Dan Shugar is Founder and CEO of Nextracker (now Nextpower), the world's leading solar tracker technology company with 30% global market share. He is a renewable energy pioneer with over 30 years leading solar companies to successful outcomes.

Shugar graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a BS in electrical engineering and received an MBA from Golden Gate University. He started his career as a transmission planner at PG&E, then transitioned to PG&E's R&D department in 1988 where his passion for photovoltaics was ignited.

In 1996, Shugar co-founded PowerLight Corporation, which was acquired by SunPower in 2007 for $332 million. He pioneered and commercialized the first solar tracker in the mid-1990s.

Nextracker went public on February 9, 2023 with a market cap of approximately $7 billion. In 2023, Shugar received the S&P Platts Chief Trailblazer of the Year award for energy industry leadership and innovation.

As of March 31, 2024, the company had shipped solar tracking systems for more than 100 gigawatts of capacity to 40 countries across six continents. In December 2024, the company shipped the first U.S.-manufactured solar trackers with 100% domestic content.