Optera Expands Leadership Team to Support Strategic Growth in Carbon Accounting

Key positions will drive finance, product innovation, go-to-market strategy and company culture

Optera, a leader in ESG and carbon management software, announced key appointments to its leadership team.

The growth continues Optera’s success. Last year, the company quadrupled its customers and tracked more than 225 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent across 84,000 locations, including $187 billion in its customers’ supply chain spend.

New hires to senior leadership include Megan Dunne, Vice President of Finance, and Derek Kuhl, Vice President of Sales. Dunne brings to Optera her decades of experience building finance functions and guiding financial and operational strategy for startup and pre-IPO companies, most recently as VP of Finance at Knock. Kuhl joins Optera with nearly 25 years of senior leadership experience in sales and marketing at technology companies such as Spotify, Google and General Assembly.

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Optera has also recently promoted several individuals to its senior leadership team, including:

• Nancy Schoemann – Senior Vice President, Operations
• Katie Oakes – Vice President, Marketing
• Alekhya Reddy – Vice President, Product
• Ilya Sukhanov – Vice President, Engineering

“These team members have proven track records. While they each bring unique skills, they have a common passion for scaling solutions to address climate change,” said Tim Weiss, Optera’s CEO and co-founder. “We’ve built a strong team to help lead the global transition to the net zero economy by empowering decarbonization across the corporate sector.”

The expansion comes at a critical time, as the private sector’s need for carbon accounting solutions is rapidly growing.

Recent research from Optera and NewtonX showed that while 72% of large organizations have undergone at least one emission inventory process, just 30% use software that address common data issues, resulting in incomplete and inaccurate data that holds sustainability leaders back from comprehensive emissions analysis.

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“Companies that struggle to manage their carbon emissions, especially Scope 3 emissions, will face even greater risks in the future, as regulatory and market forces accelerate our transition to the low-carbon economy,” said Weiss.

Optera also announced its status as a Public Benefit Corporation. This designation requires companies to be operated in a manner that is sustainable and beneficial to society and the environment.

“The Public Benefit designation has been an objective since we founded the company,” Weiss said. “Optera is here to help shepherd in a new version of the global economy – one that’s viable for generations to come. I’m proud to have codified this purpose by becoming a Public Benefit Corporation, and to have the team in place to deliver on that mission.”