Our Team

Potentia Renewables Executive Team

Ben leads the overall strategic growth of Potentia in his role as Chief Executive Officer. Ben has led Potentia to the successful procurement of over 1 GW of contracted assets during his time with the company. Formerly the Executive Director of Development at NextEra Energy Canada, Ben led NextEra Energy’s Canadian team as they created a Canadian presence for North America’s largest renewable energy owner and operator. During his nine years at NextEra Energy Canada, the organization grew to over 900 MW of operating renewable energy facilities across four provinces. Ben has broad‐spectrum experience on over 2 GW of renewable energy projects, with experience ranging from early-stage development to the construction of over 800 MW of wind energy projects.

Ben has served two 3-year terms on the board of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (now the Canadian Renewable Energy Association), where he held the roles of chair and treasurer. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo.

Jeremy leads Potentia’s asset management team, having overall responsibility for the finance, operations, and business management departments. Over the past 15 years, Jeremy has had an extensive career as a senior financial professional with experience in the renewable energy industry. Prior to joining Potentia, Jeremy spent 24 years with Grant Thornton LLP, including 14 years as a Partner in the Audit practice. At Grant Thornton, Jeremy held leadership roles both locally and nationally and advised public and private businesses across a variety of sectors. He has extensive knowledge of finance, accounting, and operations management.

Jeremy holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Andrew leads the legal, corporate secretary and permitting functions at Potentia. Andrew is a legal professional with extensive corporate and renewable energy industry experience. Andrew spent nine years as an attorney in private practice with two law firms in Manhattan where he advised public and private businesses in Mergers & Acquisitions and securities transactions across a variety of sectors. Prior to joining Potentia he acted as in-house counsel to NextEra Energy Canada for five years.

Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toronto. He is licensed to practice law in New York State and the Province of Ontario.

Andrea leads the development, origination and strategic sourcing teams for Potentia having responsibility for all aspects of development, sourcing of offtake opportunities and procurement of major equipment. Prior to this role, Andrea held permitting, development, construction and project management roles at NextEra Energy Canada and BluEarth Renewables which led to direct experience on over 1 GW of utility-scale wind and solar projects that are currently in operation.

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto.

Leasa leads the Engineering and Construction Team for our major projects including Wind, Solar and Storage.  Her team participates from the inception of a project providing engineering and estimating support during the development phases.  As they move into the construction, they will manage the project in its entirety including tendering, engineering review, project management, construction oversite, interconnection to the utility to then turn over a reliable product to the Operations Team.
Leasa has been involved in Renewable Energy specializing in construction for over 17 years including a ten-year tenor with Pattern Energy where she was involved with several large Ontario FIT projects.  Her experience includes working across several states and provinces in North America with an education in civil engineering.

Doug leads the operations and maintenance functions for Potentia. Doug is a renewable energy operations expert with more than 17 years of experience overseeing the commercial operations of wind, solar, battery storage, hydro-electric, and geothermal power plants. Prior to joining Potentia, Doug was the General Manager of Operations for NextEra Energy and held accountability for all aspects of operations and maintenance for more than 2.4 GW of operating assets, representing 25 wind projects, 5 battery storage facilities and 2 solar sites. Doug was also responsible for building the entire NextEra Energy Canada Operating Services portfolio from two sites in Eastern Canada to over $3B in assets and 65 full‐time employees.

Michèle has been with Potentia for over 15 years and oversees the business management function for our operating wind and solar portfolios. This includes overseeing all Feed-in Tariff contract management and, landlord interfaces. Michèle has over 20 years of experience in the renewable energy field and prior to joining Potentia, she was part of the Deep Lake Water Cooling project team at Enwave Energy Corporation.

Michèle holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Anthropology Major from Trent University.

Beverly (Bev) joined Potentia in October 2018 and is responsible for financial reporting, accounting, and related finance activities. Prior to joining Potentia, Bev held progressively senior finance roles at several large Canadian public companies, primarily focused on external and regulatory reporting, across various industries.

Bev is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CA and holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science (Honours) degree and a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree from the University of South Africa.

Andrew leads the treasury, insurance and AP functions at Potentia, bringing a wealth of expertise to the team with more than 15 years of experience in the renewable energy industry. Prior to joining Potentia, he was Treasurer at Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. for 8 years and then a consultant with several renewable energy companies. He started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1993 with a focus on financial advisory services including insolvency, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

Jennifer (Jenn) is responsible for the government affairs, regulatory development, and communications functions at Potentia. Jenn joined Potentia January 2023, bringing an extensive background in politics, advocacy and communications to the team. Jenn spent over a decade working at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Ontario, for various backbench MPPs followed by several Ontario Cabinet Ministers, including the Ministers of Natural Resources and Energy. She then spent ten years at NextEra Energy Canada, where she advocated for more renewable development in Canada and for regulations and market mechanisms that supported the expansion of renewable energy. From 2019 to 2022, Jenn was the CEO of the Maritimes Energy Association (MEA).