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Articles by David Hunt
London Office Growth Featured in Financial News
The firm’s London office was featured in Financial News, spotlighting what the firm has accomplished over the last four years. Beyond the office’s impressive growth, the feature explores the story behind its success: a lean, efficient way of working and close collaboration across the firm’s U.S. and European practices. Quoted in the article includes partners Timothy Foden, David Hunt, and Tim Smyth.
Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day on Oct. 12
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Why Strong Leadership Drives a Higher Valuation at Exit
Leaders in Cleantech Behind the scenes of the cleantech revolution, sharing insights from founders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private equity investors, and industry thought leaders shaping the future of clean energy and e-mobility. No thanks
An ‘innovacation’ could be just what you need to run a better business
Cornwall 2024 - DH David Hunt David Hunt CEO &Founder- helping cleantech & Deeptech entrepreneurs and organisations to scale. Speaker/Moderator, Host @ Leaders in Cleantech podcast Published Aug 22, 2024 A what! Yes, I'm not a fan of the terminology, but definitely of the concept to take the time, to create the space, to be creative and innovative. This is an extension of a post based on an article in Racontuer about leaders finding time for creativity and innovation.
An Interview with Keith Bradbury - Ember
image credit: Image of Keith Bradbury, Co-founder of Ember from David Hunt CEO & Founder, Hyperion Cleantech Group David Hunt is a prominent figure and thought leader in the cleantech sector, with a specific focus around talent and growth. Hailed as a leading green entrepreneur by the Financial Times, David... Member since 2018 97 items added with 126,283 views Aug 2, 2024Aug 2, 2024 9:38 pm GMT 2 views What’s it all about? Clean, efficient, reliable, electric public transport.
An Interview with Dr. Ian Campbell - Breathe Battery Technologies
What’s it all about? Batteries. More specifically, software enabled batteries helping to make Electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and wearables, more efficient, providing better customer experiences. I speak to another start-up spun out of Imperial College London, with a novel and proven set of products and technologies moving forward the transition towards better, longer lasting and faster charging vehicles and devices. A great spin-out journey. I hope you enjoy the episode.
An Interview with Joachim Rupp - Detra Solar
What’s it all about? Solar, and moving from corporate life to a start up. I first met my guest today, Joachim Rupp at a start-up within a corporate, building Viessmann’s Photovoltaic business, before that he’d been in some big corporate roles, more recently we helped him secure the CEO role at a Lithuanian solar scale-up, Detra Solar. We talk solar evolution and trends, but also the challenges and rewards of a career transition. Enjoy the episode.
The risks of generative AI and deepfakes in the marketing research industry | Article | Quirks.com
How generative AI can affect the insights industry and research results Editor’s note: David Hunt is the 2024 president elect at INFORMS, an association for the decision and data sciences. He is also vice president at Oliver Wyman. Generative artificial intelligence – the use of computers to generate words, images, voice and videos indistinguishable from human-created content – is transforming every industry.
An Interview with Akshat Rathi is - Bloomberg News
image credit: Image of Climate Reporter for Bloomberg News Akshat Rathi, David Hunt CEO & Founder, Hyperion Cleantech Group David Hunt is a prominent figure and thought leader in the cleantech sector, with a specific focus around talent and growth. Hailed as a leading green entrepreneur by the Financial Times, David... Member since 2018 94 items added with 118,689 views Mar 1, 2024Mar 1, 2024 8:49 pm GMT 2 views People, Policies and Technology.
An Interview with Bill Esterson - MP Shadow Minister
image credit: Image of MP Shadow Minister Bill Esterson, David Hunt CEO & Founder, Hyperion Cleantech Group David Hunt is a prominent figure and thought leader in the cleantech sector, with a specific focus around talent and growth. Hailed as a leading green entrepreneur by the Financial Times, David... Member since 2018 93 items added with 118,309 views Feb 23, 2024Feb 23, 2024 6:28 pm GMT 2 views Policy and government.
