Transitioning into this sector as an executive

I have had many conversations with executives who are veterans of other industries or sectors trying to enter into this rapidly expanding field. Not unlike other search assignments, the requirements seek to find experiences and knowledge particular to the client, some demanding an energy related background others seeking individuals from certain seemingly unrelated industries. My advice is to think of this field as the new driver of the economy where all forms of business and human endeavor applications will integrate and connect to applying this new technology platform with our lives. In this way one can use one's resume embodiment as a competitive advantage seeking these emerging opportunities. Some suggestions:

At the CEO level think about identifying convergent or integrated business services or products that will enhance the usage, service or product delivery, cost competitiveness, distribution or management of companies or products and services in cleantechnologies. Once one identifies a class or model, develop it seeking out investors and a team. Examples:

• Executive of a structural steel and struss company identifies that the one of the primary cost items of Wind Power is the tower, the structure and its components and the delivery of the structure to remote wind farm locations. He has formed a company that has greatly reduced the cost of those structures, and lowered the cost of delivering them to remote locations while increasing the load capabilities.
• Executive in the software industry has developed sophisticated power measurements in independently identifying excess power submitted to the grid from solar or wind power generating units and accurately measuring power delivered from the grid. The software generates an automated invoice to the utility with validation.
• Logistics executive is developing software and management systems specific to the ethanol industry to integrate with the railroad and trucking industry.

At the CFO level the demand is acute for search services right now. Companies that are formed and operating often put off hiring a strategic finance executive until the need arises from demands of regulation reporting to capital funding programs. Yet clients are seeking specific experiences and intuitively know that the CFO must be able to communicate to specific audiences.

• Alternative Fuel company that is a both a biotech and an energy company sought someone who knew about oil, gas and coal field leases while also having experience working in a scientific or pharmacuetical company. The ultimate reason is that it became known that the primary audiences for capital financing would be analysts with biotech or scientific experiences as to how the financial markets would valuate this company.
• Fuel Cell company is both an industrial instrumentation and energy storage company but also must integrate their equipment with their primary users, in this case the communications industry. This company sought an individual who had close in knowledge of the telecom market as well as experience internationally where the electrircal grid was not fully integrated.
• Ethanol producer is a company that is both an agri-business firm (using commodities) as well as an energy producer, but most of all it is a liquid processing manufacturer that is part of a complex logistics chain. This company sought an individual who had experience with processing manufacturing like breweries but also knowledge and experience with an integrated outsourced logistics chain.

Business Development Executives are individuals who usually have a long personal knowledge of a particular marketplace or sector. Yet the largest call is not for marketing or sales but for partnering capabilities not much different than the early stages of the dot.com era.

• Solar panel manufacturer and distributor was seeking an executive to develop and implement sales and sought home improvement business development professional that came from the plumbing fixture business to set up partners with retail distributors and new home construction companies.
• Wind Power company needed to look into the agri-business world to find an individual who had experience with knowledge of acquiring large tracks of leased land.

However there is one fundamental string that holds all these individuals together, the recognition and conviction of sustainability and greentech as a force in the 21st Century business paradigm. Yesterday I linked to a astounding figure that in 2006 $48B in R&D in this market sector while last quarter over $900M was invested from the venture capital segment, an increase of over $300m from 2006, while the rest of the venture community recorded a downturn in placements.