Change of Control Methodology

Who we track

We track moves at the senior level across the US clean energy stack:

• Developers and IPPs
• Project finance lenders and tax equity investors
• PE / infrastructure funds with clean energy mandates
• EPC and OEM businesses
• Law firms with clean energy practices
• Trade associations and policy bodies
• Advisory firms and independent engineers

Coverage skews to firms that show up in the deal database and league tables. If a firm is repeatedly involved in deals we track, we monitor its senior team for moves.

Seniority threshold

We track five seniority bands: C-suite, MD/Partner, SVP/VP, Director, and Board. The default newsletter feed is SVP/VP and above at the firms above. Director-level moves are tracked when they involve a notable platform launch, specialized practice (e.g., tax equity origination lead), or policy transition.

Below SVP/VP at most firms, moves don't enter the tracked corpus.

Move-type taxonomy

• External hire — joining from a different firm.
• Lateral move — explicitly tagged as lateral when the role/seniority is comparable (used for partners switching firms, MDs switching banks).
• Promotion — internal elevation in title or scope.
• Departure — confirmed exit; destination announced separately or unannounced (“stealth departure”).
• Board appointment — independent board seat, tracked separately from operating roles.
• Interim appointment — interim CEO/CFO/COO while a search runs.

Narrative tags

Where the story behind a move is meaningful, we also tag with one or more narrative angles: post-M&A reshuffle, founder exit, oil & gas crossover, sponsor-to-lender, lender-to-sponsor, regulator crossover, stealth departure, C-suite succession, new platform build, policy-to-private, IPO team build, or team lift-out. These power the editorial pulls that show up in the newsletter.

Sourcing

Every published move links to at least one primary source:

1. Issuer or law firm announcement
2. SEC filing (8-K item 5.02 most often)
3. LinkedIn announcement by the individual or firm
4. Trade publication with a named editorial byline
5. Reader tip — published only after independent confirmation

For stealth departures (confirmed exit, destination not announced), the source confirms the departure; we don't speculate on the destination.

Net talent flow

The net-flow table on /change-of-control shows hires minus departures by firm. Hires include external hires and lateral moves in. Departures include confirmed exits and the previous-firm side of a lateral move out.

Promotions are not counted in net flow — they don't change the firm's headcount. They show up in the activity feed and the seniority breakdown.

Refresh cadence

Moves are added to the database as they're announced or confirmed. The Monday newsletter cuts off Sunday 11:59 PM ET. Net-flow tables recompute on every page load.

Editorial standards

• We don't publish unconfirmed moves. If a tip can't be verified against a primary source, it sits in the unpublished queue until it can.
• We don't speculate on reasons for departure unless the individual or firm has commented on record.
• We respect off-the-record requests for timing — sometimes a move is confirmed but the announcement is embargoed. We hold.
• We correct errors. Email hello@dealflow.energy with corrections.

What we don't track

• Sub-Director hires and individual contributor moves.
• Internal lateral moves below the MD/Partner level.
• Moves at firms with no tracked clean-energy nexus (a partner switching firms within a generalist M&A practice, for instance).
• International-only moves with no US implication.