Under Sam Brown's direction, Knight & Carver Wind Group has become a world-wide industry leader, specializing in the service and repair of wind blades for the fast-growing company.

In recent years, Mr. Brown has directed an expansion of the Wind Group with a full-scale blade production facility in South Dakota, along with increasing the workforce to more than 200 employees. In 2007, the company secured a $12.5 million investment by Global Environment Fund, a leading private equity firm.

Now, as the U.S. recognizes the compelling need to produce more renewable energy, Knight & Carver Wind Group stands poised for continued growth and prosperity, hallmarks of Mr. Brown's vision for the company.

Mr. Brown also presides over Knight & Carver YachtCenter as President/CEO. Since joining the company in 2001, that company has achieved a successful financial turnaround and now ranks as a leader within the large-vessel and megayacht repair industries. In 2007, the firm was recognized as "Boatyard of the Year" by the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association.

Originally from Massachusetts, Mr. Brown graduated from the University of Miami (FL) School of Business, where he obtained a finance degree in 1980. He earned his law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego in 1982 and was a founding partner of several law firms, with a specialty in maritime law.

Mr. Brown served as outside counsel to Knight & Carver YachtCenter for 14 years prior to joining the company in an executive role. He resides in Del Mar, California with his wife and two children.

An expert in strategic management planning, Mr. Simon brings more than 20 years of experience in manufacturing, engineering and operations. Fluent in Spanish, he has managed several successful manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Mexico.

Most recently, he was an auto-parts production executive based in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. He directs Knight & Carver's continued growth throughout the U.S. and into international markets.

Gary Kanaby has been involved with composite construction for over 30 years and brings expertise in mold design, mold fabrication and prototype construction.

In the 1980s, he served Knight & Carver as a composite and painting supervisor, overseeing the construction of several composite megayachts. During this time he was involved in the laminate design and construction of the projects. Prior to joining Knight & Carver, Mr. Kanaby built thermo chambers for Litton Aerospace as well as many other composite items for industry. In the 1990s, he relocated to Florida, where he spent years as a project leader at Westship Yachts in Tampa, FL. In that role, he supervised the tooling and construction of several large-scale luxury megayachts.

Mr. Kanaby returned to Knight & Carver in 2002 to lead the company's wind-blade operations. During this time, he has led several large projects, including the construction of hundreds of LS56100 blades for FPL Energy. He was responsible for the mold and prototype fabrication in the development of the Variblade Phase I and the DOE project developing a new blade that produces more energy in low wind regimes. Mr. Kanaby is a graduate of Wayne State (Mich.) University in 1973 with a BS degree in education.

Kevin Koeppen brings 13 years of accounting and finance experience to his role at Knight & Carver. Prior to joining the company, he held finance positions in the construction supply, golf equipment manufacturing and software industries. He holds a CPA designation in both Caifornia and Wisconsin, and is an accounting graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Manuel Quintero directs all Human Resource functions for Knight & Carver Wind Group, including all benefits, compensation, employee relations, organizational development, employment law and recruitment.  During 2008 and continuing into 2009, the company grew from 50 employees to well over 250 in all workforce levels.  He joined Knight & Carver Wind Group after almost 5 years with automaker BMW/USA based in Los Angeles County, CA.  He possesses over 16 years of experience in the HR arena in various industries and is a graduate of UC Riverside with a BA in Business Administration & Sociology.  Quintero also holds a MS degree in HR Design from Claremont Graduate University, CA, which is part of the Harvey Mudd/Pomona/Claremont McKenna University system.