The ZENERGY Podcast: Energy Leadership, Finance, and Technology

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode host Karan Takhar speaks with Jamila Yamani who is the Director of Climate and Energy at Salesforce. They begin by touching on the intersection of AI and sustainability, and Jamila sets the stage for us regarding Salesforce’s new platform, Agentforce. They then launch into Jamila’s day-to-day role and how Salesforce looks at tackling sustainabilit...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Host Karan Takhar sits down with Terry Paule, CEO of Botanical Water Technologies to discuss how he stumbled into the idea of turning fruit and vegetable waste into water, just how much water can be extracted from these fruits and vegetables, and how vital it is for communities in need. They look at the average amount of water a single person uses to drink and cook...

This episode was recorded on November 18, 2024. Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, host Karan Takhar sits down for a chat with Founding Executive Editor of Cipher, Amy Harder. Cipher is supported by Breakthrough Energy as an education initiative focusing on reporting on climate solutions across the climate and energy fields. As Executive Editor, Amy shares what drew her to reporting on energy...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, Karan sits down with Jason Hochman, Co-Founder and Executive Director at Direct Air Capture Coalition to discuss the genesis of DACC as well as what the early days of getting the company off the ground looked like and the four pillars they operate under. They dive into how to engage with policy makers and how the inflation reduction act and infrastructure bi...

This episode was recorded on September 25, 2024. Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, Karan has the pleasure of sitting down with Ben Rubin, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Carbon Business Council. They start off by chatting briefly about his 5,000-mile bus tour for the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit then dive into the genesis behind Carbon Business Council. Next, Karan and Ben look...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, Karan sits down with Andrew Herscowitz, CEO of the Mission 300 Accelerator established by the Rockefeller Catalytic Capital at the Rockefeller Foundation. They discuss Andrew’s impressive career as well as how the M300 accelerator originated. Then, they look at what some of the biggest challenges to achieving electricity access for 300 million Africans by 20...

This episode was recorded on November 15, 2024. Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host, Karan Takhar speaks with Doreen Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. To begin, Doreen shares her vision for the future and what role NYSERDA will play in achieving that vision. In addition, Doreen and Karan discuss the challenges that may arise...

Welcome to  The Zenergy Podcast ! Today, host, Karan Takhar has a chat with Komal Kaul, Co-Founder of Isotonik Solutions, Founder of Sam India Project, and YPO Impact Network Chair. They speak primarily about her time at the YPO Impact Network. She gives a brief overview of the network, how it works, who is involved, and shares some key initiatives she’s worked on as chair. They touch on how YPO c...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, Karan interviews Kate Kelly, Chief of Staff at Avalanche Fusion. They begin with a brief overview of nuclear fusion and why it’s considered a potential game changer for global energy systems then discuss important metrics Avalanche Fusion has been reaching lately, the equipment they use, and how the “test, fail, fix” model used at places like Blu...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, Karan interviews Joel Armin-Hoiland, Founder and CEO of Climate Finance Solutions. They start off with an overview of the work CFS is doing followed by a look into Joel’s background and the origin story behind the company. Then, they discuss what’s driven the growth of the grant funding ecosystem in recent years, what elements of a grant proposal...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan sits down with Paul Straub, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Wireframe Ventures. To start, Paul shares his journey to co-founding Wireframe Ventures and the learnings they had while building their very first fund. He then discusses how they were able to raise a fund at a time when clean tech 1.0 had just happened, how raising funds has evolved over t...

Thanks for tuning into The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan Takhar sits down with Kristin Barbato, Co-Founder and President of Dynamo Energy Hub. They discuss the launching of Dynamo Energy Hub, how it survived the pandemic, what the company does and how they do it, and how this has evolved over time. They talk about the scale of the company, their business model, the Dynamo Deal Flow program, the va...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! On today's episode, host Karan Takhar speaks with Brian DiMarino, Deputy Director of Global Sustainability at J.P. Morgan. They discuss J.P. Morgan’s new all-electric HQ building and all its sustainability features, they talk about the power purchase agreements J.P. Morgan is making, and discuss navigating the balance of financial benefits with sustainability be...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, host Karan Takhar speaks with Mona E. Dajani, Global Co-Chair of Energy Infrastructure & Hydrogen and Co-Chair of the Energy Sector at Baker Botts. They discuss her career journey, what drew her to the energy sector, and how she creates deal structures for large scale renewable projects. Mona then walks us through one of the most challenging and rewarding...

Thanks for tuning into The Zenergy Podcast! On today’s episode, Karan sits down with Pete Schork, Principal at Broadscale Group. Pete and Karan start off with a fun lightning round of questions leading into his role at Broadscale, how he sources investment opportunities, and an explanation of Broadscale’s mission: “Disruption for good.” They discuss how Broadscale balances the “disruption” part of...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast. Today, host Karan Takhar sits down with Jon Glass, Senior Technology-to-Market Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy or ARPA-E. They discuss his role at ARPA-E and how the opportunity to work there came about as well as what inspired him to do this kind of work. Jon shares an overview of ARPA-E’s process, how companies o...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast! Today, Karan interviews Rob Day, Co-Founder of Spring Lane Capital. Rob and Karan discuss how Rob and his partner founded Spring Lane Capital, what the process was like raising the first fund, and how the company bridges investment gaps in the market. They start of with a lighthearted lightning round of questions then continue with the origin story of Spring Lane Ca...

Welcome to The Zenergy Podcast. Today, Karan speaks with Amanda Leland, Executive Director at the Environmental Defense Fund. They talk about her work at the EDF, including what inspires her to stay at the organization for as long as she has, and they discuss the advice she’d give herself at various increments throughout her career journey. They discuss the launching of MethaneSAT, the genesis of...

Welcome to The Zenergy podcast! On today’s episode, Karan Takhar speaks with Dimitry Gershenson, CEO & Co-Founder of Enduring Planet. They discuss Dimitry's time living in Kenya and India and how that shaped his perspective on how to approach climate solutions. Dimitry then walks us through the founding of Enduring Planet and the gap in the market they are filling using their unique fundin...

On today's episode, Karan Takhar sits down with Yasmeen Shaheen-McConnell, Senior Advisor for the American Climate Corps, AmeriCorps. Yasmeen shares the origin story of the American Climate Corps and how she got involved. They speak about how the Corps recruits its members, how its structured, who can apply, and how an organization wishing to partner with the ACC can do so. Yasmeen then shares...

As a pioneer in impact investing, Nancy has demonstrated the potential of venture capital to drive social change and environmental improvements. She is an active voice in the field, frequently writing and speaking on impact investing topics. Nancy serves on the boards of several companies, including Zola Electric, Bellwether Coffee, and Farmers Business Network, and has previously worked with Tesl...

Adam James is a Partner at Energy Impact Partners, where he leads the firm’s Customer Experience team and the Impact and Sustainability team. Adam joined EIP from Tesla where he worked on global business operations. Prior to Tesla, he was the Deputy Director at SolarCity, supporting global market expansion including business development, M&A, and utility partnerships. Adam previously held role...

Climate change is driven by emissions from various human activities such as burning fossil fuels, manufacturing cement and steel, plowing soils, and clearing forests. These actions release carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gasses into the atmosphere, which trap heat and contribute to global warming. Methane, particularly from cattle, rice fields, landfills, and fossil fuel op...

Dr. Michael E. Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. He holds degrees in Physics, Applied Math, and Geology & Geophysics from UC Berkeley and Yale. His work focuses on Earth's climate system, particularly human-caused climate change, and he has played a significant role in t...

The Montgomery County Green Bank is a publicly chartered 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to accelerating energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean energy investment in Montgomery County, MD. They partner with the private sector to provide more affordable and flexible financing options for County residents and businesses for clean energy and climate-resilient projects. These projects s...