Neel Vasavada (he/him)
Founder & President, Overdrive Energy Solutions
Neel Vasavada is a driving force in the movement to bring green technology to the events industry. His engineering background and experience with both sustainable energy and live entertainment led him to found Overdrive Energy Solutions, a leader in sustainable energy systems. Neel is on the Board of Directors for the Event Safety Alliance, Members United for Sustainable Energy, and serves in an advisory role with the Music Sustainability Alliance.
After completing his mechanical engineering degree at The University of Wisconsin, Neel created Apex Speed Technology, a company working on control systems and engineering consulting for prototype, research & development electric vehicle projects. Customers included early-stage Telsa, Zero Electric Motorcycles & The US Department of Energy. With time, his focus turned to business development, and in 2012 he was asked to help develop the US market for European live event equipment supplier eps. This led to leadership roles at other Live Event companies. The same analytical/data backed approach to sustainability worked well in growing these businesses, and during the pandemic downtime, these skillsets came together to form Overdrive Energy Solutions.
Overdrive has become a leader in clean energy for live events, with over 2.6 Mega-Watt hours of sustainably-sourced electricity provided. In 2023 a partnership with non-profit Reverb.org resulted in the 2 largest solar powered stages in US history. The first was Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, which reduced fossil fuel use for stage power by 95%. In August, Overdrive made history with the largest temporary solar field ever for a US festival, powering parts of Billie Elish’s headlining set at Lollapalooza Chicago. Overdrive has also provided power at notable events and venues such as Coachella, Dead & Company's final tour, Google's I/O developer conference Dodger Stadium and more. Moving forward, Neel is committed to developing cost-efficient, reliable and clean energy systems for live events - and beyond.