Which innovations are the most attractive business opportunities, and how do different types of investors evaluate climate tech? In this panel discussion, we'll introduce you to the ecosystem of climate investing.

Speakers:

Radhika Lalit, Initiative Director, Industry, Climate Imperative

Helenka (Lenka) Nolan, Lecturer in Strategy at Northeastern University

Elaine Hsieh, Partner and COO for VoLo Earth Ventures

Hugo Mkhize, Associate, Investments, Climate Investment (CI)

Elaine is a Partner and COO for VoLo Earth Ventures. With over 20 years of experience advancing innovation across the energy industry, she is passionate about accelerating clean energy commercialization and deployment through investment, policy, and industry engagement. Elaine previously served as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy’s first Under Secretary for Infrastructure catalyzing the market liftoff of critical energy infrastructure technologies through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding. Before joining the DOE, she co-founded RMI's global climate tech startup accelerator Third Derivative.

Elaine also supported the relaunch of Generate Capital in early 2020, led the VERGE climate tech conference at GreenBiz (now Trellis), and served as a global utility strategist and sustainability manager at DNV after switching careers as a green building consultant and engineer. Elaine holds a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Duke University.

Radhika is Initiative Director, Industry at Climate Imperative, where she oversees grantmaking strategy to accelerate industrial decarbonization in the US and India. Previously, she was a Principal at RMI leading global cement sector decarbonization, and served as Chief Strategy Officer at Mission Possible Partnership, advising on strategy across aviation, shipping, chemicals, cement, aluminum, and steel. At RMI, she also co-led the Global Cooling Prize, an international innovation competition to award and scale a breakthrough and climate friendly air conditioning technology. 

Hugo is an Associate in the Investment Team at Climate Investment (CI), where he focuses on venture capital and growth equity climate technology investment opportunities. He joined CI in 2024 as a Summer Intern before joining full-time in 2025. Previously, he spent over 5 years at Morgan Stanley across Johannesburg and London, focusing on M&A and capital markets transactions in renewable energy and environmental services. Hugo holds an MBA from Cambridge Judge Business School, where he graduated with Distinction, a Master of Advanced Studies in Climate Science & Policy from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and a Bachelor of Business Science in Finance from the University of Cape Town. During his MBA, he was selected as a ClimateCAP Fellow and completed a project on Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) in Emerging Markets to reduce dependence on coal power. Hugo is a CFA Charterholder and is based in London.

Lenka is a Lecturer in Strategy at Northeastern University and the university's liaison to ClimateCAP.  A strategist, educator, and advisor, she specializes in global business, strategy, and climate. She began her career developing renewable energy projects globally for Bechtel.  In addition to teaching undergraduate and MBA students, she advises climatetech startups through Greentown Labs and works to connect leaders across academia, industry, and the climate innovation ecosystem to accelerate impactful solutions.