TJ Firma

Summary

Mr. Sessions, currently Managing Director of TJ Firma, LLC – a consulting & advisory firm, is an accomplished engineer and commercial strategist with 20 years in the energy & power generation industry.  Over this time, Mr. Sessions has developed a unique ability to understand the challenges facing energy & power generation industry clients and to conceptualize the proper potential solutions to consider.  Solution development has included creation of the foundational tools and analyses used as a basis for recommendations as well as translating analytical results into actionable recommendations/proposals specific to the customer situation and goals.

 

Mr. Sessions’ energy and power generation experience consists of:

• Utility/IPP focused experience

  • Technology selection

  • Operations & maintenance

  • Asset optimization

  • Integrated resource planning

  • M&A

  • Regulatory

  • Insurance/risk analysis

• Product & service industry experience

  • Setting strategic direction for product portfolios/business models

  • Market and customer analysis

  • Product positioning & development

  • Competitor assessment and counteraction

  • Product line financial analyses & forecasting

  • M&A

  • Government/private sector R&D funding opportunity research and proposal development

  • Business development

 

Mr. Sessions is adept at communicating results and recommendations in a manner that enables appropriate action by decision-makers and has significant experience in facilitating meetings of groups of individuals with diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and motivations.  He has held a number of engineering and commercial leadership positions at product OEMs, engineering consulting firms, and utilities/IPPs – this experience positions him to understand challenges faced by those he means to serve and enhances his ability to communicate effectively with all clients, ranging from individual contributors to C-suite leaders.

 

Project Experience

The following are examples of the types of projects Mr. Sessions has led and been a subject matter expert/content contributor:

• Market/competitive landscape “war gaming” – qualitative/quantitative multi-player scenario based role playing game with the goal of developing recommended enterprise and product level solutions based on assessing interactions and the success of real time proposals/maneuvers

• Product business plan development through market/customer ecosystem analytics – conceptualized and specified tool requirements for integrating market/regulatory/competitor data with customer attributes and power plant configurations; utilized the new tool to perform ecosystem analysis based on forecasting global macro-economic, technology (including substitutes – nuclear, renewables, and energy storage), and regulatory drivers on market opportunities and customer behaviors

• Technical and commercial focal point for multiple M&A opportunities, both acquisition and divestiture – led efforts from identification/competitive counter-action planning phases through execution and post-closure

• Business case analyses of new technology for new/repowering projects and optimization of installed power plant assets through equipment upgrades and operational enhancements          

  • Portfolio/power plant proforma comparative analyses

  • LCOE calculation - trade studies, regression/optimization analyses

  • End user valuation analyses – Utility & IPP perspective – built proposals accounting for multiple accounting methods, payback period criteria, and revenue requirements

  • Investigated regulatory requirements and conducted upgrade permit impact studies

• Served as insurance company focal point for existing gas turbine fleet and new technology acceptance

• Conducted risk/threat assessments to fleet operations and developed countermeasures

 

Professional Experience

Most recently, as Manager of Service Strategy at Siemens Energy, Mr. Sessions focused on developing strategic direction for both product portfolios & business models and overcoming unique enterprise level challenges utilizing ecosystem analysis, competitive positioning, strategic options analysis, and customer driven solution development.  His experience at NextEra/Florida Power & Light prior to moving to Siemens provided insight into the customer view of running a vertically integrated utility and an independent power provider with diversity in both generation portfolio & market exposure.  Mr. Sessions held a number of engineering leadership positions at Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, and Florida Turbine Technologies before moving to NextEra/FPL.

 

Mr. Sessions founded TJ Firma, LLC with the goal of providing consulting/advisory/prototyping services to companies on both sides of the customer/supplier relationship in the energy & power generation industry as well as to provide industry experience based mentoring & guidance to start ups and universities.

 

Education

Mr. Sessions has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business/Carnegie Mellon University.

 

Personal

Mr. Sessions and his wife Tanya live in Mount Holly, North Carolina where they enjoy hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, and traveling.

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