Richard Hansen is the founder and CEO of Soluz, Inc. He brings two decades of experience in the application of PV technology for rural electrification in developing countries and over 25 years in the energy sector.

Mr. Hansen began his energy career as an engineer and manager at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Following research into renewable energy, Mr. Hansen founded Enersol Associates, an organization promoting PV through technical assistance and training at the grassroots level, in 1984. Also in the mid-1980s, he launched a PV sales and service company in the Dominican Republic that served as a model for enterprise development and rural energy supply.

Mr. Hansen is widely recognized for his leadership in the field of solar electrification; he was recently selected as one of two World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers in Energy for 2003. He is a registered professional engineer (industrial) in the state of Massachusetts and holds a BSME from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Boston University. Mr. Hansen has lived in the Dominican Republic and is fluent in Spanish.