Richard Kauffman | Chair, Generate Capital

Richard Kauffman has deep experience in energy and finance. He currently serves as Chair of Generate Capital, a leading financier of clean energy projects. He serves as Chairman of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). He is also an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Prior to these roles, Mr. Kauffman was in government service as New York State’s first “Energy Czar” and as Senior Advisor to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Before that, he was CEO and President of Good Energies, a leading clean energy investor; a partner of Goldman Sachs; and Vice Chair of Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities business. Mr. Kauffman was named by Fortune Magazine as one of the World’s Top 25 Eco-Innovators. He has received the Solar Champion Award from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Smart Electric Power Alliance, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Galvin Award for environmental leadership, and the Intersolar Champion of Change Award. He was the 2020 New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Honoree.

Mr. Kauffman received a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University, and a master’s in public and private management from the Yale School of Management. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and recently served on a study group on innovation in energy.