Energize is thrilled to welcome a member to our investment team! Meet our new associate, Eileen Waris.
Eileen joined Energize in January after completing her MBA and Master’s in Environmental Science at Stanford University. With a background spanning corporate sustainability, cleantech investing and business development, Eileen brings a unique mindset to our investment team. During her time at Stanford, she worked with the Westly Group and Tyson Foods. While at Westly, Eileen focused on deal sourcing and diligence in the energy, mobility, and smart cities sectors. At Tyson, she developed key insights into how some of the world’s largest companies approach ESG while working with their sustainability leadership team.
Prior to pursuing her dual master’s degrees, Eileen held roles at La Mer International, where she supported international business development, and Deloitte Consulting with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.
Eileen is passionate about accelerating the transition towards a decarbonized economy. And while she joins a like-minded team here at Energize, she also brings unique insights into the many different players that must come together to enable a more sustainable future. From her experience in both corporate sustainability and venture capital, she understands the entities allocating capital, the startups developing technology, and the corporations that in many cases are their clients — and how each of these pieces contribute to ecosystem at large.
“I’m excited about forming relationships with founders and helping them scale their ideas,” said Eileen. “There are so many bright people out there with solutions that can improve the future of our planet. Many technical advancements have already been made, and now corporations and consumers have shown they’re willing to take meaningful action against climate change too. That makes this a really exciting time to invest in the space.”
As an associate at Energize, Eileen is involved in all stages of our investment process — from deal sourcing and diligence to supporting the portfolio in scaling and commercialization. She is also responsible for conducting market research to help Energize identify new investment trends and opportunities. In addition to sustainability, Eileen focuses on waste management, circular economy and emissions reduction.
Originally from the Chicago area, Eileen is thrilled to return home and looks forward to joining us in the office when we all return (hopefully) later this year. Please join us in welcoming Eileen to Team Energize!