An Interview with Anton Arts - SET Ventures
image credit: Image of a Managing Partner at SET Ventures Anton Arts, David Hunt CEO & Founder, Hyperion Cleantech Group David Hunt is a prominent figure and thought leader in the cleantech sector, with a specific focus around talent and growth. Hailed as a leading green entrepreneur by the Financial Times, David... Member since 2018 92 items added with 117,505 views Feb 9, 2024Feb 9, 2024 8:39 pm GMT 2 views What’s it all about?
2023’s biggest tech deals are all climate infrastructure (via Passle)
There has been a lot of doomsayers about the drop in VC funding for climatetech in 2023. And yes, the figures don't lie, and nor do the VCs I speak with, or the founders who felt the headwinds whilst fundraising. BUT, if you look at where the (admittedly less) VC money went, cleantech/climatetech still took a lion share. And this article shows how some of the biggest deals in 2023 went to cleantech infrastructure companies (including Hyperion clients).
TotalEnergies Acquires several Start-ups in the Electricity Business (via Passle)
This I find very interesting on a number of levels. Firstly, I was very dismissive earlier in the year when TotalEnergies sold off their entire cleantech CVC portfolio. I assumed they were back-tracking on any energy transition commitments. It seems I was wrong, they had a change of strategy. I've spoken to a number of start-ups who have participated in the TotalEnergies accelerator and the feedback has been pretty unanimously positive. Not every accelerator can say that.
PFW STATE OF THE NATION 2023 & Conference (via Passle)
I'm delighted to be heading to London tomorrow to moderate and participate in the Powerful Women conference, addressing Gender inequality in the Energy sector. Of course so much good work is being done, and I'm sure we'll shine a light on that, but there is also much to be done, and we'll be sure not to dodge some tough truths and questions. You can join the conference online, the live event is sold out.
National Grid to fast-track connections for 19 battery storage projects (via Passle)
Another piece of good news coming from National Grid this week. They also announced a £3.5Billion of investment in H1 of this year, to prepare the Grid for a surge of renewable energy projects. It is great to see a proactive approach to moving towards a renewables dominated electricity supply in the UK.
Sunak to unveil North Sea annual oil and gas licensing bill (via Passle)
I'm from London, but have lived in Liverpool for many years now. In these parts, with just reason, Rishi Sunak would be referred to as a Gobsh*te. Or that's one of the more polite epithets. According to the Urban Dictionary, the term means ‘Loud-mouthed person who talks a lot, but nothing with any value - as in shite coming out of their gob’. It's easy for me to feel massively aggrieved at this news, but it was expected.
E-Trucks work - not just for green reasons but also to combat inflation! (via Passle)
The electrification of trucks is one of the most intensely discussed topics in the transport industry. Whilst a lot of the conversation is around the technical feasibility of electric trucks, another aspect has been out of the focus - which is the impact of traditional trucking cost on inflation and prices. The problem is that diesel fuel and maintenance cost for diesel trucks accounted for nearly 40% of marginal operating costs per mile in 2022 in the US.
Macron's Smart Solar Move (via Passle)
As I frequently say, Solar was and is my first love, at least in clean technology. Having a company that installed many Megawatts of solar PV on rooftops across the UK, it always struck me as insane that we didn't mandate rooftop solar on all new buildings, and indeed for any retrofit programme. France now seems to be coming to that conclusion.
The big debate: is salary transparency a good idea? (via Passle)
Now here is a hot potato! Should you, as a leader of a company, be forced to give salary information when placing job advertisements? Firstly let me say, I understand some of the arguments for. There is still a significant gender pay gap, where women are paid less than men for the same work/job. This is unacceptable and quite shameful that this is still the case, decades after legislation. But is legislating on salary bands on job ads the right answer?
Global solar capacity must reach 5.4TW by 2030 to meet Paris climate goals – report (via Passle)
It's been quite a ride since I joined the Solar industry in 2007. Long before feed in tariffs, or any incentives, and with solar panels wholesaling at £2.80 per watt (when you could actually get any supply in the UK). Yet, it seemed so obvious even then, that solar would come to dominate electricity generation globally. Yes, like John Lennon, I'm a dreamer, but I saw it all the same.
