Monthly Programs - January 8, 2008

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Campus Center - Odeum Room
Doors open: 5:30 p.m.
Meeting: 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Cost: $15 members, $25 non-members
Pre-registration
Parking

How Are Green Companies Growing?

Karina Funk

With oil prices dancing near $100 a barrel, interest in green technologies has intensified. From Beacon Hill to China and back to Wall Street, investment in clean energy is a hot topic. Join the WPI Venture Forum on Tuesday, January 8 for an overview of recent public markets’ performance of clean energy and clean technology companies provided by keynote speaker Karina Funk, a partner at Winslow Management, LLC, an asset management firm that invests in environmentally responsible aggressive growth companies. Her presentation will highlight some of today's leading green publicly-traded companies.

Before joining Winslow Management Company, Funk was an advisor to clean energy entrepreneurs and venture investors including Charles River Ventures. She was previously an investment manager for the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, where she launched an $8 million initiative for early stage companies and acted as lead limited partner of the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, a $17 million venture capital fund. Ms. Funk holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, two masters’ degrees from MIT, a post-graduate diploma from the École Polytechnique in France, and is a CFA charter holder.

Case Presentation

Recycline, Inc.

John Lively

Recycline was established in 1996 to provide high-quality recycled content and recyclable products to consumers, stimulating the use of recycled materials to both assist community recycling efforts and help assure the success of recycling efforts nationwide. Their first new products included the Preserve® and Preserve® Jr. Toothbrushes, the Preserve^TM Tongue Cleaner, the Preserve^TM Razor Recyclable and the Preserve^TM Replacement Blades. They recently introduced Preserve^TM Tableware.

The Waltham, Mass.-based company seeks advice on marketing/branding issues, meeting environmental and social goals as they grow, and leveraging their first-to-market success in the face of looming competition from bigger brands.

Director of Operations John Lively joined Recycline in 1999. Responsible for operations planning and financial reporting, he also serves as the product manager for the Preserve Toothbrush and chairs Recycline's environmental committee. He received his BA in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University, where he focused his studies on greening the developed world through industrial ecology and recycling. He has published research on policy responses to global warming in the face of uncertainty.

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Last modified: Dec 18, 2007, 12:59 EST