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Michelle Klassen Merrigan founded MK Advisors (formerly LkM Solutions) in 2015. She acted as the company’s guide, face, and greatest advocate for four years. When Michelle involved herself in the private equity world—and later the US Department of Defense and international relations—she modified her signature to “MK.” That change helped to eliminate any unhelpful gender-based biases that she encountered in the industry.

MK Advisors means, first and foremost, Mana Kalani. This phrase describes the essence of our work. “Mana Kalani” means “the power of the sky.”

But the power we develop goes beyond the literal application of electrical power, and the sky does not just describe how we support wind and solar. Sure, those are a part of who we are, but they’re hardly our entire purpose.

Power means industriousness, praxis, and self-determination. All of these are qualities that are limited in communities and markets that lack access to reliable or resilient sources of energy. Bringing the latter enables the former. Electrical power brings with it personal and communal power.

The sky means more than light and wind. The sky means breadth and limitless scale or unlimited potential. This is what our extensive ecosystem of professionals, advisors, and advocates has brought not only our team, but our customers, too. Our ecosystem provides access to proven expertise at every level of the energy community, both domestically and abroad.

It’s this passion that inspires us to seek out unique technology solutions and financial models that can spur meaningful impacts on communities around the world.

Our Advisors

Our Advisors

We rely on our team of experts to help empower people and communities around the world.

The story of our collective is the story of its individuals. Each of our advisors has led an impressive life, and the stories of how they all met and how they maintained and built their relationships together are just as important and inspiring as their accomplishments in business and industry.

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“That’s the whole challenge of life – to act with honor and hope and generosity, no matter what you’ve drawn. You can’t help when or what you were born, you may not be able to help how you die; but you can – and you should – try to pass the days between as a good man.”

– Sam Damon

Kevin Merrigan

Kevin Merrigan is an independent consultant specializing in US Department of Defense with an emphasis on tactical wheeled vehicles and C4ISR including Cyber, AI and Electronic Warfare.

Mr Merrigan retired from General Dynamics Mission Systems in January 2019 following a very successful 12-year career. During his career at General Dynamics he held multiple key leadership positions including vice president of business development for the Department of Defense market. His responsibilities included developing strategies that create new business opportunities and support existing DOD programs. He was responsible for overseeing everything from strategy development through program win and customer engagement.

Prior to this, Mr. Merrigan was vice president and general manager of a $500M per year Battle Management Systems line of business responsible for the overall executive management of complex command and control and information systems for the U.S. military.

Programs under his leadership included the Army’s Command Post of the Future (CPOF), Prophet Enhanced tactical signals intelligence system, Tactical Airspace Integration System (TAIS), Consolidated Product Line Management, the US Marine Corps Combat Operations Centers (COC) and Common Aviation Command and Control Program (CAC2S) and USSOCOM’s Ground Mobility Vehicle as well as others.

Mr. Merrigan joined General Dynamics in 2006 following a distinguished 24-year career as an Army infantry and special operations officer. A recognized and trusted leader, Merrigan directed counter-terrorism missions for the commanding general in Afghanistan. His final assignment was with the U.S. Army Training Doctrine Command (TRADOC) overseeing the integration of battle command systems from the soldier, to the platform, to the command post.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in General Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1982. Mr. Merrigan is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and holds a master’s degree in National Security Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Aurelia Van Eeden

Aurelia Van Eeden grew up in a coal-mining town in South Africa and witnessed the destruction of the Earth’s resources around her; smoky air pollution, muddy contaminated waters and devastating mine dumps and excavations.

As an enthusiastic 10-year-old visionary, she set to find solutions to these environmental crimes, and bring awareness to others. Aurelia imagined and “designed” a utility-scale vacuum-cleaner and a drape for power-station chimneys to rid the air of the pollution. She shared her ideas of a better and sustainable future with whoever stopped long enough to listen. Her childhood experiences coupled with a natural and insatiable curiosity about how the world works laid the foundation for her future.

Fast-forward 20 years; the ideas she dreamt about as a child have been piloted and tested (albeit by other like-minded geniuses).

The curious 10-year-old is now a confident and driven woman with a fierce determination to positively impact the environment and work alongside others for an environmentally restorative, socially just, and economically inclusive future.

Aurelia completed her MSc degree in International Environmental Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Her thesis contributed to a multi-country research consortium and the book, Flows and Practices: The Politics of Integrated Water Resource Management in Africa, that features a chapter on her work.

Aurelia has gained valuable experience working abroad, liaising with executives and decision-makers at all levels in government, civil, and private sectors. She has advised CEOs, MDs and MPs on issues ranging from carbon reduction and sustainability to renewable energy and circular economy business models. Aurelia has lived and worked in many different countries and socio-economic environments.

During her time in Norway, she was chosen as Board Leader for FIVAS – the Norwegian Institute for International Water Studies – a position that is a positive reflection of her leadership skills and commitment to team spirit and cooperation. Her most notable achievements include a nomination for Future Leader in Industry – Water and Energy Award (Africa Utility Week, May 2016); Woman in Energy and Water Award (Africa Utility Week, May 2016); and being awarded the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans Award under the category ‘Environment’ (2014) and MAC Consulting Award for ‘Best Project Team’ for the Exxaro Energy Growth Account (2010).

Aurelia is experienced, passionate, driven, and above all, committed to lead a purposeful life that strives to improve people’s lives while helping and healing the planet.

Christopher Zeohn Neyor

Christopher Zeohn Neyor is an international energy and environment consultant with extensive experience in all faucets of energy and environmental issues. He has done advisory work as an energy expert and consultant in several African countries including Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Sudan among others. Christopher was Senior Advisor on Energy, Environment and Climate to former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He spearheaded development and was principal author of Liberia’s National Energy Policy that outlined strategy for post conflict power sector rehabilitation, created the Rural and Renewable Energy Agency, and development of human capacity across the energy sector.

His work led to enactment of new law in 2015 allowing private sector participation in power generation and distribution and setting up of an independent regulatory agency.

He led Liberia climate change negotiations for 4 years at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Most recently he led efforts to develop Liberia’s plan for net zero carbon by 2050 and assisted in the development of the REDD+ program.

During his tenure as CEO of Liberia sole national electric utility, he helped lay the foundation for the ECOWAS (Ecowas Community of West African States) Energy Protocol that gave birth to the West Africa Power Pool. He was a visiting scholar at the Center for Energy and the Environment of the University of Pennsylvania in the early 90’s teaching in its Energy Policy and Planning Program. His area of research and emphasis of his managerial and consulting expertise are:

Technology transfer, adaptation, scaling, and capacity building across projects life cycle in Africa to mitigate climate change and ensure a more sustainable environment;
Creating enabling environments for public-private collaboration for power sector investment, especially in renewable energy;
Issues related to emissions of greenhouse gases across multiple industries;
The productive use of energy access to help alleviate poverty and create wealth through agricultural and other entrepreneurship.

Christopher’s academic credentials include undergraduate study in Electrical Engineering at the Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He did his graduate studies in Energy Economics at the University of Denver and Management at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.