Professional Mentoring

The teams selected to compete will receive feedback on their business plans before the competition from a panel of leading professionals in the venture capital and entrepreneurial sectors. Each team will have the opportunity to present their value proposition to a broad audience on the day of the competition.

Awards & Recognition

All teams that are chosen to compete on the HBS campus will have their business plans reviewed in detail by an extensive panel of professional mentors (prominent entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and executives from the energy industry) and given feedback to help polish demonstrations. Winners will be awarded a cash prize and will also be showcased on the Energy & Environment Club’s website until the next year’s competition.

Networking & Community

The competition and concluding reception provide attendees with a unique opportunity to see breaking trends in the industry and forge connections with innovative professionals in the field. The teams selected to participate in the competition, will have the opportunity to set up an area to display their technology during the symposium.

Libby Wayman

Investor, Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Libby Wayman is an investor with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investor-led fund created to accelerate the transition to clean energy and a clean economy. Libby has over 15 years of experience in clean energy and clean technology including multiple startups and executive roles in leading energy companies. In previous roles, Libby led clean technology innovation at GE as the Global Director of Ecomagination Innovation, served as the Director of the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative at the U.S. Department of Energy, and developed several technologies in the solar industry including at SunPower and Alion Energy. Libby started her career in entrepreneurship by co-founding a business that now supplies equipment to the dairy cold chain in India, and holds a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. While at MIT, Libby co-founded the MIT Energy Club which became a beacon for information sharing and analysis on energy technologies. Libby now also teaches the Energy & Climate Ventures course at MIT.

Daniel Hullah

Managing Director, GE Ventures
Founder, Buoyant Ventures
@danielhullah

Daniel has been a venture investor in the clean technology and sustainability energy sector for more than 14 years. He is a co-founder of Buoyant Ventures where he invests at the intersection of technology and climate change in energy, transportation, agriculture and real estate. Prior to Buoyant Ventures, Daniel was a Managing Director at GE Ventures where he led investments in the Energy sector around the themes of distributed energy, energy storage, electrification of transportation, energy access, and grid modernization. He led deals in Advanced Microgrid Solutions (acquired by Fluence in 2020) and Zola Electric and was responsible for GE’s investments in Enbala (acquired by Generac in 2020), Trilliant (acquired in 2019) and Sentient Energy (acquired by Koch Industries in 2020). He led GE Ventures’ engagement with GE’s Power and Renewables business units identifying key areas of interest for the company and building relationships with portfolio companies and other startups.

Ally Yost

Principal, The Engine
@enginexyz


Ally Yost was the first employee and is a Principal at The Engine, an early-stage, MIT-affiliated venture fund that invests in Tough Tech. She brings over a decade of experience working at the intersection of research, commercialization, and early stage startups. In her role at The Engine, she develops investments in the climate, human health, and hardware infrastructure sectors. She currently sits on the Board of Analytical Space, and is a Board Observer of Quaise Energy and Boston Metal, and works closely with Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Seaspire Skincare. Prior to the Engine, Ally led R&D and manufacturing at Accion Systems, Inc., an MIT-spin out that creates high-quality, affordable ion propulsion technologies for increased access to space. She has also worked in mechanical engineering and R&D roles in materials and micro- and nanotechnologies at NASA, Google[x], and MGH.Ally has an SM in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UNH, where she was also captain of the Women's Soccer Team. While at MIT, she was Managing Director of the $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and was Co-Director of MIT Hacking Medicine.

Katie serves as the CEO and Managing General Partner of The Engine. She is also co-founder and Managing Director of Project 11 Ventures. She serves as a Board Member at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Form Energy, Via Separations, and Boston Metal. Katie brings over 20 years of experience as an investor and tech executive helping build Boston into a thriving tech hub.

Shayle Kann is a managing director and leads research & strategy at Energy Impact Partners. Previously, Shayle spent over eight years building and running GTM Research, the market intelligence arm of Greentech Media, where he led a 30-person team tracking and forecasting the evolution of the electricity sector. Shayle oversaw this business through and beyond GTM’s successful 2016 acquisition by Verisk Analytics. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy.

Taha is a Venture Executive at Chevron Technology Ventures where he is a leader on business strategy for innovative technology and implementation. He has over 18 years of experience in the oil and gas industry related to different aspects of engineering, management and strategy. Additionally, he serves as a board member at Clarke Valve and Airborne Oil & Gas.

Jim Matheson joined the HBS Faculty in 2019 as a Senior Lecturer and currently teaches the EC Entrepreneurial Finance Course and is a Faculty Affiliate of the Business & Environment Initiative. He is also an active investor, and Board Director & Advisor for several companies and VC/PE investment groups. From 2001-2018, Jim was one of the four General Partners who launched Flagship Pioneering (fka Ventures) and helped grow the firm to its current ~$2 billion+ AUM.