Christian Fong

Christian Fong
Personal details
Born Maine, USA
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Jenelle
Children Two sons, one daughter
Residence Mill Valley, CA
Alma mater Creighton University
Dartmouth College
Occupation Renewable Energy Trust Capital, Inc
Website

Christian Fong is a leader in California and Iowa business, a former candidate for Governor of Iowa (2009-2010) and Iowa Flood of 2008 disaster recovery leader. A long-time resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he currently lives in Mill Valley, California with his wife Jenelle and three young children. He is a member of the Republican Party of Iowa and announced in June 2009, that he was seeking the Republican nomination for the 2010 Iowa Gubernatorial Election. In December 2009, Fong announced he was suspending his campaign due to difficulty raising campaign funds [1] after the entry of former Governor Terry E. Branstad to the race. At the age of 35, Fong was widely seen as a rising star within the Iowa Republican Party and was named as a possible Lieutenant Governorial candidate for former Governor Terry E. Branstad's 2010 gubernatorial bid.[2]

Life and education

Fong is the son of a Chinese immigrant who fled Communist China as his family was persecuted and killed for their Christian faith.[3] Fong was born in the state of Maine in the United States in 1977 and was brought up in humble circumstances. Christian graduated from Underwood (Iowa) High School at age 16 with valedictorian honors, received a B.S. in Statistics, summa cum laude from Creighton University in 1996 and then studied at Dartmouth College, receiving his MBA in Statistics from the Tuck School of Business, with high distinction.[4]

Political positions

Christian was known for pro-growth political policies. Christian was opposed to tax increases, stating that during a deep recession is "the worst possible time to raise taxes". He was a strong supporter of a balanced budget, fiscal responsibility and community driven business growth policies.

He is in favor of allowing the public to vote on policy concerning marriage statutes, rather than having political groups use it as an issue-driven political topic.[5] Fong has stated "The Legislature says one thing and the Supreme Court says the opposite. The law is clear. There is one arbiter when you have a disagreement and it's not the governor, it's the people of Iowa".[6] He is also pro-life and opposes government funding for elective abortions.

Career

After his campaign for Governor, Christian founded[7] Renewable Energy Trust Capital (RET), a clean energy renewable energy power producer headquartered in San Francisco, CA, credited with doing the foundational structuring work on renewable energy "yieldcos". Christian served as the original CFO, raising over $250 million in venture capital, then as COO and Chief Investment Officer. BlueMountain Capital acquired RET for an undisclosed amount in a private transaction. He went on to serve as an Independent Director on the Boards of Directors of prominent yieldco Terraform Power (NASDAQ: TERP)[8], of privately owned Spruce Finance, a solar and energy efficiency finance firm and as Founder and President of Fong Management LLC. Prior to his campaign for Governor, Christian was Managing Director of Capital Markets at AEGON USA Reality Advisors and served as President and CEO of Corridor Recovery, helping with flood recovery efforts in Eastern Iowa. Additionally, Christian chaired the Small Business Task Force of the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed by then Iowa Governor Chet Culver to the Generation Iowa Commission in 2007, and was elected by his peers as Chair where he traveled around the state meeting and advising local and state government entities, as well as business groups, on attracting and retaining next generation workforce.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQ9RKdHM-CcElVTfsClrpD0TdZ9gD9CAPCLO0
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-27. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  3. ↑ http://www.journalexpress.net/news/local_story_183130006.html?keyword=topstory%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  5. ↑ http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2009/07/11/news/state/doc4a58154717e54075257567.txt
  6. ↑ http://www.decorahnewspapers.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=10&ArticleID=20378
  7. ↑ https://angel.co/christian-fong
  8. ↑ http://ir.terraform.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=253464&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2246961
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