The practice

A principal-led practice with a standing bench.

Climate Sprints is led by one principal and draws on a standing bench of specialists engaged per mandate. That structure is deliberate. The specialist on your deal is the one the deal requires, and you are not funding a payroll that has to be kept busy. Why the practice exists, and the physics and economics behind it, are set out in first principles.

Founding principal

Five decades, and a documented record of being early.

Marc Strauch, MUP, MFA

Five decades across software, climate, cleantech and the circular economy. Eight co-founded companies, four of them granted eleven US patents between them, two private venture funds, more than $30M in foundation and public-private capital, and the enterprise business-value methodology behind multi-billion dollar Microsoft Enterprise Agreement revenue.

Currently building two SaaS applications through Quantum Ravioli.

Record and thesis at marcstrauch.tech · LinkedIn

False-color aerial image of a braided river delta.

False-color infrared · U.S. Geological Survey · public domain

The bench

Engaged per mandate, so the specialist on a deal is the one the deal requires.

Capital and transaction

Clive Zickel, CFAEnterprise business architect. Capital formation, structuring and M&A. Prior: JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Orrick, Hyperloop TT, Scale 42. · LinkedIn

Nick HughesBusiness transformation and capital strategy. Twenty-plus years in investment banking on both sides of the table, including equities and derivatives. Capital raising focused on impact and climate. Prior: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Macquarie. · LinkedIn

Finance and operations

Janet Akala, FCCA, MAATChief financial and operating officer, UK and EU. Board member across fintech, asset management, private equity, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. Prior: J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Park Square Capital, MIG Capital, Alquity Investment Management. · LinkedIn

Legal, governance and transaction

Graham HansenAttorney and psychotherapist, UK and EU. Director and board adviser. IP, M&A, commercial and contracts, compliance, strategy and governance. Prior: Tunstall Group, Lehman Brothers, Evergreen, Nusku, Mat Zero.

Intellectual property

Trevor SkenePatent architecture and IP strategy. Portfolio roadmapping, patent intelligence and landscape analysis, monetization, licensing monitoring. A former USPTO claims examiner rather than an attorney or registered agent — the expertise is from inside the examination process, and it works alongside a company's patent counsel rather than in place of it. Prior: USPTO, Patent Hacks®, TechsonIP, BlueShiftIP, SecureStrux, Six Zero Pickleball. · LinkedIn

Technical and sector

Wiley Barbour, PECarbon accounting, measurement and audit. Prior: Entergy, FOX, Healthcare Realty, US EPA, USDA, DOE. · LinkedIn

Lawrence Culliford, EEBiochar, waste-to-value, waste-to-energy and mining applications. Prior: Ecolomondo (Canada), TechnoTherm (South Africa), Wilson Biochemical (UK), BioEnergy Solutions (Canada). · LinkedIn

Malcolm ProwseAlgaculture, biofuels and industrial-scale deployment. Prior: Center for Sub-Tropical Algaculture, Wide Bay Pacific, Climate Foundation, UN Association of Australia, Habitat Pacific. · LinkedIn

Heena ShahClimate resiliency. ESG and decarbonization strategy, compliance, KPI architecture and data controls, digital assurance and transparency. Prior: PepsiCo, PwC, FEMA, Hain Celestial Group, Tate & Lyle, World Resources Institute GHG certification. · LinkedIn

Software, data and governance

David Fotevski, MBA, MCP, MSCESoftware architecture, AI, cybersecurity, data science, network engineering and quantum computing. Prior: Global Enterprise Associates, Livingston Economic Development, NemISys Networks. · LinkedIn

David Pereira deCastro, PhDInternational political economy and corporate governance. State–market relations, internationalization, sustainable finance, data science, analytics and AI. Prior: Portuguese Ministry of Economy, Phibon, SPOT Nordic, Copenhagen Business School, Nova School of Business and Economics. · LinkedIn

Alexander Gamerdinger, PhDEconomic sociologist, science and technology. Innovation and sustainability governance, AI ethics. Prior: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, Phibon, Aalborg University, Copenhagen Business School, Stanford. · LinkedIn

Shahed Salehi, PMPFinancial forecasting, data science, application development and process automation. Prior: CIBC, GardaWorld, Loblaw Companies, Canadian Ministry of Health. · LinkedIn

Leadership and organization

Iana LahiExecutive and leadership practice. Leads Alignment Sprints. Internationally published author. Creator of BELIGHT MEDITATION®, Beyond Mentoring, Business Oracle and The Feminine Axis. More than 10,000 private clients across 30 countries over fifty years of professional practice. · LinkedIn

Commercial and go-to-market

Mike Flanagan, MBADigital transformation, marketing and commercial scaling; financial modeling. Prior: ADP, American Express, ETW Digital, Southfield Capital, Third Bridge Capital. · LinkedIn

Prior affiliations are those of the individual named, before and outside Climate Sprints. The organizations listed are not clients of Climate Sprints, have not engaged Climate Sprints, and have not endorsed the practice. Company names and marks are the property of their respective owners and appear only to describe where the individuals named have worked. Iana Lahi’s entry names practices and publications she created and continues to run.

Mastermind faculty

Each has committed to co-facilitate at least one session per cohort.

Who else is in the room.

Bill Reed, AIAFounding board member, US Green Building Council. Co-founder of the LEED rating system. · LinkedIn

Christopher Berendt, Esq.Partner, energy and environment practice, Faegre Drinker. Twenty-five years in sustainable project law. · LinkedIn

Gregory Wendt, CFPSenior wealth advisor, ESG and impact investment strategy, Perigon Wealth Management. Thirty years in socially responsible and impact investing. · LinkedIn

Silas MähnerFounder, Erth Tech Talent. Founder, CleanTechies. · LinkedIn

Faculty come to the room to work with the cohort directly: each has agreed to co-facilitate at least one session of the Climate Catalyst Mastermind, and that is the whole of what has been agreed. Faculty are independent professionals. They are not employees, partners or bench specialists of Climate Sprints, and they are not engaged on client assessments or advisory mandates. Organizations named are the faculty member’s own affiliation, current or prior. They are not clients of Climate Sprints and have not engaged Climate Sprints. Company names and marks are the property of their respective owners and appear only to describe where the individuals named work or have worked.

False-color aerial image of a green delta fanning across pale terrain.