Our Team
Wendy Franks, Founder & CEO
Wendy has over 20 years of experience in principal investing and business building across multiple technologies and jurisdictions within the renewable energy and clean technology sectors globally. She previously served as the Chief Strategy Officer, Head of Hydrogen and New Initiatives at Northland Power, where she successfully built the battery storage business. Wendy led to full financing and construction of the Oneida battery storage project, the largest battery storage project in Canada ($800 million of capital, 250 MW), partnered with NRStor and Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corp, and with funding from the Canada Infrastructure Bank ($535 million). Before Northland, she was Senior Principal, Relationship Investments at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board where she managed a $4 billion investment portfolio spanning both private and public equity. Wendy served on the Canada Electricity Advisory Council supporting the Federal government on how best to develop a low-carbon, reliable and affordable electricity grid, as well as the boards of Renew Power, one of the largest renewable power companies in India and Essential Utilities, an NYSE-listed water and natural gas utility. She currently serves on several decarbonization councils.
Wendy holds a Ph.D. in Bioelectronics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, in addition to degrees in chemical and electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Mike Zajmalowski, Power Lead
As founder and Principal of Yottawatt Energy Consulting Inc., Mike has been a core member of the CPXP team since the project's inception, leading the critical power market workstreams that underpin the project's path to commercial operations. Over the past two years, Mike has guided CPXP through Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR), structured strategy around the Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit (CH-ITC), developed approaches to managing power price exposure, and navigated the interconnection process for large grid-connected loads.
Beyond CPXP, Yottawatt serves a diverse roster of clients across the energy sector, from utilities and independent power producers to energy storage developers and AI-driven energy platforms, providing expertise spanning market entry, regulatory compliance, asset optimization, and commercial operations across Canadian and U.S. electricity markets.
Mike brings over 25 years of power market experience to this role, including six years as Director of Market Operations, Regulatory & Compliance at Northland Power, where he led route-to-market strategies for renewables and energy storage assets across North America. Prior to Northland, he spent nine years at the OPA/IESO leading audit and compliance programs at the IESO and served as Senior Power System Planner at the Ontario Power Authority.
Amit Modi, Development Lead
Amit Modi is the Founder of FGS, an execution-focused project development firm that enables emerging climate technology companies to get their first commercial projects built.
Amit brings over 20 years of global experience developing unique and challenging infrastructure projects across the energy, transportation, and social sectors. Over his career, he has led more than USD 5 billion in sustainable infrastructure transactions, guiding projects from concept through financial close.
Before founding FGS, Amit served as Chief Development Officer at Andion Global, a renewable natural gas platform advancing biogas projects across North America, and as Managing Director of a multinational infrastructure fund mandated to develop and deliver high-impact projects in the energy, transport, and social sectors.
Amit is a registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) and holds a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Waterloo. He is recognized for combining technical depth, commercial acumen, and hands-on execution to transform sustainable climate technologies into bankable, scalable infrastructure businesses.
Dan Benoit, Project Finance Lead
Dan Benoit is a seasoned and accomplished financial professional with a proven track record of raising over $11 billion in infrastructure capital. His experience encompasses mergers and acquisitions, as well as business development and investment banking. He is currently a Partner at Fort Capital, one of Canada’s leading independent investment banking advisory firms. Dan previously founded an independent consultancy where he arranged over $2.3 billion of debt and provided strategic counsel for clients in the energy transition sector. He also served as CIO at Brookfield Renewable and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Oshawa Power. Dan has successfully developed and executed financing strategies for a variety of businesses, with particular expertise in renewable energy, energy storage, and regulated electric utilities. Dan joins us as a consultant focusing on project finance, CIB and senior debt.
Richard Florizone, Customer Lead
Part scientist and part strategist, Richard has a track record of creating major partnerships to achieve transformative growth. He has provided trusted strategy and policy advice to senior leaders in public, private, and multilateral institutions for over two decades, including as CEO of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and President of Dalhousie University.
Richard previously served as Director of MDA Space and has held leadership and advisory roles with the Boston Consulting Group, Bombardier Aerospace, and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Michael Shadbolt, Advisor
Michael is a lawyer and renewable energy executive with extensive experience and a deep understanding of energy project development and financing issues. He has over 27 years of legal experience in the energy sector, specializing in global acquisitions and partnership transactions within the renewable energy industry. Michael provides advisory support to the CPXP team on matters including site contracts and customer agreements.
Rahul Saili, Vice President - Finance
Rahul Saili, CFA is an experienced energy specialist with over a decade in the sector. He most recently played a key role in launching the New Energy division of an international Energy Developer and advanced several of their energy transition initiatives. Prior to that, Rahul spent nine years in investment banking, advising on cross-border mergers and acquisitions within the energy industry. At CPXP, Rahul leads financial strategy and supports business development efforts, drawing on his strong commercial, financial and sectoral insights.
Partners & Advisors
GHD is a global, multidisciplinary professional services network providing clients with integrated solutions across advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction. GHD has worked with hydrogen for over 50 years, and in the last 10+ years, has supported numerous low-carbon hydrogen production, distribution and end-use projects across the globe. GHD strongly supports their clients, such as CPXP, who are leading the development of clean hydrogen solutions to help heavy-emitting sectors reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
