Today, the Institute for Market Transformation welcomed two new members to its Board of Directors: Julia Gisewite, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Turner Construction Company and Akshai Rao, Senior Vice President of Ancillary Services at Yardi Systems. Longstanding board members Charlotte Matthews and Alan Miller departed IMT’s board, effective December 13. Board member Matt Eggers also departed the board earlier this fall.
“We are heading into a new year with substantial momentum and market demand for ambitious, rapid, and deep climate action, and IMT is primed to help answer this call to action. The addition of our new board members grows IMT’s depth of expertise to harness the opportunities ahead and I’m thrilled to welcome Julia and Akshai to the IMT board,” said Adam Hinge, IMT Board Chair. “We also owe many thanks to both Alan, Charlotte, and Matt for their dedicated service to IMT. Their deep industry knowledge and personal passion for creating better buildings has been off deep value to IMT.”
Julia Gisewite, Akshai Rao join board
As Turner Construction Company’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Julia Gisewite is responsible for setting and implementing sustainability policies, standards, and strategies across Turner’s national and international operations. Turner’s program addresses topics relevant to the building industry including embodied carbon, energy, construction emissions, resiliency, waste, green building rating systems, and more. Named ENR’s #1 Green Builder for twelve years running, Turner employs over 1,050 sustainability-credentialed staff and works on over 500 green building projects each year. In 2019, the company announced a 2030 Commitment aimed at reducing the GHG emissions and water consumption of its project sites by 50% over the next 10 years, as well as a commitment to resiliency to support critical decision-making for the long-term comfort, livability, and sustainability of buildings and communities.
Akshai Rao joined Yardi Systems in 2013, and oversees Yardi’s Procure to Pay and Energy business units. During his tenure, Akshai has helped grow Yardi’s Procure to Pay client base to more than 3,000 clients across all real estate verticals and several countries. In his role at Yardi, Akshai supports product direction, implementation and ongoing support to enable clients to make the most of Yardi’s platforms. Yardi’s Energy business unit includes over 800 employees and a full suite platform from utility invoicing to in-building technology designed to enable detailed data tracking and actionable insights across all real estate asset classes. Yardi has achieved the Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence designation due to their efforts in helping their clients improve energy performance in their real estate portfolios. Prior to joining Yardi, he was a Manager in Bain & Company’s Tech and Telecom practice. Akshai has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Matt Eggers, Charlotte Matthews, Alan Miller depart Board
In addition to the three new members, three existing board members depart. They are Matt Eggers of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Charlotte Matthews, Senior Director of Affordable Electrification at Sidewalk Labs, and Alan Miller, a consultant for climate finance and policy and former senior staff member of the Climate Business Department, International Finance Corporation. Matthews and Miller, who depart on December 13, each penned a reflective blog post on their time at IMT.
“I am deeply grateful to Matt, Charlotte, and Alan for their many years of service to IMT,” said IMT Executive Director Lotte Schlegel. “Their leadership alongside IMT’s full board has helped IMT evolve in a rapidly changing environment. We are stronger today because of their service.”
Stay tuned to IMT.org for upcoming profiles of IMT’s new board members. In the interim, more information on each Board member can be found at imt.org/about/board-of-directors.