction geosynthetics and corrosion protection equipment. Chelsey’s leadership experience includes a rare combination of key roles, including strategic planning lead, operations management, international business development, and risk management. Chelsey holds an MBA from Queen’s University and a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta.

Chelsey on LinkedIn

Kanin Energy Team

John Dannan

Advisor

Mr. Dannan serves as Principal leading the organic waste team at Generate Capital. He has over fifteen years of financial market experience, including ten years of lending and asset management experience in the energy and infrastructure sector.

Prior to joining Generate Capital, Mr. Dannan founded Energy & Infrastructure Capital LLC (“EIC”), a Stamford based asset manager focussed on debt investments. During this time, EIC invested approximately $200 Million in US Energy and Infrastructure debt on behalf of US and International Investors.

Prior to EIC, Mr. Dannan served as Vice President at Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management where he was responsible for investment strategy, capital raising and transaction execution. Prior to Deutsche, Mr. Dannan worked at Aladdin Capital Management’s Infrastructure Debt Business, Dresdner Kleinworth’s infrastructure financing, M&A, and loan workout teams. Mr. Dannan received a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Economics with Accounting from Lougborough University, England

John on LinkedIn

Tom werner

Tom Werner

Advisor

Tom Werner serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for FLO and H2U Technologies. He is also on the Board of Directors at Wolfspeed. Mr. Werner advises the CEO’s of Mainspring Energy and Via Sciences.

Mr. Werner previously served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of SunPower Corp. from 2003 to 2021.  Prior to joining SunPower, Mr. Werner held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Light Machines, Inc., an optical solutions subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation.  Previously, he was Vice President and General Manager of the Business Connectivity Group of 3Com Corp., a network solutions company.  Mr. Werner has also held a number of executive management positions at Oak Industries, Inc. and General Electric Co. 

He currently serves on the Boards of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, CALSSA, and the Marquette University Board of Trustees, and The University of Wisconsin Engineering Advisory board.

Mr. Werner holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from George Washington University.

Tom on LinkedIn

Kanin Energy Mihir

Mihir Desu

Advisor

Mihir Desu has served in numerous roles across the clean energy industry. His expertise expands across topics such as infrastructure planning for transportation electrification, renewable and energy storage policy and development, grid and resource planning, electric rate design, and wholesale market design with the intent of accurately valuing and compensating distributed energy resources (DER) for the benefit of all electric consumers.

He has previously served as a consultant with Strategen guiding efforts to advance clean energy policy and projects for corporate, utility, and government clients across the U.S. and the globe. Prior to Strategen, Mihir worked for Portland General Electric, an investor-owned electric utility in Oregon, where he managed policy proceedings related to distributed energy resources such as solar, energy storage, demand response, and electric vehicles. He has also worked as a consultant for The Cadmus Group evaluating demand-side management programs for utilities and government organizations. He started his career analyzing energy markets for traders and developers with EnergyGPS.

Mihir currently serves on the board of directors for Student Energy. He graduated magna cum laude from Binghamton University in New York with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics.

Mihir on LinkedIn

Kanin’s CEO Amongst 2023 CPA Achievement Award Winners

CPA Alberta is pleased to announce the 2023 Achievement Award recipients. These outstanding CPAs embody the core principles of the CPA profession: integrity, expertise, and commitment. Their contributions and accomplishments bring honour to the profession and strengthen the reputation of all CPAs. Congratulations to all 2023 Achievement Award recipients!

Read more, here.