Michael Eckhart is a Managing Director and Global Head of Environmental Finance in the Corporate and Investment Banking Division of Citigroup in New York City. Previously, he was founding President of the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE), a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization, where he emerged as a national and global leader in the renewable energy field. Earlier, he developed financing for solar energy under the SolarBank Initiative in Europe, South Africa and India; was Chairman & CEO of United Power Systems, Inc.; Vice President of Areté Ventures, Inc.; a strategic planner of General Electric Company’s power systems sector; and a Principal with the energy practice of Booz, Allen & Hamilton. He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being named Renewable Energy Man of the Year in India in 1998, and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2008. He served in the US Navy Submarine Service, and received a degree in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.