Mark Walker 917-864-9089 Sunflower Seating SunflowerSeating@gmail.com Mark Walker’s life and career have offered him many unique opportunities and often inspired him to action. He cares deeply about the environment and our common future, not just where we live, but also for others all around the world, where he has had the privilege to work, travel and learn. As a child in Wales, being a cub scout was a start, understanding the concept of being prepared and leaving a place in better condition than you found it a value he still holds dear. Understanding early on from a mentor that having a job you enjoyed might be a good idea if you were going to have to work for a living, and a little later, that the work of a photojournalist might fit the bill in terms of maximizing the amount of fun you may have during that working life, a positive outcome of listening. Certainly having parents from two different continents may have had something to do with developing an interest in distant lands and how other people live around the world. Working at CNN for 12 years as a photojournalist covering business, fashion and news exposed Mark to a variety of world and business leaders who enjoyed a big picture view. Listening, absorbing information from individuals like David Kearns, CEO at Xerox, Armand Hammer of Occidental Petroleum & Jerry Weintraub in LA, Mikahil Gorbachev talking about a “Red Cross” for the environment, in Washington DC, filming Anita Roddick of the Body Shop in London a supporter of ethical consumerism, listening to these leaders and many others talk of their successes and failures, their determination, luck and inspiration and their philanthropy, made a positive impression. Moving on to work for Michael Bloomberg’s television unit where in addition to news I produced media to support non-profits that he funded, introduced me to the knowledge that there often effective ways of assisting those less fortunate. Listening to Mike, interviewing him directly, it became clear to me that his empathy, like many leaders, for all kinds of people, was genuine and often very effectively translated into action. Bloomberg has recently committed $500M to close all US coal plants by 2030. Resulting trips to Asia (Sumatra, Sri Lanka, India) to cover the recovery efforts underway after the deadly 2004 Tsunami, and trips to Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Eastern Congo) for coverage of micro-finance projects and maternal health issues made a lasting impression with regards to the lack of medical facilities, fragile or non-existent energy infrastructures, lack of clean water and sanitation issues, and the very unhealthy environments that exist abroad and at home. Yet in those far off places solar panels have enabled hundreds of thousands of students to be able to read after dark as well as provide power for water pumps and cell phones. No longer do expensive dirty diesel generators always determine when someone may enjoy running water, read a book or do their homework. This remarkable but simple technology is a game changer. The global demands on our environment require new ways of thinking and this new technology to address these issues if we are to make any sustainable progress. The experience and path that have brought Mark to this juncture in his life are a result of these observations. These key insights learned from leaders and individuals who have expressed understanding of difficult issues that many people face are a great source of motivation. Seeing solutions that involve reaching out to people on different levels, connecting the dots and advancing sound proposals to address some of these problems has been very inspirational. An inspiring idea may lead to one thing and then another and such is the case with this business plan. Glancing up at all the empty seats in a large football stadium bathed in sunlight and seeing seats as solar power collectors is one such inspiration: Maybe stadium owners would like to make money from empty seats? Has anyone done this already? How could something like this be developed? Who would the key players be? What technology is available? How much power could be generated? Being available in the moment to look up from a pre-game event and see stadium seating as a field of energy collecting seats was apparently a somewhat original thought. Sitting at Yankee stadium and seeing the name Irwin on the back of a seat and reaching out to Bill McLeod was an example of a key moment when a concept started to develop life. Getting Bill to send some seats to play with, adding some inexpensive solar panels, wiring them up with a charge controller furthered my interest. Meeting an intellectual property expert, finding a great patent attorney, finding capable artists for patent drawings, everyone focused on creating a successful patent application, has been very exciting and especially so when Mark’s patent was granted last October (2018). Adding solar panel modules to sports stadium seating is a simple, relatively original idea which may be very important to Irwin and the many other companies, educational institutions, energy deficient communities and people around the world. Its not just money in the bank for Irwin, its new opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people around the world who may benefit from stable energy sources. Its not just making money from empty seats for stadium owners. It’s that such a simple technological upgrade can have such a significant impact globally, that’s a big picture view, which we advance in this proposal. Significantly the US Department of Energy also shares this philosophy and has approved our initial application to apply for funding of a start up to demonstrate a real world application. My background credentials for this project include the ability to see solutions, the understanding that connecting with others whose core competencies will make a positive outcome more likely, and maintaining the persistence to follow through with research, intellectual property issues, low cost sourcing of materials, putting a team together, and create high quality results, delivering, that is exciting to me. Helping make all the difference while creating unique positive opportunities for everyone involved is a thrill. Mark currently works with HBO, ThomsonReuters and at the New York Stock Exchange. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. He loves the great outdoors, reading, and keeping healthy. He is currently filling out grant application paperwork for the US Dept. of Energy.