Cluster chairman exudes energy pursuing his goals
By Paola Banchero
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
For years, Prabhu Dayal had been hounded for his knowledge of renewable energy and industrial clean-up projects by the environmental technology industry in Tucson. His colleagues saw in Dayal an energetic advocate and a committed scientist.
But job responsibilities at Tucson Electric Power Co. held him back. Finally, in January, he made the break - leaving TEP after 15 years to take his company, C*Trade, from a nonprofit consultant firm to a full-fledged and profitable venture.
The leap also propelled Dayal to the top of the industry's trade group, the Environmental Technology Industry Cluster. ETIC is a statewide network of related firms that work together creating opportunities for members and aiding regional economic development efforts. Dayal shares responsibility for the cluster with two other co-chairs, one in Phoenix and one in Flagstaff.
"Heading the cluster in Tucson was something I very much wanted to do, but I didn't have any extra time when I worked at TEP. By going out on my own, I'm able to work on the five or six projects I had planned, including the cluster."
Dayal's largest contribution to the cluster before he became co-chair was organizing several conferences and meetings, including one that brought in $850,000 into the local economy in January.
"I'm just good at organizing these things, I guess," he said. So good that the Electric Utilities Environmental Conference, held every other year in the past, will become an annual event next year. Thanks to Dayal's efforts, the conference will stay in Tucson next year.
"Though we're getting pressure to move it elsewhere, we want to keep it here in Tucson. It does so much to show off Tucson and Tucson-based companies," Dayal said.
Many of the most active industry clusters in Tucson, such as optics and information technology, are headed by entrepreneurs who can carve up their schedules to devote time to the volunteer-run organizations.
Dayal has finally created that flexibility in his life.
With his son's toy train set on the floor, and a U.S. patent on the wall, Dayal works out of the cramped accommodations of a home office.
One moment he might be editing Environmental Manager, an industry publication. The next he's advising a client about how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. And the next Dayal is writing e-mails to international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank about finding global business opportunities for Tucson environmental tech firms.
Dayal was born in Bangalore, India, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1969. He received a master's in management science from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey four years later. In 1985, he went to work for TEP, where he developed environmental protection programs after collecting another master's in civil engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso. In 1996, while working at TEP, Dayal earned another degree, in soil and water science.
Along the way, Dayal took an interest in carbon credits, which help electric utility companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. The credits can be traded like currency between utility companies or nations. For example, a utility that pollutes less can sell carbon credits to a utility that pollutes more and needs to meet regional environmental standards. The first company can then invest the money from the sale of credits in renewable energy projects.
Dayal launched C*Trade to advise utilities and countries on carbon credit programs, and his work has made him a globetrotter, on trips to South America and Asia.
"Since I was born in India but have been a U.S. citizen for thirty years, I see myself as a link between two cultures and a person who can open doors to Asia for Tucson businesses," he said. "I can blend in in India, in Sri Lanka, even in Malaysia, but since I've worked here nearly all my life, I also know how U.S. businesses work and what they expect."
Dayal and Arizona Department of Commerce trade specialist Doug Aiken are traveling to Sri Lanka this week to promote Arizona's environmental technology capabilities and to learn what the Indian Ocean island nation has to offer local businesses.
"Prabhu is going to expand the vision of what can be done to establish the cluster internationally," said Jeff Tye, the former ETIC co-chair who persuaded Dayal to become the cluster's new leader.
"He is a man of endless energy, vision and creativity and he is one great networker. Prabhu envisions great tasks that require the hearts and minds of leading people around the country and the world and he makes significant outcomes happen. Prabhu is a citizen of the world and he has the courage to follow through on his ideas and do it on a global scale."
