Promotions at Energize
My belief is that a key team member receives a promotion only once they have already consistently acted at the new/target title. Last week the Energize team made a number of exciting promotions as each of these team members stepped up in 2021.
Tyler Lancaster joined us as an Associate in 2018 and has been a pillar for our Energize Ventures platform. He learned the “deep dive” research structure that Juan and I created and made it better. He also then relayed that methodology onto our next hires. Since he joined he has led investments into some great companies, including Aurora Solar, TWAICE, and Urbint. Tyler is promoted to Partner, and will be a key investment leader at our firm for years to come.
Eileen Waris joined us in early 2021 after getting dual graduate degrees from Stanford. When we hired Eileen we were looking for a team member that would bring an added focus for us on corporate sustainability. In her short 12 months with us, Eileen beat every expectation – and the targets were high. One of her areas of interest this year was in the carbon management space. After a year of looking for the best investment opportunity, we believe she has found that company and Eileen will have more to share in early 2022. Eileen moves into a Principal role with us, meaning she is on a path to Partner. She already has a few Board Observer seats and I expect she will have her first board seat in the next 12-18 months.
Mark Tomasovic joined Energize in mid-2020 after getting his MBA from HBS. He is our first (and likely not last!) hire from the traditional energy markets. Mark is an engineer’s engineer and is always looking to deconstruct a vertical to understand the key levers and likeliest areas where technology and market positioning will earn value. Mark has been a key ingredient in a number of our most recent investments, while also supporting a lot of our firm operations. He is a tremendously hard worker and he is a shining example of a younger oil & gas employee making the move to a more sustainable part of the industry. Mark is now officially a Principal with Energize and similarly, is on a path to Partner.
Kelly Lassing has been at Energize since 2019 and manages almost all external communications, marketing and events. If we are engaging with the outside world (or preparing to engage!) she makes it happen. At Energize we are frequently told by our LPs about the quality of our LP and network communications. Kelly is at the heart of that framework. We have high ambitions for the next stage of our platform, and Kelly is going to play a pivotal role in helping us deliver that message and expand our brand. For that reason she is formally our Head of Marketing & Communications.
Steven Kirnbauer joined Energize in 2018. He began his career with Energize as an Executive Assistant and expanded into Operations. Steven has kept the trains on time at Energize ever since he arrived. As our team has grown he naturally expanded to take over many of our Human Resource related items… all while managing larger operational efforts like our office move and structural IT and systems changes. Personally he has been a major help for me over the past 3 years – including helping me manage priorities and making my role as Managing Partner less stressful. Going forward Steven will be our Head of Operations & HR and we will be hiring to support his efforts in 2022.
Kevin Stevens joined Energize in January 2021. We hired Kevin to help stand-up our Growth operations – and he did just that. We have launched and closed Energize Growth I and have made 4… about to be 5 investments from the growth platform. Kevin is an ongoing student and is now a leader at the growth equity stage for software and sustainability. Kevin had the skillset to be a Partner when we hired him, and this promotion is as much about ensuring EQ-alignment with the firm… and the appropriate cultural promotion for recognizing how selfless he was in 2021 to do whatever it took for the team to succeed. Kevin moves to Chicago in a week… and has the Partner title to go with the new addres.
Each of these professionals has made Energize better. Each individual brought a new strength to our team and advanced our cumulative goals to deliver great financial returns, and accelerate impact. I can’t wait to see what else they can accomplish in the years to come…