The Hawaii Venture Capital Association (HVCA) named Mark Duda as its Clean Tech Entrepreneur of the Year on Nov. 18 at its second annual Entrepreneur of the Year awards dinner.
Duda, a founding partner with both Distributed Energy Partners (D/E/P) and RevoluSun, has shown success in starting first a commercial (D/E/P) and then a residential (RevoluSun) solar company in 2009.
The Entrepreneur of the Year awards acknowledges the person at the center of a company who oftentimes risks everything to bring their idea to life, weathering difficult odds, the lack of investment capital and other roadblocks to success. Awards are given in six categories – Young Entrepreneur, Clean Tech Entrepreneur, Inventor Entrepreneur, Digital Media Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship Advocate and Social Entrepreneur.
“We think it is so important to honor those people in our community who take on entrepreneurial ventures, create meaningful jobs and contribute to improving and diversifying our economy,” says Bill Spencer, HVCA president. “As a founding partner of D/E/P and RevoluSun, two companies whose objective is to provide sustainable and renewable energy to help Hawaii become energy independent, we felt Mark Duda truly exemplified all of the characteristics we look for in a Clean Tech Entrepreneur.”
Duda is also president of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association and a member of the state’s Workforce Development Council and the steering committee for energy efficiency of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, among others.
“This award is an incredible honor,” says Duda. “To be recognized by the HVCA for work that mitigates climate change and moves our state toward energy independence shows how important renewable energy and clean technology are to Hawaii’s future. My companies will continue working hard to justify this award by striving to bring about change and ensuring that the benefits of that change reach Hawaii’s businesses and homeowners.”
