SolarWindow Technologies, Inc., developer of transparent electricity-generating coatings for glass and plastics, announced the appointment of John S. Rhee to its Board of Directors as part of a planned initiative to spur commercial growth.
Rhee is a founding partner of a successful social impact investment company, serves on the investment committee of the Barbara Bush Foundation and held the position of FO of the Nobel Sustainability Trust.
Previously, Rhee was executive director at the SoftBank Alternative Investment and Venture Fund where large successful transactions were developed and strategically executed under Rhee’s leadership. Along with his extensive experience in the financial markets, he is also a global leader in sustainability and has a long history of philanthropy.
“I’ve been watching SolarWindow for some time and after seeing the company’s recent breakthroughs, I knew immediately, that now is the time to drive the growth of a new generation of self-charging products,” Rhee said.
“I’m truly honored to welcome Mr. John Rhee to our Board,” said Harmel S. Rayat, SolarWindow chairman, whose family office invested nearly $25 million in the company’s most recent financing round. “John joins us precisely when we have a breakthrough technology ready for deployment, burgeoning global demand for low-cost clean energy, and ample cash-on-hand. It’s now time to stack our management team and accelerate the growth of SolarWindow.”
Rhee is joined by Jay S. Bhogal, the newly-appointed CEO and president. Bhogal has a proven history of rapidly accelerating the commercialization of breakthrough technologies, consummating commercial and institutional partnerships in the United States and Europe, raising capital, and attracting top-tier talent to build high-impact operating teams. Along with extensive experience with the capital-efficient development of strategic intellectual property portfolios, he is also co-inventor of record for multiple inventions in the United States and Germany.
“Mr. Bhogal has an accomplished record and has been an important catalyst in my decision to join the SolarWindow Board,” said Rhee.
SolarWindow appointed former president, CEO, and director John A. Conklin as CTO. In this newly created position, Conklin will lead specialty development teams to rapidly engineer the company’s proprietary chemistries and processes for expanded commercial and product applications of its transparent electricity-generating coatings.
“Having worked first-hand on every aspect of our SolarWindow products from our earliest days, I’m very excited to focus on and lead our technology group in this new role,” said Conklin. “I especially look forward to deepening our technical capabilities and gearing up for this next chapter in our growth under the guidance of Mr. Bhogal as CEO and president.”
In addition, Bhogal will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors, where he is joined by Rayat, and fellow directors Bob Levine, Gary Parmar and Rhee.
Previously, Rhee tenured as an attorney with Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York, founded in 1849 and today one of the world’s leading corporate law firms specializing in capital markets, M&A, finance, restructuring, and tax. Earlier, Rhee clerked for the White House Legal Counsel’s Office under President Bill Clinton.
Concurrent with the appointment of Rhee to the Board of Directors, Dr. Alastair K. Livesey and Steve Horowitz exit the board while continuing to serve as advisors to the company.