UK on track to add 1.7 GWp-dc of solar PV in 2023 (via Passle)
Very positive news today that the UK is on track for a 7 year high in annual solar deployment. As the pipeline for utility projects continues to grow, predictions of a 3GW market in 2024 look solid. It's not since the FiT and ROC subsidy days that the solar sector looked so buoyant in the UK. Those were certainly crazy times chasing installation deadlines for everyone in the sector (I lost a lot of hair as proof!).
Are we seeing a shift to climate-conscious diets? (via Passle)
Last week we had an office day and our team were discussing some of the changes we'd each made when it came to diet choices. One week later and we've seen some interesting findings published - the UK's meat consumption dropped considerably in recent years with 2022 seeing the sharpest drop in meat sales to 1970s levels! It made me wonder what was behind this... 🤔 Are people waking up to how dietary changes benefit the planet? Could it be down to increased health & wellbeing awareness?
Unicorn ambitions? You better grow your leadership team (via Passle)
It sounds obvious right? The better your leadership team, the more chance of unicorn success. Yet many start-ups still fail to invest in building the right leadership team and ultimately they feel the effects in the long-term! The article shows a study of 80 unicorns versus a sample of control start-ups (who in the first 5 years had the same type and size of early investment). The results found that on average, unicorns had 9 more senior leaders after 5 years, than the control start-ups.
Mind the Gap: Uneven Progress in Europe's Electric Vehicle Revolution (via Passle)
Europe is experiencing a remarkable surge in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, with new EV sales skyrocketing from 1% to 15% in just five years. However, a striking electrification gap is emerging across the continent with parts of Europe making great progress whilst others lag behind at a snails pace.
The CEO’s guide to the next big recruitment challenge (via Passle)
This topic always reminds me of the famous quote from one of Bill Clinton's campaign managers in his successful bid for President. Trying to get to the one thing that was most important to the public, and therefore to his success, James Carville stressed: It's the Economy stupid. I say wholeheartedly, when it comes to the success of any business, large or small, now more than ever: It's the People stupid.
Highest EV charging prices drop below petrol car running costs (via Passle)
The cost of ultra-rapid charging (+101kW) is falling in the UK. This is particularly important for many high mileage users without access to their own charger. These prices are now below the costs of running a petrol car which is an important milestone is convincing the public to make the switch. In order for mass adoption, we need access to a broad range of changing speeds according to the dwell time of drivers.
Solar energy set to eclipse fossil fuels as world passes ‘tipping point’, study reveals (via Passle)
When I started my solar installation business in 2007, and solar panels were £2.80 per Watt, I still believed that solar would come to dominate global energy production. But call me Cassandra, pretty much no one believed me, especially the Government Ministers I met (something I've written about in the past). That said, of course I wasn't alone. Many people saw the same future I saw, most of them I met at Intersolar and Solar & Storage Live.
Climate Solutions: It's time to focus on what works (via Passle)
I came across a fantastic piece from Climate Futurist and Forbes contributor, Michael Barnard (thanks for sharing Graeme Cooper) and it really hit home. If we are to truly stand a chance at achieving net zero, we really need to start focusing our attention, energy, efforts and investment on the solutions that work.
Does experience matter when it comes to hiring? (via Passle)
A strange question you might think from a headhunter. We're paid to find the ‘needles in haystacks’, the ‘purple unicorns’, the hidden candidates with oodles of relevant industry experience. It's what we do at Hyperion, we're very good at it. We've been doing this in the cleantech sector for nearly ten years. We'll continue to do it, BUT……..
Private Equity (& VC) Needs a New Talent Strategy (via Passle)
Of course this does include their own talent, but as the statistics in the quote below (and the full article) show, how the leadership and operational excellence of a ‘Portco’ deliver far more value these days than financial engineering. This also applies to VC's and their portfolio companies, perhaps more so, as there are less opportunities for financial engineering and debt for early stage VC backed companies.
