Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Energy Club and Sustainable Business Club are hosting the inaugural Climate, Business and Innovation conference to inform the Stanford business community of the risks and opportunities presented by climate change. More than 180 Stanford business and university students, alumni, and industry leaders in finance, food, agriculture, energy, transportation, sustainable cities, and technology will discuss how climate change will shape the future of business and inspire a dialogue on the relevance and importance of these issues to tomorrow’s business leaders.
The mission of the GSB, to “change lives, change organizations, change the world,” encourages the community to focus on the complex problems challenging our world today. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called climate change “the most systematic threat to mankind.” Climate change solutions present compelling opportunities to innovate and bring new technologies and ideas to market. Tomorrow’s business leaders will need to grapple with a world increasingly shaped by this reality and have a role to play in helping address it.
This inaugural conference will educate the Stanford GSB community about the risks and opportunities presented by climate change and how it will shape the future of business. It will inspire a dialogue around new innovations in the climate space and energize the GSB community to address these issues, either directly or indirectly, in their careers.
Opening Keynote: Bill McGlashan, Co-Founder and CEO, The Rise Fund; and Founder and Managing Partner, TPG Growth
Plenary Panel Discussion: Financial Risk and Opportunity
Jeffrey Ball, scholar-in-residence at Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance (moderator)
Rich Sorkin, CEO, Jupiter Intelligence
Peter Kelly, Vice President, Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs
Plenary Panel Discussion: Innovation in Food, Energy and Transport
Jeffrey Ball, scholar-in-residence at Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance (moderator)
Pat Brown, CEO, Impossible Foods
Sila Kiliccote, CEO & Founder, eIQ Mobility
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Climate Finance and Investing Panel
Alicia Seiger, Managing Director, Stanford Precourt Institute Sustainable Finance Initiative (moderator)
Barney Schauble, Founding Partner, Nephila Capital
Saloni Multani, Venture Partner, Congruent Ventures
Aaron Ratner, Managing Director, Ultra Capital
Ben Stanzl, Managing Director, Energy Innovation Capital
Sustainable Cities Panel
Brook Porter, Partner, G2VP (moderator)
Patrick Flynn, Vice President of Sustainability, Salesforce
Ryan Popple, CEO, Proterra
Uma Sandilya, VP of Applications, C3
Nuin-Tara Key, Resilience Program Manager, California Governor’s Office of Research and Planning
Food and Agriculture Innovation Panel
Roz Naylor, Professor, Earth System Science and Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (moderator)
Maria Olide, CFO, Farmers Business Network
Kurt Kelty, SVP, Operations, Plenty
David Lobell, Professor, Earth System Science and Gloria and Richard Kushel Director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment
Andi Trindle-Mersch, Director of Coffee and Sustainability, Philz Coffee
The conference also includes an Innovation Expo, with startup ventures in climate tech energy, software, AI, and more.