Co-founder Thomas Folker transitions from CEO to Chief Strategy Officer

Leap, the leading virtual power plant (VPP) platform, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Jason Michaels as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Michaels, who previously served as Leap’s Chief Revenue Officer, succeeds Leap co-founder Thomas Folker, who has led the company as CEO since its founding in 2017. Folker will remain at Leap as Chief Strategy Officer.

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Jason Michaels Appointed CEO (Graphic: Business Wire)

“Under Thomas’ leadership, Leap has grown from a startup to a leader in the VPP space, achieving impressive growth for the last two years,” said Nick Grossman, Leap Board Member and Partner at Union Square Ventures. “Thomas and the board believe this is the perfect time for new leadership to continue Leap’s momentum, and that Jason is uniquely qualified to position Leap for long-term success.”

“As Leap scales to new heights, I am excited to dedicate my focus to shaping Leap’s long-term vision and strategy,” said Folker. “Jason has been with Leap since its early days, and his deep understanding of our business, unmatched commitment to our mission, and proven leadership have been pivotal to Leap’s growth. I’m confident he is the ideal person to build on the strong foundation we’ve created and lead Leap through its next phase of expansion and innovation.”

Michaels brings nearly 30 years of experience working in renewable energy, distributed energy resources, and capital markets. As Leap’s CRO, he played a critical role in driving the company’s commercial strategy, overseeing significant revenue and portfolio growth while securing and expanding partnerships with over 90 industry-leading technology and energy companies, including a major automaker and global smart device manufacturers. Prior to Leap, Michaels led investments and partnerships for residential distributed energy resources at National Grid Ventures and directed business development for Enphase Energy. His background also includes 11 years in fixed-income capital markets at JPMorgan, UBS, and Wachovia Bank. A co-founder of the EDICT (Empowering Diverse Climate Talent) Internship Program, Michaels has been a committed advocate for creating opportunities for underrepresented talent in the climate sector.

“Leap’s mission has never been more urgent or more important. I am honored to step into this role and lead our talented team as we continue to drive innovation in virtual power plants and empower our partners to build a cleaner, more resilient electric grid,” said Michaels. “Together, we will build on Leap’s incredible momentum and realize the full potential of distributed energy resources.”

About Leap

Leap is the leading platform for generating new value from distributed energy resources (DERs) through integration with energy markets. Through its software-only solution, Leap facilitates fast, easy and automated access to high-value grid services revenue streams for the providers of batteries, electric vehicle charging, smart thermostats, HVAC systems and other flexible assets. By aggregating the DERs enrolled on its platform, Leap supplies virtual power plants (VPPs) to balance the grid. Leap enables its partners and their customers to unlock new value streams and help create a more flexible, resilient grid powered by renewable resources.

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