Dr. Jaap Haarsten
Technology Advisor
Dr. Jaap C. Haartsen has been active in the area of wireless communications for more than 30 years. He studied at the Delft University of Technology obtaining his Master and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering both cum laude in 1986 and 1990, respectively. Dr. Haartsen worked for international companies in the US, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Late 1994, he laid the foundations for the system that became known as the Bluetooth Wireless Technology. He is internationally regarded as the Father of Bluetooth and during the past several years has been awarded several prizes related to this title: he was inducted in the National Inventor Hall of Fame in Washington in May 2016, and in the Consumer Technology Hall of Fame in New York in November 2016. With the advent of Bluetooth, Haartsen played an active role in the creation of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), and from 1998 to 2000, he served as chairman for the Bluetooth SIG air protocol specifications group. In this role, he helped to drive the standardization of the Bluetooth radio interface and participated in efforts to obtain worldwide regulatory approval of the Bluetooth technology.
Dr. Haartsen has authored numerous publications and is named as an inventor on over 200 -patents in the area of wireless communications. From 2000 until 2008, he served as part-time professor at the University of Twente, teaching and leading research in the area of mobile communications. He is working part-time for Plantronics as Chief Scientist Wireless Technologies. Prior to his role, Dr. Haartsen was CTO of tonalite B.V., a privately-owned company that specialized in wireless wearable audio products. Late 2016, Dr. Haartsen created his own consultancy firm JHC2. He serves as consultant and advisor in the area of wireless technologies for various companies worldwide.
Eric Hinckley
Technology Advisor
Eric is Chief Technology Officer of Renova Capital Partners, a private equity firm with an established track record of investing in, financing and operating renewable energy assets. Since inception in 2007, Renova has successfully developed and capitalized over $600-million of renewable energy infrastructure.
In addition to Renova Capital Partners, Eric’s experience includes:
- Former COO and SR. VP at BriteStreet Energy Group, LLC
- Former Chief Technology Officer at AES Distributed Energy, Inc.
- Former Chief Technology Officer and Sr. VP Operations at Main Street Power Company,
Inc. - Former President and Founder of Solar Resource Consulting, LLC.
- Former COO of Simple Solar Systems, LLC.
- Former Chief Technology Officer and COO of Solorado Energy, LLC.
Eric holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado and is a NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) Board Certified Solar PV Installation Professional.
