SVPMA Monthly Event - From Technology to Product: Small Solar Growing Big with Ben Tarbell, Director of Products, SolarCity August 5, 2009

Organization: SVPMA - Silicon Valley Product Management Association
Topic: From Technology to Product: Small Solar Growing Big
Speaker: Ben Tarbell, Director of Products, SolarCity
Date: Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Time: 6:30pm - 9pm
Location: Network Meeting Center at the TechMart - 5201 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara
Cost: Free for Members. $25 for pre-registered Non-Members. $35 at the door.
More info: http://www.svpma.org/meetings.html

Presentation:
Ben will discuss the market forces driving the need for renewable energy, the imperative for affordable distributed solar energy, and the innovations on the installation end of the solar value chain that have enabled grid parity in some markets. He will discuss innovations in systems financing, monitoring, and installation processes that are improving the cost effectiveness and reliability of distributed solar energy systems and the product development principles that created them. In addition, he'll talk about some of the product management challenges in this young market: simplifying complex solutions for consumers, working with evolving technologies, and competitive analysis.

Speaker:
Ben is responsible for SolarCity's new product development and deployment. He is helping bring innovative ideas and products to the solar energy industry that will help to make solar energy more reliable, cost effective and accessible. Prior to joining SolarCity, Ben was responsible for product development at Miasolé, a thin-film solar cell start-up in Silicon Valley; he led the sustainable product design offering at IDEO in Palo Alto; and he worked at the clean tech venture capital firm Nth Power in San Francisco.

Ben has a BS in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, an MS in mechanical engineering design from Stanford University, and an MBA from Stanford University. Ben's commitment to the clean energy field extends to his volunteer work with organizations like GRID Alternatives, that installs solar systems for low-income families.

Official Website: http://www.svpma.org/meetings.html