Start-up CEOs…Why you should always hold the first interview (via Passle)
I love supporting energy storage start-up clients during their early phases of growth. At the beginning, their team typically consists of the Founders plus a few initial hires from close personal networks or opportunistic hiring. Of course, this is a great starter but when the time comes for scaling, start-ups need more specific expertise added to their team and they have to search far and wide for A players from the wider industry.
How To Keep Team Collaboration Alive And Thriving In A Hybrid Work World (via Passle)
The remote/hybrid/office conversations will go on for some time yet. Usually it's easy to see the root of someone's opinion. If you own or lease the office of course you're going to favour office working, if you have a low trust culture, you're going to favour office working. If you're a slacker you're going to favour fully remote working etc But we're quite a long way passed the Pandemic now, and at Hyperion we've been hiring leadership roles, during the pandemic, and since.
Localising Battery Supply... It needs time! (via Passle)
We all know about the dominance of Chinese and wider Asian battery suppliers and most in Europe agree that we must take action to localise production, for economic, market security and employment reasons. Therefore, the planned Rules of Origin are really important - the majority of EV batteries and wider components must be produced locally or manufacturers face additional tariffs. But like with any emerging technology development, we must consider the big picture.
Offering REAL purpose (via Passle)
"I want to work in cleantech as my next challenge must give me purpose. When my little boy asks me what I do for a job, I want to be proud of my answer" This stuck with me. It came from a recent conversation I had with a candidate, who was looking for his next career opportunity. Simply put, he was motivated by more than just an attractive salary or progression, he was driven to find an opportunity that aligned with his values.
Founders- Hiring the best talent is your most important job. (via Passle)
Don't take my word for it, the title is a quote from Steve Jobs. Not an infallible leader for sure, but he knew a thing or two about building a great, and very valuable company. No matter how good you are, or your founding team. Without a great team, great hires, you will never achieve the best outcome for your team or your business. But hiring as a start up is tough in so many ways. You're low on bandwidth and time, low probably on cash, low maybe in hiring experience.
How have you kept your company culture alive as you've scaled? (via Passle)
This is one of the topics I love to explore when I speak to founders and entrepreneurs of the start-ups and scale-ups I interview on the Hyperion Leaders in Cleantech podcast. It's such a challenge, but also so critical to the success of a business, if you get culture wrong, or lose your way, or allow in toxicity or, just as bad, mediocrity, then at best you underperform, at worst your company dies, or slips into mediocrity itself.
Has hybrid working killed the office? (via Passle)
I find this topic fascinating, and not just because of the employment/talent impacts, but because the knock on effects impacts real estate, retail, hospitality, our communities, cities, investments, and the whole future of the built environment, construction and it's (large) carbon emissions. It's a huge topic that goes way beyond the headlines. Let's start with our area of expertise, talent acquisition and retention.
eMobility in the USA (via Passle)
OK, it doesn't have the ring to it of 'Born in the USA', and Josh Aviv may not have the years of Bruce Springsteen, and maybe not his voice, but he does have an amazing entrepreneurial story and a great company in SparkCharge. It was great to have Josh join me on the Leaders in Cleantech podcast this week to share how he and his team are enabling Electric Vehicle uptake, particularly for fleets, through their innovative Charging as a Service model.
Dropping A-Bombs not F-Bombs (via Passle)
I recently spoke about the taboo subject of CLIMATE ADAPTATION with cleantech investor and entrepreneur Ulrich Seitz. Why is this a taboo subject when we really need innovation and investment into technologies to help us adapt to the realities of our new world. On a daily basis we see and hear about extreme weather events, floods, fires, droughts and more. We need to protect our lives and communities, and those affected more dramatically than ourselves.
What are the opportunities for Geothermal? Heating, cooling and power! (via Passle)
I really enjoyed this conversation with Alexander Helling of Baseload Capital about the present and future opportunities for Geothermal. Where are the hot spots and cool spots, and how can we cool our environments with heat!? All this and more. Take a watch/listen. #geothermal #cleantech #podcast Tags geothermal, investment, energytransition, leadership, renewable energy, cleantech
Leaders in Cleantech: Leaders in Cleantech #127
Christoph Berger - vilisto What’s it all about? Renewable Heat, as we’ve featured recently, so often the elephant in the room. Addressing the needs of decarbonising heat is critical to the clean energy transition. In this episode we address heating and inefficiency in commercial and public buildings as I speak to CEO and Founder of Vilisto, Christophe Berger. Having recently raised a £5m they are focused on scaling to bring their solutions to a wider audience.
