William D. Lese

Bill Lese co-founded Braemar in 2003 and leads the firm’s activities in the power, resources, and infra-tech segments. He currently serves on the boards of Carbonfree Chemicals, Voxel8, Fulham, Utility Associates, Lusbio and Brightvolt, and is responsible for Braemar’s investments in General Fusion, Metalenz and Renew Financial.

With experience that spans technical, operating, strategy, and investment roles, he has been active in energy innovation for over 30 years. Prior to starting Braemar, Bill was a Partner at Mantis Holdings, a venture firm focused on environmental and energy efficiency businesses. He was also one of the original team members at Sithe Energies, a global leader in independent power development, and Director of Corporate Development for NPS Industries. Bill designed his first solar panel at 17, has authored several research papers for the Department of Energy and helped pioneer the commercialization of Kinetic Hydro Energy Conversion systems.

Bill serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), on the Steering Committee of the Northeast Clean Energy Council, as well as the advisory committees of the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy (NYC ACRE), and Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) of the Argonne National Laboratory.

Bill has an M.S. in Applied Energy Science and a B.A. in Physics from New York University. He is a former Co-Chair of the New Committee of the Royal Academy Trust and a member of the Harvard College Parents Committee.