About

ForeFront Power is a leading developer of commercial and industrial-scale (C&I) solar energy and battery storage projects in the U.S. and Mexico, also offering vehicle fleet electrification services. The ForeFront Power team has 15 years of experience working together to develop more than 1,400 behind-the-meter and community solar projects, totaling more than 1.1 gigawatt-DC of renewable electricity. ForeFront Power serves business, government, education, healthcare and community solar customers with a broad array of development, asset management and advisory services from its San Francisco headquarters and via teams based in New York, Mexico City, and across the U.S. through a hybrid work model.

ForeFront Power is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd., a global energy infrastructure and investment leader. ForeFront Power operates under Mitsui’s North American investment arm, MyPower Corp. Mitsui holds a robust balance sheet and an “A” credit rating from Standard & Poor’s.


Our Leadership Team

Michael Smith

CEO

Michael oversees the company’s strategy and all business areas across the United States and Mexico. Before he joined ForeFront Power, Michael served as Senior Vice President, Distributed Energy, at Constellation, the retail energy subsidiary of Exelon Corp., where he was responsible for Constellation’s distributed solar, energy efficiency, and energy asset operations businesses across the U.S. Earlier, he served as Vice President, Innovation and Strategy Development, for Exelon Generation, and led Constellation Technology Ventures, Exelon’s venture investing organization. 

Prior to joining Exelon / Constellation, Michael was Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Enron Energy Services and a trial lawyer at Bricker & Eckler, LLP. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Miami and a JD from the Duke University School of Law.

photo of man with white collared shirt

Yumitake Furukawa

Deputy CEO

Yumitake oversees strategic collaboration between ForeFront Power and its parent company, Mitsui & Co. Previously Yumitake was General Manager of the Mitsui & Co. Energy Management Department in Tokyo, where he oversaw the firm’s infrastructure businesses in North America, and was a member of ForeFront Power’s Board of Directors and Steering Committee.

During his time at Mitsui & Co., Yumitake spearheaded numerous global business development efforts, including the acquisition of a portfolio comprised of 1,200 MW gas-fired power plants and 320 MW wind projects in Mexico; the divestment of a 5 GW portfolio in the UK; and Astoria Energy’s 575 MW gas-fired power plant in NYC. Yumitake holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Keio University.

Kristin Frooshani

Chief Legal Officer

Kristin leads all internal legal efforts at ForeFront Power.  She has over 9 years of experience supporting financial transactions, project development, M&A, real estate, and asset management in the US and Mexico energy industries.   Kristin is also responsible for corporate governance and compliance matters and serves as corporate secretary of the ForeFront Power Board of Managers.

Kristin led internal counsel during the acquisition of SunEdison’s C&I division by Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and the creation of ForeFront Power. She has also worked on marquee projects, including pioneering ForeFront Power’s community solar portfolio and leading legal efforts on SunEdison’s first solar project on a Superfund site, Sullivan’s Ledge in Massachusetts. Before ForeFront Power, Kristin served as Assistant General Counsel, North America Structured and Project Finance, for SunEdison. She holds a bachelor’s degree in pre-law studies from Penn State University and a JD from the Villanova University School of Law.

Charlie Sohm

Chief Development Officer

Charlie supervises, manages, and directs regional development directors, project managers, engineers, and project coordinators to support sales, pre-construction activities, permitting, procurement, and construction across the U.S. He has over eleven years of project development and construction experience in solar PV. 

Prior to ForeFront Power, Charlie served as West Coast Project Development Director at SunEdison, and Senior Project Manager at Enfinity America Corporation. Before starting his career in the renewable energy space, Charlie held various positions in construction management for commercial and heavy civil general contracting firms, including Rudolph & Sletten, Walsh & Forster, and C.C. Myers. Charlie is LEED AP Certified and holds a bachelor’s of science degree in construction management, with a minor in business administration, from CSU Sacramento.

Rachel McLaughlin

Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Rachel leads policy and regulatory affairs, market entry strategy, site acquisition, project acquisition, energy storage, marketing, and direct sales to C&I customers in the US and Mexico. She has over 14 years of energy sector sales and market strategy experience across over nine markets and 600 MW of distributed generation capacity.

Previously Rachel directed the company’s sales efforts in Illinois and in community solar markets nationwide. She joined the ForeFront Power team from SunEdison where she oversaw the company’s engagements with the non-retail Fortune 1000. She is a Fulbright Fellow and holds a BA in Public Policy Studies from Duke University.

Dan Taylor

Chief Strategy Officer

Dan provides oversight and leadership across all of ForeFront Power’s information technology, innovation, and strategy work. For over 20 years, Dan has led committed teams deploying facilities management and energy solutions across North America.

