Kay Ellen Consolver Joins Kumbaya Board of Directors

Kumbaya (www.Kumbaya.co), the company bringing sustainable power, connectivity and content to off-grid communities globally, today announced the addition of Ms. Kay Ellen Consolver to its Board of Directors. A senior executive for ExxonMobil for more than 20 years, Ms. Consolver is a global mining, oil & gas, and power industry heavyweight, having led teams in 65 countries over the past two decades. Ms. Consolver has the global experience and industry connections to help Kumbaya expand internationally, grow as a global enterprise, and make an immediate and lasting impact on the alternative power sector with the introduction and roll-out of zeroXess, Kumbaya’s solution for off-grid energy, connectivity, and content.

“Kumbaya is tackling the challenge of connecting the next billion head-on, with a first-of-its-kind alternative power solution for off-grid communities that truly scales, both from a technology and a business perspective,” says Kay Ellen Consolver. “I see an opportunity with Kumbaya to not only share my considerable industry knowledge and connections, but to also guide the strategy of the company with a truly 360-degree perspective, understanding where the disruption is happening, and the potential for this technology to make a far-reaching, lasting positive impact on our world.”

Kumbaya’s zeroXess platform is a modular solar-powered system to bring energy, connectivity and content to off-grid populations, refugee camps, and areas cut off from the world by natural disasters. The zeroXess solution includes solar power collection hardware, a single board computer, a platform for managing electricity, connectivity and information, and the Kumbaya Content Library.

Honored by Brummell Magazine as 1 of 30 Inspirational Women on Boards and named 1 of “100 Women to Watch” by Cranfield University, Ms. Consolver brings her considerable experience and network to Kumbaya’s mission to ‘Connect the Unconnected’. Adding to her already impressive portfolio of companies she contributes her expertise to, including service on the Board of Women in Mining in the UK, and membership in WomenCorporateDirectors, the Global Women’s Petroleum & Energy Club, POWERful Women, Women in African Power, and The Women’s Oil Council, Ms. Consolver is an experienced global business executive and independent director in the global oil & gas, mining and power industries, advising on boardroom culture, corporate governance, global expansion, organizational change, risk & reputation management and women’s leadership initiatives.

In addition to her board seat with Kumbaya, Ms. Consolver currently serves on the Supervisory Board of Thyssen Petroleum, a privately held oil & gas company, and previously served as a Special Advisor to the Board of African Power Corporation. She also has recently served on the Board of Vital Voices Global Partnership, a preeminent NGO, based in Washington D.C., founded by Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Vital Voices has partnered with women leaders from more than 140 countries who advance economic opportunity, increase political and public leadership, and end violence against women. She continues to serve in London on the Board of Vital Voices Europe. In addition, she also serves on the Board of the New York Women’s Forum, the founding forum of the International Women’s Forum, a network of over 6800 women leaders in 74 affiliated Forums in 33 nations - on whose global board she has served as well as having served as Chair of IWF UK.

“Ms. Consolver’s expertise, both from an industry perspective and as a start-up innovating to disrupt an established market, is truly invaluable,” said Kumbaya Founder and CEO, Mike Freni. “Kumbaya has a big job ahead of us in our mission to connect the next billion. Globally, governments are increasingly supportive of the off-grid small home solar market, and technology advancements are amplifying the sector’s potential, with analysts predicting the annual off-grid home solar sales will top $8 billion in revenues in 2022. With the addition of Ms. Consolver to our board of directors Kumbaya has assembled the best team in the industry to truly drive positive change. The time to move is now.”

About Kumbaya

Kumbaya is “Connecting the Unconnected,” bringing sustainable power, connectivity and content to off-grid communities globally. Energy powers connectivity. Connectivity powers knowledge. And knowledge powers social and economic progress. Kumbaya’s mission is to create sustainable solutions that enable the under-served, unconnected people of our world to transform their lives. With this in mind, Kumbaya built zeroXess, a solar-powered home energy and communications platform that is affordable, reliable and sustainable, to ensure there is always electricity, light, connectivity, and access to the information of the world. Founded in 2016, Kumbaya is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Learn more at www.Kumbaya.co.

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