Our people bring together decades of collective experience in
middle-market investing, finance, strategy, and operations in our focus
themes, sectors, and regions.
Please scroll down to view team biographies, or click on a name to see a specific bio
| Gautam Barua, Founder | ||
| Ryan Waddington, Venture Adviser | Stephen Ward, Policy Adviser |
Gautam Barua, Founder
Mr. Barua has focused on environmental sustainability and resource productivity since the early 1990s. Through his work at Aclaria Partners and, earlier, for fund manager Medley Capital, he participated in financings of alternative energy and clean water businesses. He also co-founded and serves on the board of directors of California Bioenergy, a renewable energy firm that is the leader in its market segment. Before these activities, Mr. Barua provided environmental sustainability-focused consulting services to corporate clients and nongovernmental organizations. Mr. Barua has also served as California Deputy State Controller for Policy, in addition to having held positions at McKinsey & Company and Morgan Stanley. Mr. Barua earned a BA cum laude in Economics and Mathematics from Yale, where his thesis focused on climate change, and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard, where he also completed Executive Education coursework on entrepreneurship. Mr. Barua formerly served on the board of Save the Bay, a fifty-year-old environmental conservation group, and earned U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Series 7, 66, and 79 registrations.
Ryan Waddington, Venture Adviser
Mr. Waddington
provides insight from more than a decade of experience as an energy-focused principal investor. He is currently founder and
Managing Partner of Huron River Ventures, a regional
venture capital fund manager. Previously, he served as a Director at
ZBI Ventures, an energy-focused private equity and venture capital
vehicle that he helped establish as part of Ziff Brothers Investments,
a prominent U.S. family office. Prior to this, Mr. Waddington was a
Director at NextEnergy, an alternative energy-focused business
accelerator, and a Principal at DTE Energy Ventures, a clean
energy-focused corporate venture fund. In these roles, he led or
participated in investments in solar, biofuels, power transmission,
power management and electronics, energy efficiency, hydroelectric,
hybrid powertrain, software and IT, energy conversion, and fuel-cell
technology. Mr. Waddington started his career at environmental
consultancy Radian International and also co-founded GetOutdoors.com,
an online sports portal. He earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering from
the University of Michigan, an MS in Civil and Environmental
Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, and an MBA with
Distinction from the University of Michigan.
Stephen Ward, Policy Adviser
Mr. Ward
is a Principal at VH Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan
consulting and lobbying firm, where he focuses on clients working in
resource productivity-related areas. From 2003
through mid-2011, he served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Jeff
Bingaman, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the
Finance Subcommittee on Energy. Prior to joining Senator Bingaman, Mr.
Ward served for a decade as Director of Government Affairs for EDS
Corporation. He spent the prior twenty years in electoral politics,
social services, and education. Mr. Ward has been a regular speaker and
panelist in renewable energy investor conferences, as well as a cited
expert on U.S. renewable energy policy. Mr. Ward earned a BA in
Community Development and an MEd in Higher Education Administration,
both from Pennsylvania State University.