At both Fortune 500 firms and IPO-bound start-ups, Dan has held leadership positions in sales management, marketing management, operations, strategy, and knowledge management. His experience includes leadership positions at SunEdison, First Service Networks, and Cintas Corp. Dan holds an MBA from the University of Arizona, a master’s degree in strategic communication and leadership from Seton Hall University, and a bachelor’s degree in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.

Yohei Kishi

CFO

Yohei’s role at ForeFront Power includes oversight of corporate finance, tax compliance, accounting, and fiscal budgeting. He brings a critical skill set to the ForeFront Power team through his attention to detail, thorough analytical process, and unique ability to combine financial acumen with business strategy. 

Yohei has more than 15 years of finance experience in the energy sector with ForeFront Power’s parent entity, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. His project experience includes the financing and development of over 1 GW of electricity generating capacity across four continents. He holds a degree from the University of Tsukuba in Japan.

Nate Skon

Vice President, Asset Management

At ForeFront Power, Nate has built the Asset Management team to be best in class as assets under management grew from 0 to over 100 over the last 2 years.

Nate has over a decade of solar experience working in finance functions at SunPower, SunEdison, Solar Power Partners (bought by NRG), and now ForeFront Power. He has supported the development and finance operations of more than 5 GW in 15 countries, including projects ranging from 5 KW residential to 750 MW utility-scale. Nate holds an MBA with honors from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Wisconsin.

Bryan Eckstein

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Project Finance

Bryan leads the project finance and corporate development teams at ForeFront Power. He leads strategic innovation initiatives for the business, including M&A activity and organic growth, which spans new revenue models (having launched ForeFront Power’s market-leading community solar program) to emerging technology offerings. He is also responsible for evaluating and structuring the long-term performance of contracted assets, from origination until closing with investors and other sources of capital.

Bryan has 16 years of experience developing market-based clean energy solutions, delivering more than 500 MWs of solar PV and battery storage development and financings (previously at SunEdison and Recurrent Energy). Earlier, he designed and implemented energy, water, and climate change programs for clients including the World Bank, the UNFCCC Secretariat, the U.S. EPA, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Environment Canada, the New Zealand government, the Australian government, and public utility regulators. He holds MBA and Master of Environmental Management degrees from Yale University, as well as a BA in Urban and Environmental Planning and Economics from the University of Virginia.

Nate Roberts

Vice President, Development

Nate oversees the national behind-the-meter space, developing strategies for the engineering, procurement, and construction of  projects to ensure they move forward with implementation and reach the commercial operation milestone.  Nate supervises and oversees all pre-construction activities, including site development, entitlement and permitting, as well as all construction activities, including procurement, installation, start-up and commissioning. Nate also works closely with the project finance team to ensure project transactions occur within forecasted timeframes.

Before ForeFront Power, Nate was the Senior Manager of the distributed generation, public and municipal market space, for the Pacific West region at SunEdison. He has over 9 years of solar project development and execution experience, helping develop and/or implement over 200 MW across more than 300 solar and solar + storage projects. Prior to SunEdison, Nate served as Project Manager for Blue Oak Energy and Enfinity America Corp.  Before starting his career in renewable energy, Nate held project management, construction management and estimating positions for a commercial general contractor, working on hospitals, hotels, casinos and pharmaceutical projects.  Overall, Nate has been involved in construction and project management for over 14 years.  Nate is LEED AP certified and holds a bachelor’s of science degree in criminal justice from San Diego State University.  Nate is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, having served as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army.

Michelle Ochoa

Director of HR

Michelle Ochoa oversees all of the HR-related functions for ForeFront Power, including engagement, talent management, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) initiatives, total rewards, performance management, payroll, and workers’ compensation.

Michelle joined the solar industry in 2011 previously working as the Director of HR & Finance for Black Rock Solar. Prior to working in the solar industry and in HR-specific roles, Michelle worked across various roles and industries including public relations, event management, sales and marketing, and arts and entertainment.

Michelle is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) through the Human Resource Certification Institute and SHRM Certified Professional SHRM-CP through the Society of Human Resource Management. Michelle has a Diversity & Inclusion for HR certificate from Cornell University. She is also OSHA 30 certified. Michelle graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Latin American & Iberian Studies and also holds a M.S. from University of Southern California in Human Resource Management.


Our Core Beliefs

To be the industry’s most respected and innovative renewable energy provider.

To transform the energy sector in ways that:

CUSTOMERS recommend,
EMPLOYEES embrace,
PARTNERS value, and
Our PLANET needs.


Interested in learning more?

We would love to discuss how our solutions might be a fit for your organization. Contact one of our solar, storage, or e-mobility experts today: