Richard Baxter is responsible for evaluating technology and related business models at Ardour Capital Investments, an investment bank focused on the alternative energy and energy technology markets. Before joining Ardour Capital, Richard was the Director of Member Affairs at the Energy Storage Council where he was involved in raising the visibility of energy storage technologies for federal and state government officials. Prior to this, Richard led the electric power research at the Yankee Group, evaluating growth prospects for new technology firms and providing due diligence services to the financial industry. Richard also spent time at the Standard & Poor's DRI Energy Group where he was responsible for key environmental and electric power components of the US electric power forecasts for senior Utility executives on emerging technical and market changes. Through this work, Richard is the author numerous market and technical reports, industry journal articles, and is an accomplished public speaker. Richard has a M.S. degree in Energy Management and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, a B.S. in History from Tennessee State University, and a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Virginia Tech.