VP of Marketing

LUCIAN ION

Beijing, China and San Francisco, CA • Phone: +86-186-****-****, e-

mail: ******.*.***@*****.***

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ionlucian

PROFILE

• Global Business Leader and Technology Strategy Executive, with extensive domestic and international

experience in both established and start-up organizations (in China, Korea, Japan, USA, Canada, South Africa,

Australia, SE Asia, Europe, MEA) focused on building new business and managing the growth and expansion of

domestic and global operations, leading business development and sales, inspiring organizations – from product

development and technology incubation, manufacturing, supply chain, ecosystem and business development,

financing instruments, to M&A and venture investments, building on deep understanding of global energy (Smart

Grid, Renewables Integration, DSM, Demand Response), computer software, networking, semiconductors,

electronics, medical devices, and utilities.

• Business Growth “rainmaker” – built and managed organizations, including sales and product strategy teams

of up to 80 reports, with revenue targets between $40MM to $160MM per year.

• Extensive experience in market strategy and product development in computer and energy systems

infrastructure, software application development, networking and communications, Software-As-A-Service

(SaaS), Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, M2M/Internet of Things; ideally positioned to facilitate the

convergence of business and technology frameworks from vertical industries like Energy, Financials, Medical

Devices, Entertainment and Media, Communication and Information Technology .

EXPERIENCE

LION ENERGY PARTNERS Beijing, China; San Francisco, CA

Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner Oct 2013 – Present

LION Energy Partners provides a broad portfolio of energy business and technology strategic and tactical project

implementation advice, global expansion and regionalization strategy support for multi-national and small-to-medium

companies entering China and other Asian markets, incubator frameworks and support for start-up technology teams, and

private equity / venture capital investment opportunities brokerage services.

LION Energy Partners is currently incubating - in stealth mode - cutting-edge clean energy and smart grid technology that

has the potential to revolutionize critical aspects of today's energy industry business models of Demand Side Management

(DSM) and Demand Response (DR), combining granular and dynamically optimized allocation of resource supply and

demand (“transactive energy”).

My responsibilities include:

• Defining and implementing the company vision, providing strategic, motivational and operational leadership to

the organization. Growing the footprint of the firm internationally.

• Leading the sales team and business development for client and customer acquisition, with a 2014 sales target of

$20MM and building a 3 year pipeline of $70MM, managing the stakeholder relationships across a vast partner

ecosystem, directing strategic marketing and product development, overseeing daily operations.

• Managing a broad portfolio of active projects, client engagements, as well as the product design, engineering,

manufacturing, system architectures and deployment of technology platforms and systems.

Early successes:

• Secured a contract to help a large foreign MNO define their DSM market entry strategy in China, focusing on

energy technology strategy, localization, utility and government strategy, and supply chain design and execution.

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• Advised three Korean conglomerates on China and global Smart Grid market entry strategy, and helped architect

their Smart Grid / DSM / DRMS product portfolio relative to a number of emerging, cutting-edge business models

and technology in high demand in China, SE Asia and Europe.

• Providing strategic and tactical advice for a China-based private equity firm, investing in developing a large R&D

and manufacturing footprint located in a newly developed industrial park in Guangdong province, China, focused

on new energy.

COMVERGE INC. Beijing, China

Vice President, International Development Strategy and Operations July 2012 – Sep 2013

• Pioneered Comverge’s focus on Asia (China, Korea, Singapore, Japan, SE Asia, India). Managed a start-up

organization within the Comverge footprint – effectively developing all business leads, customers, first contracts

and fresh regional-specific energy management computer systems technology architectures for Comverge Asia.

Hired staff, nurtured customer, regulatory, government and financing relationships, including investment road-

shows and securing project joint-venture partners.

• Focused the teams on Intelligent Energy Management / DSM / DR and Smart Grid solutions (Energy industry

Cloud computing, SaaS offering). Defined and managed the implementation of the Go-To-Market strategy, and

product / solution development strategy.

• Sourced and managed a very fast paced sales pipeline of $40MM by end of first year, projecting $150MM by end

of 2016 in already contracted project load, with Chinese government (NDRC), Chinese electric utilities (State

Grid, China Southern Grid, and affiliates), and a number of Korean, Singapore, Philippines customers.

• Managed a rapidly growing cross functional and regions-distributed organization of business, technology and

support staff of 30 professionals.

