Netherlands native and longtime Atlanta resident Bernard Vanderlande has launched Tula International, an executive search and consulting firm focused on renewable energy and manufacturing.

A veteran of the executive search industry, Mr. Vanderlande enjoyed the past few years working at the Atlanta office of Dallas-based Stanton Chase International, but he saw demand for a firm specializing in the growing green energy sector.

“This is the best time to do it. This is a great opportunity and I also believe in the cause,” he told GlobalAtlanta.

The “Tula” name comes from a local communications firm Mr. Vanderlande recently bought. The word means “balance” in Sanskrit, a definition that reflects what he sees as the philosophy behind renewables: “Never take out more than you put in.”

As government mandates and market incentives in the U.S. and abroad boost the production of technology like wind turbines and solar panels, managers with manufacturing experience are in high demand. Mid-level executives from the struggling automotive sector are already beginning to find new careers in the renewables industry. Tula hopes to foster more of these kinds of connections, Mr. Vanderlande said.

Through its consulting arm, Tula also looks to help companies outside the renewable energy sector implement sustainability initiatives. Doing so is becoming increasingly important as governments and large corporations impose environmental standards on would-be contractors or suppliers. Companies that sell to Wal-mart Stores Inc., for instance, must abide by the world's largest retailer's sustainable sourcing regulations, Mr. Vanderlande said.

Tula International will focus mostly on the U.S. market, hoping to advise start-ups on financing, business planning and market positioning issues and help renewable energy producers like Southern Co. find qualified executives.

On the international side, Mr. Vanderlande foresees significant wind and solar investment in the U.S. from Europe and China.

“China, often portrayed as a fossil fuel-gulping polluter, actually is one of the world’s biggest wind-power generators and by 2020 it expects to have a 100-gigawatt capacity,” he said. “And that’s just one industry, in one country.”

As an example of the potential, a Chinese company in the city of Shenyang reached a deal in November with an American private-equity firm and power company to provide 240 wind turbines for a 36,000-acre wind farm in west Texas. The estimated cost, to be funded in part both by Chinese banks and U.S. stimulus cash, is $1.5 billion.

Germany is another hot spot for wind and solar energy, and Mr. Vanderlande hopes to build on existing relationships with the German-American Chamber of Commerce Southeast and other groups around the region. 

Before working in executive search, Mr. Vanderlande was founder and CEO of Ashford International, a Stone Mountain-based global IT services firm recognized by name during a 1997 speech by President Clinton.

To reach Mr. Vanderlande, visit www.tulatalk.com.

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