Our Team
Charlie Kittler, President
charles.kittler@mba.utexas.edu
Charlie is a digital marketer with 10 years of experience helping small software companies reach their revenue and growth goals. He has worked at the intersection of technology and procurement, retail, utility billing, and automotive sales. Charlie grew up near San Francisco but lived in Colorado before coming to McCombs to align his career more closely with his desire to fight climate change. His post-MBA goal is to accelerate the net-zero transition through commercializing a start-up and early stage investing. In addition to serving as CleanTech Group President, Charlie is a CleanTech Fellow and a member of the McCombs MIINT Impact Investing Team.
Chase Kilty, VP of Finance
chase.kilty@mba.utexas.edu
Chase is originally from Overland Park, KS and has a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas. Prior to McCombs, Chase held various roles in the Energy & Utilities Consulting practice at 1898 & Co., Part of Burns & McDonnell where he primarily performed integrated resource planning analysis to deliver strategic insights to utility clients navigating the energy transition. His experience sparked his passion in identifying solutions that enable the energy transition and he plans to work for a CleanTech startup post-MBA.
In addition to serving as VP of Finance, Chase is a Venture Fellow and Energy Transition Ventures and an active member of the McCombs Ambassador Committee and McCombs Board Fellows program. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, running, and exploring Austin.
Fred Albion, VP of Careers
fred.albion@mba.utexas.edu
Fred is a Floridian hailing from the Southern lands of Miami. Fred has a BS in Nuclear Engineering and possesses a strong interest in making the world a better place through the practice of sustainable energy production and delivery. After spending over 5 years in the military as an Armor officer, he has made his way to the McCombs School of Business in the pursuit of happiness through a career in clean energy production/storage. As a spring 2024 CleanTech Fellow, he is working with NHOA, a global player in energy storage and E-mobility based in Italy. Fred is currently serving as the VP of careers and looks forward to connecting the Clean Tech industry with McCombs and its talented pool of MBA students.
McKenna Beard, Co-VP of CleanTech Fellows
richard.bagans@mba.utexas.edu
Driven by a profound commitment to sustainability and climate change mitigation, Richard leverages his extensive experience in strategic planning to foster a greener future. His tenure at the Texas Water Development Board was marked by his instrumental role in project managing both the State Water Plan and the first-ever State Flood Plan for Texas. Currently, his CleanTech Fellowship is with Finch, working on B2B sales for sustainability insights on consumer goods. Post-MBA, he aspires to serve as a project manager or climate strategist in forward-thinking, impact-centric business.
Richard is serving as a co-chair of the CleanTech Fellows program focused on sourcing projects with partner companies, aiming for a broad sampling encompassing climate, carbon, circular economy, and renewable energy initiatives.
mckenna.beard@mba.utexas.edu
Mckenna is a native Texan with a BS in Mechanical Engineering & BA in Music from the University of Oklahoma. She held several different roles in the supply chain and manufacturing space in oil & gas and semiconductors before coming to McCombs to focus on clean tech and sustainable operations. As a spring 2024 CleanTech Fellow, she is working with R3 Renewables, a start-up focused on developing large-scale solar and storage on reclaimed coal mining land.
Mckenna is serving as a co-chair of the CleanTech Fellows program focused on recruiting a diverse and competitive class of fellows and ensuring an enriching experience for all fellows and partner companies.
Richard Bagans, Co-VP of CleanTech Fellows
Yuzo Kamei, VP of Education
yuzo.kamei@mba.utexas.edu
Yuzo Kamei is originally from Japan and has over a decade experience in plant operation and engineering in the chemical company, including plant complex construction in Saudi Arabia. His recent work to accelerate decarbonization of manufacturing processes sparked his aspiration to contribute to solving societal challenges like climate change. He came to McCombs to pivot his function from operation manager to business developer who seeks opportunities in a wide range of Clean Tech field, leveraging chemical industry’s ability to provide new materials/services in a commercial scale. Yuzo is a CleanTech Fellow working with TerraPave, which provides low carbon-intensity pavement materials.
Alex Lai, VP of Engagement
Brittany Marshall, VP of Treks
brittany.marshall@mba.utexas.edu
Brittany is a Texan with a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University. Her career started in the US Navy where she supervised nuclear propulsion plant operations and ship driving onboard submarines for ten years. Recently, she worked as a project manager for an electrical engineering research and development firm based in Portland, Oregon, where she supervised projects that sought to develop next generation electric motors and noise reduction hardware for the electrification of industrial processes, marine propulsion systems, and other electric drive systems. She is attending McCombs School of Business to pursue roles that seek to develop positive environmental and social outcomes in business. Brittany is a CleanTech Fellow, Board Fellow, and member of the MIINT Impact Investing Team.
alex.lai@mba.utexas.edu
Alex is originally from Taipei, Taiwan. He holds a BA in Political Science from the National Taiwan University and an MS in Accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas. Before business school, Alex accumulated over 7 years of experience in the financial industry, with his most recent position being a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at a life insurance firm in Taiwan. Currently serving as the VP of Engagement at the CleanTech Group and a first-year MBA student at McCombs, he is planning to transition into an investment banking role within the broad energy value chain. In addition, Alex is VP of Finance in Energy Finance Group, Wall Street for McCombs Fellow and Longhorn Impact Fellow.
