About Us

Howard Trott is the CEO of ARES North America and an executive with more than 25 years of experience developing and operating a wide range of energy projects, real estate investments and business ventures. For over twenty years, he worked for telecommunications pioneer Craig McCaw. During Howard’s tenure with McCaw, he led a variety of development projects, including the successful conversion of James Island, a 780-acre island in the gulf of British Columbia to a model of environmental sustainability. Howard has built corporate aircraft hangars for some of the largest corporations in the world. Mr. Trott is also the CEO of RECON Dynamics, which was created with a vision to provide advanced best-in-class IoT solutions for wireless asset location, management, and telemetry for a broad-spectrum of industries. He has completed a vast array of high-profile projects ranging from solar farms and aviation projects to large conservation projects. He is deeply focused on advancing green energy technologies and designing with sustainability and conservation in mind.

Todd has held numerous executive level finance positions with both private and public manufacturing companies over the past 20+ years, most recently with Data Exchange Corporation and Semtech Corporation, both headquartered in Southern California.  During this time he served as company Treasurer and helped develop and implement “Best in Class” financial systems, controls and processes to improve operating margins, profitability and cash flow while maximizing shareholder value. Responsible for complex modeling, strategic growth and profitability, Todd has been a leader in identifying tactical and strategic growth opportunities both organically and through acquisition.  His role in the acquisition, funding and integration of five companies over a six-year period while at Semtech contributed to revenue growth during that period of over 200%.  Additionally, while at Semtech Corporation Todd served as the company’s interface with institutional investors.

Kent Greene is the Chief Development Officer of ARES North America and a licensed architect with significant development experience managing all varieties of unique projects. For 20 years Kent was the principal of studio GREENE llc, an architecture, planning and design firm with a vast number of wide-ranging projects from ecologically-minded resort communities in James Island, British Columbia and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua to aircraft flight facilities for clients including the principals of Apple, WhatsApp, Gilead Sciences, Oak Hill Capital Partners, Siebel Systems and Sequoia Capital. Kent brings quality design, a thoughtful contextual approach and environmentally-conscious solutions to complex design projects.

Mark Callaghan has over 30 years of experience in private equity investing and management. As a principal at Cedar Grove Investments, he specialized in early-stage technology companies, with a focus on photo licensing, mobile applications, and wireless technology. Mark's extensive M&A experience in Wireless Telecom includes working with McCaw Cellular, Columbia Capital Corp, and Eagle River Holdings. He was also the co-founder of PhotoDisc, which was successfully acquired by Getty Images. Most recently, he managed land acquisitions and development in the Mountain West for Trilogy Investment Company.

Russ is a seasoned business and project developer, marketing and sales leader, and legal manager, with 30 years of experience in the energy storage, renewables, and electronics industries. He has a track record of success at GE, Labtec, leading law firms when an attorney in private practice, and flow battery company UET (UniEnergy Technologies). In 2018, Russ established the consultancy CleanTech Strategies LLC. The firm’s clients include engineering, procurement, and construction firm Potelco, part of Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR), which has built the megawatt-scale Horn Rapids Solar, Storage, and Training project in conjunction with utility Energy Northwest and owner Tucci Energy Services; the energy storage program at Sandia National Laboratories; engineering and manufacturing company Hotstart with 78 years of experience providing thermal management systems for engines, equipment, and now energy storage; power market conference company Infocast to design and host two two-day energy storage conferences focused on Storage Business Models and Economics and Increasing Storage Safety and Performance; and ARES, including its 50MW/12.5MWh project in Nevada providing regulation services into the CAISO market. Russ is now the Chief Development Officer for ARES. His foci are the 50MW ARES project in Nevada, the development and negotiation of further ARES projects, development of strategic partnerships for ARES, and the go-to-market strategy of the company.

Corey has over 16 years experience managing public and private sector client relationships, negotiating service contracts, and providing strategic solutions to intricate challenges. Serving as Project Director at ARES North America he is responsible for pre-construction activities, including site research, project estimating, material procurement, as well as overall execution of ARES' design in the field. Prior to joining ARES, Corey served as Vice President, Relationship Management for Mission Square Retirement where he managed the investment recordkeeper’s service delivery to their largest public sector clients in the Pacific Northwest. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics from the University of Oregon. Corey also holds a Certificate in Construction Management from the University of Washington.

Tommy has a diverse background of over 17 years in product development, managing manufacturers and distribution networks worldwide. He has successfully established national product lines with Fortune 500 companies. Tommy contributes value in many ways to execute and develop ARES North America. As Manufacturing Manager, his passion is to efficiently produce and deliver quality ARES components. Tommy holds a BA from Central Washington University.

Keith MacKay brings over 25 years of expertise in manufacturing, fleet operations, and energy systems to his role as Director of Manufacturing at Advanced Rail Energy Systems (ARES) Inc. Before joining ARES, Keith spent over a decade at a leading Northwest electric and gas utility contractor, where he led transformative fleet modernization initiatives that advanced both environmental performance as well as safety. His innovations included LNG engine conversions, diesel-hydrogen fuel blending, robotic powerline construction, and satellite-based outage detection. Keith’s career began in the field as a journeyman mechanic and fabricator, maintaining and customizing utility vehicles and developing specialized tools for demanding environments. He holds an A.S. in CNC Machining and multiple certifications, including 6G pipe welding and FAA UAS drone piloting. A lifelong auto enthusiast, Keith has restored and raced vintage European sports cars for over 30 years.

Tom brings 47 years of high-end construction build, development, engineering experience, with the highest-level construction standards to ARES project site development. As principal and CEO of a Seattle based General Contracting Corporation, projects include high-end residential and commercial projects, large estate builds, private corporate offices, private flight operation facilities. Project locations include WA., OR., CA., ID., AZ, British Columbia, Canadian San Juan Islands. Clients include leaders in the high-tech industry. Tom also developed additional corporations including construction management firm, limited energy corp., marine fabrication design/build.