Capital Series: Jeff Johnson, Temasek

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Nov 8, 2023

Jeff Johnson, managing director at Temasek, discusses the charter of the Sustainable Investing Team, their investment criteria, and their alignment with climate tech and energy transition. They explore Tomásik's origin story and its various lines of business, highlight the importance of prioritizing impact over profitability, and discuss their strategy for scaling investments in sustainable living. They also delve into the balance between thesis-driven and opportunistic investing, the challenges of measuring performance and progress, and the risks of being too risk averse in decision-making.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Tomásik: A Sustainable Investment Management Company

01:49 • 22min

Prioritizing Impact and Exploring Investment Opportunities

24:04 • 2min

Investment Strategy and Scaling Investments in the Sustainable Living Space

26:27 • 6min

Thesis-Driven vs Opportunistic Investing

32:03 • 7min

Measuring Performance and Progress

38:39 • 20min

Balancing Experience and Beginner Mindset in Decision-Making

58:52 • 4min

This episode is part of our new Capital Series hosted by Jason Jacobs. This series explores a diverse range of capital sources and the individuals who drive them. From family offices and institutional LPs to private equity, government funding, and more, we take a deep dive into the world of capital and its critical role in driving innovation and progress.

Jeff Johnson is managing director at Temasek, where he leads the US-based Sustainable Investing team. Temasek was incorporated in 1974 and is an investment company headquartered in Singapore.

Supported by 13 offices across nine countries, Temasek owns about $382 billion or US$287 billion portfolio as of March 31st, 2023, mainly in Singapore and the rest of Asia. We have a great discussion in this episode about what the charter of the Sustainable Investing Team is, how Jeff found himself doing the work that he's doing today, what criteria they look for when they make investments, and, of course, how their investments fit into the broader climate tech landscape and the energy transition overall.

Enjoy the show!

In this episode, we cover:

[2:10] An overview of Temasek
[4:13] Different lines of business at the firm and where sustainable living sits
[8:44] Jeff's background and career history
[18:58] The CEO's mindset for Temasek's approach
[21:44] Jeff's role at the firm
[24:22] Lessons he learned about the space and future projections for Temasek's impact
[26:26] The balance between thesis-driven investments vs opportunistic ones
[33:55] Temasek's direct and fund investments
[38:39] The firm's performance measurements and market entry points
[46:51] Temasek's role in debt financing
[51:07] The types of companies and projects best suited for Temasek's capital
[56:48] Jeff's response to folks who are worried about the risk of investing in climate tech
[58:51] The need for a balance between experience and beginner's mindset in picking winners

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Jason Jacobs X / LinkedIn
Jeff Johnson LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

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Episode recorded on Oct 13, 2023 (Published on Nov 8, 2023)

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant