

Climate CEOs (by EFI): Scaling Climate Tech Startups
Dr. Chris Wedding — Climate Tech CEO Coach | CEO @ EFI
Weekly briefing for climate founders, investors, and operators. Hosted by Dr. Chris Wedding, executive coach and CEO of Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI), a peer group with 100+ CEOs & investors representing $40B+ in enterprise value and AUM. Climate CEOs delivers playbooks from the front lines of climate tech, with insights on raising capital, scaling startups in clean energy, batteries, carbon capture, and the circular economy, plus the founder mindset, mindfulness, daily habits, book recommendations, and resilience needed to thrive.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 26, 2024 • 49min
#198: Brook Porter, Partner at G2 Venture Partners — $1B of Investment for Growth-Stage Climate Ventures. Prior Role at Kleiner Perkins. L-theanine for Sleep. Two Gaps in Climate Funding Lifecycle.
G2 is a growth stage VC investor with $1B in assets under management and 30 portfolio companies. They invest $15-50M into companies at inflection points generating at least $10M in revenue. Their focus is the nexus of sustainable technology and traditional industries.
Brook has over two decades of experience as an entrepreneur, executive, and investor. Before G2, he spent ten years at Kleiner Perkins where he co-managed the $1B Green Growth Fund as a Senior Partner.
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
What his top two picks are for gaps in the climate venture funding lifecycle
How they build long-term relationships before investing
Why companies often die of indigestion not starvation
What L-theanine can do for sleep and dreams
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
G2 - https://g2vp.com
Brook - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookporter
Turo - https://turo.com
Pivot Bio - https://www.pivotbio.com
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. - https://shorturl.at/AHTbp
Speed & Scale - https://speedandscale.com
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman - https://shorturl.at/rujjd
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 90+ Climate CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $30B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Sep 19, 2024 • 47min
#197: Brian Riordan, Co-founder of Avalanche — $45M for Fusion Energy. Microreactors. Reducing Scaleup Risks. Regulatory Pathways. Getting Destroyed in the Gym.
Avalanche is developing the world's first fusion microreactor, and it has $45M of investor backing from our friends at Congruent Ventures, Grantham, and Climate Capital.
Brian has one of the more entertaining bios in climate tech. Here are snippets and a link: https://avalanchefusion.com/about/team/brian-riordan.
He’s an engineer hardwired to be “all-in”; he no dimmer switch and always chooses the red pill; wine-making, leather & wood workin’, campin’, bee keepin’, farmin’, salt-water lovin’ father to four awesome kids who think he’s an invulnerable jungle gym.
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
How they are reducing cost and regulatory hurdles often associated with conventional nuclear fission power
The scale-up risks they avoid by building small
The difference in transactional vs. authentic relationships
Why you must get destroyed in the gym for mental health
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Avalanche - https://avalanchefusion.com
Brian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-riordan-a7883b11
The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything - https://shorturl.at/07HO0
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - https://shorturl.at/wsMIm
Building Brand Authenticity: 7 Habits of Iconic Brands - https://shorturl.at/GuIV1
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 85+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $30B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Sep 12, 2024 • 56min
#196: Teague Egan, CEO of EnergyX — $100M for Lithium Extraction Technology. Founding the Company with $10,000. Learning from the Elon Musk Biography. Living to 140 Years Old.
EnergyX is a direct lithium extraction company with $100M of investment, including about $50M from retail investors. Its 100 team members are advancing its new membrane, solvent, and adsorbents to boost the efficiency of extracting lithium from underground salt water.
Teague is a serial entrepreneur whose first success was launching a record label at age 20 and taking an artist to #1 in the iTunes hip hop charts. (That’s a first for a guest on the EFI podcast!)
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
The severe limitations of conventional lithium mining, such as 35% extraction efficiency and an 18-month wait time
Why they are building two lithium extraction plants at the same time
How he acquired the company’s foundational technology for $10,000
Why he believes humans will live to be 140 years old in the near future
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Teague - https://www.linkedin.com/in/teagueegan
EnergyX - https://energyx.com
Elon Musk biography - https://shorturl.at/DkNYU
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 85+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $30B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Sep 5, 2024 • 50min
#195: JW Postal, CEO of WATTMORE — Energy Storage Software. 200+ Clean Energy Projects Developed. The "Deal Whisperer." 10+ Year Contracts. Influence of Zen Buddhist Mother.
WATTMORE is an energy storage software company providing battery sizing, economic outcome forecasts, battery charging and discharging, and more.
JW is a serial founder and clean power executive (Because Solar, Main Street Power, Clean Energy Collective, SunShare), Vice Chair (Western Caucus) of the Democratic National Committee, Board member of Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association, and Board member of SELF (Solar Electric Light Fund).
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
What it means to be a “deal whisperer”
How his experience developing hundreds of solar projects helps his software company grow
His five-year vision and recurring revenue contracts of 10 years or more
What he learned from his mother, who was ordained in the Soto Zen Buddhism tradition
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
WATTMORE - https://www.wattmore.com
JW - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jopostal
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 85+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $30B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Aug 22, 2024 • 43min
#194: Zoe Gamble, President of CleanChoice Energy — Developing 1 GW of Solar to Meet Customer Demand. Managing Concentration Risk. How to Win in Deregulated Power Markets. Reading Fiction at 5 AM.
Zoe Gamble, President of CleanChoice Energy, is a seasoned leader in the solar industry. She discusses ambitious plans to build 1 GW of solar to meet customer demands while managing risks in deregulated power markets. Zoe explains the concept of 'green gentelers' and how they facilitate renewable energy access. She also shares her daily habit of reading fiction at 5 AM to enhance productivity, balancing her professional journey with personal growth. Get insights into innovative clean energy strategies and the evolving landscape of solar power!

Aug 15, 2024 • 51min
#193: Jaqueline van Ende, CEO of Carbon Equity — $275M Raised from 900 Investors in 120+ Companies with $1.8B of Revenue
Today’s podcast is a rebroadcast of one of our most popular episodes ever. Jaqueline van Ende is the CEO of Carbon Equity. They also have some big news...
They’ve raised another €60 million in 4 months for their third climate tech fund. The goal is to raise €125 million in all which will be invested through private equity and venture capital funds in the EU and the US and eventually into at least 150 climate tech companies.
Since its founding in 2021, Carbon Equity has raised over €250 million from more than 900 investors.
To date, the company has invested in 120+ companies through 18 funds, which together, despite being early-stage innovations, already generate more than €1.7 billion in revenue.
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Jacqueline - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlvdende?originalSubdomain=nl
Carbon Equity - https://www.carbonequity.com/
Their white paper - https://www.carbonequity.com/whitepapers/the-climate-tech-opportunity
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 85+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $30B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Aug 8, 2024 • 42min
#192: Evan Caron, Co-founder of Montauk Climate — Venture Studio Business Model. Incentivizing Top Talent. AI Using 10% of World's Power. Parametric Climate Insurance Innovation.
Montauk Climate is a venture studio that launches and grows startups in the mobility, adaptation, energy, decarbonization, and sustainability sectors.
Evan is a serial founder, power trader, board member, and investor with 20 years in the energy sector, including roles as Head of Venture Investing at Riverstone, a $40B energy investment and infrastructure firm.
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
How a venture studio works
How he incentivizes experienced corporate executives to help build and lead the startups they launch
Why compute is the current of the future, and how AI could be using 10% of global power in the years to come
Why adaptive insurance using IFTT parametric functions is needed in a future disrupted by climate change
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Montauk Climate - https://montaukclimate.com
Evan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanc1
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Aug 1, 2024 • 45min
#191: Yves Benchimol, CEO of WeWard — 20 Million Users. App Boosts Walking by 24%. Tens of Millions of Revenue. Behavioral Psychology.
WeWard is an app that rewards users for walking more each day. To date, they have 20 million users walking an extra 24% than before having the app. They provide rewards from corporate partners for hitting certain walking goals, and they’ve generated eight figures in revenue while doing so.
Yves has over 10 years of experience in creating and scaling innovative solutions for physical retail, as well as a background in machine learning, big data, web and mobile development, applied mathematics, and cognitive science, with degrees in entrepreneurship and Silicon Valley innovation from Ecole Polytechnique and UC Berkeley.
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
How he taught himself behavioral psychology to apply it to his ventures
What he learned from Pokemon Go to build WeWard
How they earn revenue from three sources and which is the biggest
Why they’ve given $1M to charity as a startup themselves
Plus, you'll feel extra cool listening to this one because of his French accent!
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
WeWard - https://www.wewardapp.com
Yves - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvesbenchimol
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products (book) - https://shorturl.at/Worpf
Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion - https://shorturl.at/zpjFx
Lenny’s newsletter (product development) - https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
Duolingo (app to learn new languages) - https://www.duolingo.com
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Jul 25, 2024 • 40min
#190: Andrew Hsieh, CEO of Liminal — $35M Tech to Improve Battery Quality in Manufacturing. Ultrasound and Machine Learning. Late Night Idea Generation. Startup Genesis from YouTube video.
Liminal uses ultrasound and machine learning to create a new way to inspect battery manufacturing, elevate cell quality, and improve cost and safety. They’ve raised over $35M from investors such as our friends at ArcTern Ventures, EIF, and Northvolt, as well as the federal government, including ARPA-E and NSF.
Andrew brings a PhD and post-doc work at Princeton University to the creation of this venture. He’s also an Active Fellow and Board member, as well as a skilled photographer.
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
How they sell to customers (it’s not what you think)
How they generate revenue from three sources of value
How a random Youtube video about bouncing batteries led to the creation of this technology
How he reads the late-night scribbles on the notepad by his bed each morning
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Liminal - https://www.liminalinsights.com
Andrew - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-hsieh
Acquired (podcast) - https://www.acquired.fm
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Jul 18, 2024 • 41min
#189: Yaniv Kalish, CEO of SolarKal — Biggest U.S. Solar Marketplace. Clients Manage 100+ Million Square Feet. 200 Vetted Solar Installers. Bootstrap to Private Equity.
SolarKal is a curated marketplace and trusted advisor that makes solar installations easy for commercial real estate owners. Their clients represent 100 million square feet of real estate, and their 200 vetted solar installers have generated $1.6 billion in project bids to date. And over 80% of positive ROI solar projects get built.
Yaniv is a mechanical engineer, 2x founder, and MBA from Columbia with over a decade of experience in the solar industry.
In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.
How they get paid (it might not be what you think)
How he bootstrapped the business for years until recently taking private equity investment
How they built their software and their roadmap going forward
The origin of their name and how that relates to the reason that clients choose them
🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
SolarKal - https://www.solarkal.com
Yaniv - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanivkalish How I Built This (podcast) - https://www.npr.org/series/490248027/how-i-built-this
📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:
Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com
📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:
Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com
✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:
To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews
🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).