• Facilitated an exclusive business relationship with the Chinese government (NDRC – National Development and

Reform Committee, the highest ranking strategy and planning government body in China), and entered a multi-

year strategic partnership to develop a China-wide energy consumption and conservation business and

management system / platform energy monitoring Data Centers / Network Operation Centers (NOCs) for several

gigawatts of stand-by Demand Response capacity.

• Facilitated the creation of a Demand Side Management / DR consortium of companies and government agencies

in the South Korean market.

• Thought leadership, conference speaker and panelist on current energy technology topics (Smart Grid, Smart Grid

As A Service (SGaaS), Intelligent Energy Management, Microgrids, Demand Response and Energy Efficiency,

Grid Automation, Energy Markets Design and Models, International Trends in Energy)

GE ENERGY San Francisco, CA

Smart Grid – Technology Strategy Director Jan 2010 – Dec 2011

• Managed GE Energy Smart Grid business development and sales teams and projects, with a focus on Western US

and Canada utility customers – from the largest like PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, APS, SCL, LADWP, to munis and

coops (main customers in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Idado, Utah), and

international (China, Philippines, Australia, UK, Egypt, Korea).

• Managed a sales pipeline of $30MM in first year, growing to $60MM in second year; managed a team of three

direct reports, and up to 70 matrixed reports on a portfolio of multitasked large utility projects, in various stages

of the sales cycle development. Facilitated structured process of liaising with NPI (New Product Introduction)

product strategy teams.

• Defined GE Energy Smart Grid / Smart Grid as a Service (SaaS) commercial and go-to-market strategy, the

technology roadmaps and ecosystem partnerships. Facilitated the long horizon strategic planning and day-to-day

coordination between utility customer relationships (including C-level visioning seminars and proposal

management), and the Line of Business NPI (New Product Introduction) process, for all of GE Smart Grid

product platforms (Smart Metering, Demand Optimization (DSM/DR), Distribution Automation, Transmission

Optimization, Asset Management, Workforce Engineering and Design Optimization, Smart Appliances, Home

Area Network, Electric Vehicles, Energy Storage, Renewable Power Integration, Microgrids). Responsible for

Smart Grid vision, and also for tactical operational direction on architecting customer-focused solutions.

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• Managed and facilitated GE ecosystem partnership discussions with several very large market-cap companies

(technology providers, vendors, alliance partners), as well as exploratory discussions with several start-ups and

venture capital firms.

• Panelist at industry conferences (including international speaking engagements in China) and engaged in

authoring Smart Grid papers (IEEE, Distributech) in collaboration with utility partners.

NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR (Smart Grid Energy Technology) Santa Clara, CA

Smart Grid Chief Strategist / General Manager July 2008 – Dec 2009

• Successfully championed the case for Smart Grid technology development at National Semiconductor, by

managing a company-wide business discovery process, including extensive market research, customer and partner

ecosystem engagement, business units and R&D Labs energy technology focused strategic formulation

• Managed a staff of 12 direct reports (strategy, business development, market research, technology strategy, utility

and energy policy), 4 contractors / consultants, a department operating budget of $3.4 million; also managed

Smart Grid Product platform and Business Development, R&D and Manufacturing budgets

• Managed a DSM/DR focused business portfolio that included:

o Home Area Network – Algorithmic Energy Optimizer – Home and Commercial buildings

o Substation / Feeder / Utility Customer ILC (Integrated Load Control): Connecting the distribution

substation SCADA to the customer loads

o Microgrid Management System - manage proof-of-concept 12 office buildings deployment of internally

developed energy monitoring (sensing) and control (actuation) infrastructure and communications for the

Santa Clara, CA head office and the Maine and Malaka, Malaysia fab campuses

• Renewable Energy: Strategic Formulation and investment selection process design and facilitation, buy vs. build

roadmap, and pitch for next generation platform of Solar Magic.

• Other: Medical Diagnostics Devices strategic formulation, business and product development plan, pitch to Sr.

management for Home Patient Monitoring business and platform; ecosystem development (VC, start-ups)

PG&E CORPORATION (Leading US Public Electric and Gas Utility) San Francisco, CA

Smart Grid and Clean Tech (Corporate Strategy, Energy Procurement) Sep 2006 – Jul 2008

• Managed aspects of the Next Generation SmartMeter 2.0 Project Strategy, Technology Strategy, Regulatory

and Financing

o Managed a cross-functional team to define multiple aspects of the SmartMeter strategy, technology selection

and project deployment in the field. Facilitated emerging technology strategy screening sessions with vendors and

start-ups; issued regulatory strategic approach for cost and benefits analysis

o Managed aspects of investment and technology planning for Energy Distribution, Transmission

• Energy Procurement Strategy

o Energy Market Design / Policy – researched market player strategies, helped formulate energy procurement

strategic / tactical planning

o Designed and implemented new generation asset valuation quantitative analysis system, assisted Electric Gas

Trading Desk re-engineer the trading framework and processes.

• Managed the Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles and Vehicle-To-Grid Ecosystem Development business cases

o Worked with auto manufacturers, researchers, academia, peer utilities to establish a business model and

communications platform for electric vehicles; feasibility studies on plug-in electricity rate design, tariffs, carbon

offsets, incentive mechanisms and utility customers cross-subsidization analysis.

• Clean Tech, Renewable Energy Strategy and Venture Deals

o Focused on investment strategy for EGS geothermal, biomass / bioenergy, solar, wind, water (filtration and

wastewater), building materials, electric transportation, battery storage, scrubbing technologies, advanced metering,

home area network, energy management systems

• M&A Deal Screening, Transaction Planning and Company Valuation

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o M&A Planning and Preparation: Transaction Planning, Announcement, Filing, Close and Integration phases;

authored the Master Schedule and Timeline for the company M&A Playbook

ABBOTT LABORATORIES Chicago, IL

Business and Technology Strategy Team Lead Aug 2003 – Jul 2006

Focused on Medical Devices technology acquisition strategy and platform architecture definition

• Merger Strategy and Due Diligence: Participated in target analysis, technology strategy and platform

fit, JV analysis, divestiture analysis, post-merger integration, and M&A Playbook design.

• Post-merger Integration: Managed several projects post-merger and post-divestiture integration of

targets ($50M – $2B) for focus areas like Technology Platform integration, B2B, M2M, Supply Chain

Integration.

Lead Software Architect / Senior Business and Technology Consultant Mar 2002 - Aug 2003

• Led the specifications, architecture design and software engineering (hardware / software) for the

CoPilot Health Management System platform (circuit-level, data transmission, interfaces, database /

application / GUI)

• Managed the software platform architecture design and product engineering for AxSYM Plus, a

clinical lab immunoassay system

• Managed the design and implementation of:

• Cognos-based Customer Business Intelligence multi-dimensional data warehouse and reporting

• SAS-based clinical studies statistical analysis software / interfaces

PSC GROUP Chicago, IL

Technology Management Strategy Consultant Feb 2000 – Mar 2002

• Asset Management - Technology Platform Strategy for a large Power Utility customer

• Re-designed operational performance and implemented new sets of financial controls, optimized

structure and process for firm-wide accounting data flows for large institutional Chicagoland clients (e.g.

Abbott Labs).

• Market strategy for an Energy Demand Response customer

• Defined risk – reward strategy for a new line of business for a Fortune 500 medical devices company

MSYSTEM, PRIMATELECOM, WV CANADA and LOEWS CINEPLEX ODEON Toronto, Canada

Business Consultant / Software Systems Analyst / Software Developer June 1993 - Feb 2000

• Worldvision: Architected, developed and implemented a series of custom features to a new SAP

ERP

• PrimaTelecom / Nortel Networks: PBX Software Architecture, Design and Coding /

Development

• Msystem: Led implementation of microcontroller-based distribution automation system for

transformer control systems at RENEL SA (Romanian national power utility company).

• Loews Cineplex Odeon: Co-led post-merger integration of the Loews and Cineplex ERP and

B2B systems

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, Booth Graduate School of Business Chicago, IL

MBA: Strategic Management, Strategic Financial Management Mar 2006

UNIVERSITY OF TIMISOARA Timisoara, Romania

BS: Computer Science / Eng, Electrical Eng. (thesis: Optimizations in Automated Integrated Load Control) June 1993

SELECTED REFERENCE

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“Lucian is an exceptionally talented executive, extraordinarily smart program manager, and a great student of energy and

environment. He unhesitatingly takes on difficult challenges, and out-works and out-thinks his rivals until the objective is

achieved. I am honored to know this man, and recommend him as highly as I can for anyone needing superb strategic and

tactical capability.”

Robert Danziger - CEO, Author, Law Professor, Energy Visionary

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Experienced in a variety of computer languages, from assembly level to C++, latest web software

development platforms, social media platforms

• PMP Certified (Project Management Professional), Lean Six-Sigma

• Fluent in English and Romanian, good command of French and Hungarian, intermediate Mandarin,

advanced beginner Japanese (2 years)

• Fun facts: piano, keyboards and guitar player, own high-end home recording music studio, avid golfer,

dedicated foodie and cyclist

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