Leaders in Cleantech: Leaders in Cleantech #126
Helen Czerski What’s it all about? Letting lose my inner nerd! I’ve known Helen for some time, known in a loose sense, we shared a panel session at a Fully Charged event some years ago, and I’ve watched with enthusiasm much of her TV and Fully Charged presenting, When I saw she’d written a book about a gigantic solar powered machine, I needed to know more! But seriously, the topic of how our planet works has held my interest and curiosity since I was a child.
Leaders in Cleantech: Leaders in Cleantech #124
What’s it all about? The often overlooked issue of renewable heat. I take dive into the world of solar thermal with Hyperion client Naked Energy. Co-founder and CEO Christophe Williams has a great founder story too, from inventors genes to global advertising exec, to cleantech founder. Christophe shares about the Cinderella story of solar thermal, and well as the trials and tribulations of founding and scaling a tech business.
Leaders in Cleantech: Leaders in Cleantech #123
What’s it all about? Batteries, smart use of second life batteries. There is of course so much demand for new batteries, and that won’t go away, but soon we have a lot of batteries too useful to recycle just yet, but not useful for electric vehicles of first use cases. Entrepreneur and founder, Jorgon Erdal shares his vision and experience building a business to take advantage of this opportunity, and to play a large and important role in the energy transition.
The importance of Team retreats
David Hunt David Hunt CEO & Founder Hyperion Cleantech Group Talent expert. Thought Leader, Advisor, Consultant, Mentor, Podcast host & NED. Helping cleantech… Published Mar 16, 2023 If I may understate! The world of work has undergone significant changes over the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to adopt remote working practices, and the hybrid model has become increasingly the norm.
If You Continue to Permit These Shots You Are Complicit in Mass Harm to Our Children
Dear Honorable Councilor Wheeler, In the entirety of the Covid epidemic, we have had one child die from Covid in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, we have FOUR cases of children dying from the so-called “vaccine.” We want to thank David Hunt for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com. You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page. Per official CDC data, children under 18 have a 99.997% infection survival rate from Covid.
Flexibility, Accountability and Trust are Essential For a Successful Working Culture
A hybrid working environment provides a significant advantage for hiring and retaining talent. The world of work has changed significantly since I joined the workforce a million year ago! For good and bad we are increasingly becoming a 24/7 culture. Working outside the office has never been easier. Global connectivity and technology allow us to work remotely, at our own pace and on our own terms.
Private equity firms need to protect themselves from sovereign debt risk
The past two years have seen the finances of many emerging market states battered by the costs of Covid and rising commodity prices. Over the past 10 years, many of the world’s poorest countries have taken on an increasing share of variable rate debt, making them vulnerable to rate rises as central banks now battle to control inflation. All of this adds up to what the World Bank has called a coming spate of debt crises. Where do such crises leave private equity firms?
If you hire the right person, everything goes ten times better
David Hunt David Hunt CEO & Founder, Hyperion Cleantech Group. Podcast host, mentor & NED Published Sep 22, 2022 “If you hire the right person, everything goes ten times better; if you hire the wrong person, everything goes ten times worse.” This is what Janelle Wang, co-founder and CEO of Acton, a specialist micro-mobility solutions firm, said in Episode 96 of the Leaders in Cleantech podcast.
Leaders in Cleantech: Max Ter Horst – Rockstart on Apple Podcasts
What’s it all about? Accelerators! What are they, what do they do, and should you join one (if you are an early stage founder/entrepreneur). I speak With Max Ter Horst, entrepreneur and Managing Partner at Rockstart cleantech accelerator about what they are all about, how they help, and what part an accelerator plays in the cleantech ecosystem. I also speak to a couple of founders who have been through the programm to get their thoughts.
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