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About Me

Kevin is a serial entrepreneur and popular speaker at conferences around the world. Kevin is currently CEO of appvance, Chair of Array Power and Zeta Communities, and a Director of BioSmart Sciences, Plus5, Yap.tv and Cantimer. As CEO of Serious Energy for 10 years, Kevin built one of the largest brands in the energy efficiency space completing 70,000 projects including the retrofit of the Empire State Building and saving billions of pounds of CO2. Kevin was Inc Magazin's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009, one of the top 15 innovators of this decade by CNBC, nominated as Innovator of the Year by PlanetForward, and awarded Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum at Davos. Before joining Serious Energy in 2002, Kevin held executive and technical positions with Perfect Commerce, General Magic, Air Communications, National Semiconductor, and Seiko-Epson. He received his degree in electrical engineering technology from Rochester Institute of Technology where he serves on the Board of Trustees, and he has been awarded 23 patents.

Location:
United States, Sunnyvale, CA
Current organization:
appvance
Current role:
CEO
Gender:
Male
Areas of expertise:
Building Materials, Voice User Interface Design, Climate Change, Sourcing through auctions, Noise pollution, Social/Mobile validation
I am:
Business leader, Business mentor, Christian, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Idea generator, Inventor, Musician, Startup
Associations:
Santa Clara Vanguard
Languages:
English
My website links:
Serious Energy, PushToTest
Universities:
rochester institute of technology
TED conferences attended:
TED2014, TED2013, TED2012, TED2011, TED2010, TED2009, TED2008
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TEDCRED 100+ TED Attendee

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Social/Mobile computing, energy efficiency, science education, social/emotional learning

Talk to me about

Energy Efficiency

People don't know that I'm good at

Music director for community theater. Also a drummer.

My TED Story

TED is an amazing experience. The people on stage...and off. If you let it...your mind will open and expand and you will perform better in whatever you do once you return home.I, and others, always have TED withdrawal. The day it ends and for maybe a week after. One could make a movie just on this symptom. I think TED reminds of of our very best days in school, when we had that certain teacher in a certain class that we simply loved. We learned and absorbed. Then life strikes and we get busy and busier. TED brings us all back to that very favorite teacher where our mind becomes a sponge...just for a few days a year.

Comments

  • TEDCred score: +185.30 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

  • A reply on Talk: Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall

    May 12 2013: Serious Energy never took any government money and the company continues to do quite well. No Solyndra. As for your windows point: All window industry energy saving claims were banned by FTC, regardless of specific performance. Serious was just one of those manufacturers.

  • A reply on Talk: Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall

    May 12 2013: The technology is proven in pre-production and is working towards mass production, especially now that the construction market is recovering.

  • A reply on Talk: Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall

    May 12 2013: Production plant was constructed in the US, not China. Only some of the production equipment was made in China. No product was made in China.
  • +2

    A reply on Talk: Amanda Palmer: The art of asking

    Mar 4 2013: You are spot on Amanda. I know lots of musicians who would cherish the chance to perform with you and that would be payment enough. I have done that myself many times to play for large audiences. So has everyone else in the business. And still its the best talk of 2013 :)
  • +1

    A comment on Talk: Amanda Palmer: The art of asking

    Mar 4 2013: Amanda rocked it! One of my fav talks of TED2013. She is daring, controversial, humble and very likable. Never heard of her or her music before TED, but now I also know she is very talented as well.
  • +1

    A comment on Talk: Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

    Feb 24 2010: Temple was fantastic and made is think about people and kids on the autistic spectrum from an inside, well thought through perspective. Opened everyone's mind, which is what TED is all about.
  • +2

    A reply on Talk: Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall

    Jun 15 2009: The production product shipping uses fiberglass, not paper.
  • +4

    A reply on Talk: Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall

    Jun 9 2009: EcoRock IS made only in the USA. Just the equipment was from China. Sorry for the confusion.
  • +9

    A comment on Talk: Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall

    Jun 9 2009: Couple quick clarifications:
    1) EcoRock is made in the USA. And ONLY in the USA. This plant is in Sunnyvale, CA. Some equipment was made in China which is shown in the presentation as there were no US manufacturers of this equipment any longer.
    2) EcoRock is priced the same as other mold-resistant drywall products.
    But the purpose of the talk was to show the skill and unwavering determination of the team that believed for years they could make a difference...and they did. The company makes many other products from windows to doors, but this was the first time we showed anyone the details of the first new drywall in 100 years. Hats off to the team of scientists who worked so hard to make this happen.

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