Sustainable infrastructure investor and operator announced today the appointment of former U.S. DOE Under Secretary for Infrastructure David Crane as its new CEO and Chairman of the board.
Crane is taking over the CEO role from Generate co-founder Scott Jacobs, who has served in the role for over ten years.
Generate said that the new appointment comes as the firm “positions itself to capitalize on opportunities in a rapidly evolving energy market.”
Richard Kauffman, former Chairman and current Independent Director of Generate Capital, said:
“Generate was founded on the belief that combining operators and investors creates the best opportunity to deliver value to shareholders and fund investors while advancing the energy transition. We are fortunate David has chosen to dedicate the next phase of his career to continuing to build Generate into a critical resource for our partners, investors, and the communities we serve.”
Founded in 2014, Generate builds, owns, operates and finances critical infrastructure across key sectors including power, mobility, waste, green digital, water and agriculture, and industrial decarbonization.
The company has raised more than $14 billion to date, and owns and operates more than 2,000 assets globally, in areas including Sustainable Energy, including microgrids, solar, energy storage, lighting, HVAC systems, fuel cells, geothermal, biomass & biogas, building automation & sensors, heat pumps, and smart meters, Sustainable Mobility, including electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, autonomous vehicles, charging depots & infrastructure, and fleets, and Sustainable Water, Waste & Agriculture, including anaerobic digesters, wastewater treatment, desalination, food waste management, recycling/reuse, precision agriculture, farm automation, irrigation, and sensors & meters.
Crane joins Generate after serving as Under Secretary for Infrastructure at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from 2022 until early 2025. He has served as CEO of five publicly traded energy companies, and currently serves on the board of JERA Co., Inc.
Crane said:
“I chose Generate because of its operational excellence, uncompromising commitment to the energy transition, and dedicated team. Our core strengths—an operator’s mindset, strong balance sheet, capital flexibility, and deep market insight—are especially valuable in today’s environment. In the near term, we will focus on maximizing value in our portfolio, investing in high performing assets, and building our credit business. I am honored to lead Generate in this next phase and committed to delivering long-term value to our stakeholders.”
