ClearEdge Power hires Silicon Valley sales exec

Fuel cell company ClearEdge Power announced this week that it hired Dane C. Smith, a former executive with VMWare and Sun Microsystems, as a senior vice president of sales.

Hilsboro-based ClearEdge makes fuel cells for buildings including its new ClearEdge5 system which launched this year and converts natural gas to electricity and heat.

Smith was on hand at VMWare during the software company's successful IPO in 2007 as the vice president and general manager for the Americas.

"I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with some of the nation’s largest energy providers, as well as the US Department of Energy and the US Environmental Protection Agency, while at VMware and Sun," said Smith in a press release. "I look forward to continuing those relationships to further alternative energy solutions in the U.S. and abroad as a leader for the ClearEdge Power team."

Venture-backed ClearEdge hired a new CEO, Russell Ford, last year and a new CFO, Jeff Bouchard, in January. The company is venture-backed, having raised $55 million since its founding in 2003.

IntertechPira, a research firm, released figures last month that the fuel cell and distributed hydrogen market are anticipated to grow from an estimated $2 billion industry in 2009 to more than $20 billion by 2019.