Cypress Creek Taps Veteran Kevin Smith to Lead Next Growth Phase

WASHINGTON – March 05, 2026 – Cypress Creek Renewables, a leading independent power producer, announced a significant leadership transition today, appointing renewable energy veteran Kevin Smith as its new Chief Executive Officer. The move follows the departure of Sarah Slusser, who led the company for the past seven years through a period of profound transformation and growth.

The change at the top comes at a pivotal moment for both Cypress Creek and the broader U.S. renewable energy sector. Backed by global infrastructure giant EQT, the company is poised to capitalize on the foundation built by Slusser, with Smith's appointment signaling a strategic focus on accelerated scaling and large-scale project execution to meet the burgeoning demand for clean power.

A Legacy of Transformational Growth

Sarah Slusser’s tenure as CEO is credited with fundamentally reshaping Cypress Creek. She inherited a development-focused business and steered it to become a premier independent power producer (IPP) with a robust portfolio of operating assets. Under her leadership, the company grew to command more than 3.4 GW of solar and storage assets either operating or under construction.

Her strategic vision saw the company expand from its Southeastern origins to a national footprint across 24 states. Key achievements include doubling the company's development pipeline and establishing a formidable in-house energy storage platform, which culminated in the commercialization of Cypress Creek's first standalone storage asset in 2023. A critical milestone during her leadership was overseeing the company's acquisition by EQT in 2021, a move that provided the financial backing and long-term stability needed for sustained growth.

Colleagues and partners lauded her steady hand in navigating two major federal tax policy shifts and strategically evolving the company's community solar platform into a scalable development and asset-rotation business.

"Sarah's tenure at Cypress Creek has been defined by growth, innovation, and a clear focus on scaling energy solutions to meet the demands of the future," said Matt Kestenbaum, Managing Director for EQT's Infrastructure Advisory Team Americas. "Sarah has built a strong platform for the next phase of the Company's journey, and we are thankful for her dedication, leadership, and partnership over the past five years."

Kevin Howell, Chairman of the Cypress Creek Board of Directors, echoed the sentiment. "On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Sarah for her exceptional leadership and dedication to Cypress Creek," he stated. "Her vision and strategic execution have strengthened our Company's foundation and expanded its role as a leader in the energy transition."

In her parting statement, Slusser reflected on her time at the helm. "It has been an honor to lead Cypress Creek through a period of extraordinary growth and transformation," she said. "I'm incredibly proud of the team we've built and the impact we've made in bringing more clean energy online across the country. Cypress Creek is stronger than ever, and I look forward to seeing it continue to thrive under Kevin's leadership."

Enter the Scaler: Kevin Smith's Mandate

Kevin Smith steps into the CEO role with a formidable reputation and over three decades of global experience in developing, financing, and operating energy infrastructure. His track record points directly to a mandate for aggressive, disciplined growth. With a Mechanical Engineering degree from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Chicago, Smith has spent the last 15 years focused squarely on solar and energy storage.

His most recent role was CEO of Arevon Energy, where over two and a half years he spearheaded the development and construction of more than $5.6 billion in solar and battery storage projects, a performance that nearly doubled the company's operating revenues. Before that, as CEO, Americas for Lightsource bp, he was instrumental in the company's rapid U.S. expansion, overseeing the completion of over $3.5 billion in solar projects and building a massive 20,000 MW development pipeline.

Smith is known in the industry as a 'scaler'—an executive adept at taking established platforms and expanding them exponentially. His career spans projects in 26 U.S. states and over a dozen countries, with power contracts generating revenues in excess of $75 billion. This extensive experience in executing complex, large-scale projects makes him uniquely suited to lead Cypress Creek as it tackles larger utility-scale developments and serves the growing needs of large-load customers.

Upon his appointment, Smith acknowledged the company's strong position. "Cypress Creek has built a strong, differentiated platform with significant growth potential," he said. "I look forward to working alongside the team and our partners at EQT to scale the business, enhance enterprise value, and strengthen the Company's position as a leading renewable energy platform in the U.S."

The Private Equity Play in a Maturing Market

The leadership change at Cypress Creek is also a clear reflection of the strategic influence of its owner, EQT. For private equity firms invested in infrastructure, maximizing the value of an asset often involves installing leadership with a specific skillset tailored to the current market phase. Appointing a proven scaler like Smith is a classic move to accelerate a portfolio company's growth trajectory ahead of a potential future exit or to establish it as a long-term, high-performing asset.

EQT's Kestenbaum explicitly connected Smith's hiring to this strategy, noting, "Kevin's proven track record of scaling renewable platforms and driving disciplined growth makes him uniquely suited to lead Cypress Creek through its next phase of expansion."

This transition mirrors a broader trend within the maturing renewable energy sector. As the industry moves beyond its nascent, policy-dependent stages, the emphasis shifts from pure-play development to operational excellence, sophisticated asset management, and the ability to execute billion-dollar projects amidst complex market dynamics. Challenges like supply chain volatility, rising interest rates, and notoriously long interconnection queues require seasoned leadership with deep operational and financial expertise.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has provided unprecedented long-term certainty for the sector, but capitalizing on it requires companies that can execute at scale. By bringing in Smith, EQT and the Cypress Creek board are betting on a leader who has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to navigate these challenges and convert ambitious pipelines into operating, revenue-generating power plants.