People
Our people are the strength and lifeline of our business. They practice and reflect our vision and strategy in the ever-changing modern energy market. We constantly train and develop our manpower in Mechatron Solar, while at the same time we invite new, talented and highly qualified people to join our company, to share our vision and values. We take pride in our scientific workforce, with its excellent qualifications and credentials, specialized training and many years of experience on large photovoltaic projects.
We highly value teamwork and individual achievement. We believe in fostering a secure and fair business environment for our people.
Management Team :
Michael Fakukakis, President and CEO
Mr. Fakukakis is the President, CEO and founder of Mechatron Solar Inc. He was instrumental in the design and production of the company’s patented solar trackers, which employ gearless rotation technology. Michael is the primary patent holder for Mechatron Solar. He has over two decades of professional experience in Internet, telecommunications and solar technologies. For over a decade he was a driving force at cutting-edge telecom and Internet companies, offering broadband services to both residential and commercial sector. Since1999 he has built managerial expertise in supervising and leading professionals to transform technology startups into fast growing companies. He held managerial and consulting positions at Clearwire in Kirkland, WA, California State Automobile Association (CSAA) in San Francisco, Applied Materials in San Jose, CA, Bank of America at the World Headquarters in San Francisco, Pacific Bell in San Ramon, CA, VIVODI Telecom and AVADOM Solar in Athens. Since 2008 Michaels has been developing renewable technologies through his solar EPC, Elios Solar Inc., specialized in solar and storage systems for both on-grid and off-grid projects. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Physics from University of Patra, Greece, and a Master of Science in Electronics Engineering from Santa Clara University, CA. He is fluent in Greek and English.
Mark Foster, Director of Business Development
Mr. Foster heads up the business development activities and partner relationships at Mechatron Solar. Mark brings over 35 years of experience in the energy development sector working at a variety of solar companies building & developing commercial and utility scale solar projects. As an entrepreneur, Mr. Foster has founded three companies. He is a former university instructor at Cal Poly and UC Irvine. Mark has held executive and other several senior positions for major corporations, including, ABB, Deloitte Consulting and Siemens. He also served as director of utility scale development at two large EPC solar firms where he provided expertise in the renewable industry space. Mark has also built long-term relationships with senior staff members at munis, CCAs, and IOUs throughout the U.S. markets over the past 20 years. As President and CEO of Bamburgh Consulting LLC, Mark and his team have managed over 100 MW of solar projects over the past 12 years.
Tom Cook, Director of Interconnection and Regulatory Affairs
Mr. Cook leads interconnection and regulatory affairs at Mechatron Solar. He also supports Economic Analytics and Power Purchase Agreements. Thomas has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. He has been an independent consultant for over eight years and is also Director of Global Renewable Assets for ECCO International, Inc., an energy consulting company providing services on electricity market design, risk analysis and financial settlement systems globally to a broad range of clients working with solar, wind, gas-fired, nuclear, and pump storage hydro technologies. Previously, he was Manager of Contract Compliance and Analysis for Southern California Edison where he ensured settlement compliance of approximately $6B of annual energy and capacity payments, as well as leading a team supporting procurement and PPA negotiations for all bilateral, tolling, gas, transmission, new generation, renewable and QF/ERR contracts. He has had multiple roles in operations and management at numerous power plants. Mr. Cook has an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BA from CSU Long Beach, as well as certificates in Six Sigma/LEAN from UC Irvine, and Statistical Process Control and Industrial Control Technology certificates from UC Fullerton, among others.
George Papadakis, Technology and Engineering Manager
George Papadakis holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Technology and Science (ASETEM), in Greece. He has long experience in the PV industry, specialized in solar tracker technology. He has worked extensively in industrial design and product development since 2005. George has designed machines in various industrial sectors, encompassing agriculture, food processing and alternative energy, among others. He is an expert at CAD software, especially Solidworks (CSA), and is experienced at finite element method (FEM) design. In 2009 he joined Mechatron to lead the research and engineering department. Since then, George has designed four different solar trackers, including dual axis PV, dual axis CPV, azimuth single axis PV. He also managed the design of the Mechatron production line. George is fluent in Greek and English.
Charles W Thurston, Director of Communications
Mr. Thurston manages external communications for Mechatron Solar. He has consulted for solar OEMs, EPCs and startup companies in North America, Europe and Asia. Charles has several decades of experience as a journalist, specialized in energy, finance and technology. He has contributed to a host of international solar magazines, newsletters and online publications. Charles has worked on five continents and in dozens of countries, and has been posted overseas as a foreign correspondent. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Yale University, is fluent in Portuguese and speaks Spanish.
