Gia Schneider

Role: Speaker, Panelist

Short: Gia Schneider is co-founder and CEO of Natel Energy, an engineering and technology company that delivers high-performance fish-safe turbine and plant designs informed by industry-leading CFD modeling and analysis. Schneider has over 20 years of experience in energy, working in hydropower and energy finance. She holds Chemical Engineering and Economics degrees from MIT and serves on the boards of the Fresh Water Trust and WWF National Council. Long: Gia holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from MIT and has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry. While in the utility practice at Accenture, she provided strategic solutions for power generation asset management. After Accenture, she worked at Constellation Energy with a focus on optimizing generation asset value. She left Constellation in 2004 to help start the energy trading desk at Credit Suisse; and in 2005, she started the carbon emissions trading desk at Credit Suisse, growing it to a profitable business in its first year. Gia co-founded Natel in 2009 with her brother, Abe Schneider, motivated by the theme of climate change driving changes in water patterns and focused on the opportunity for innovative sustainable hydropower solutions to catalyze positive change given hydro's position at the energy-water nexus. Gia is passionate about finding economically viable solutions to mitigate climate change, foster sustainable development and produce inexpensive renewable energy. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, surfing, kiting, and cooking with friends and family.