isCleaner Clean Leader Interview Series: Tom Rand

This is a guest post from isCleaner and part of their Clean Leader Interview Series. isCleaner is Your Source for Canadian Clean Energy News & Information.

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“… the market does not find the most efficient solution; it finds the most easily financed solution. It’s the bankers that decide what infrastructure gets installed; not the venture capitalists, not the inventors, nor even the government…the green bond plugs that market gap.” -Tom Rand on the current market failure.

isCleaner had the distinct privilege of interviewing one of Canada’s most passionate individuals in the clean tech sector. His invariable enthusiasm for combatting climate change is both influential and infectious. Through his private venture fund, new book and position at MaRS, Tom has been busy making a meaningful impact on individuals and leading MaRS – Canada’s clean tech cluster – to 4^th in worldwide rankings. Using his social and financial capital, Tom Rand is a Clean Leader.

Of Rand, a fellow clean tech proponent and friend writes:

Tom Rand is, first and foremost, a man of philosophy and so it should come as no surprise that he has devoted himself entirely to cleantech. After all, what bigger question is there today than ‘how are we going to get ourselves out of this mess’? Tom takes a different approach than many in the cleantech world — he is not a fan of incrementalism and he believes the technologies we need to save the planet have all been invented. What he calls for is bold investment on a massive scale in existing technologies which, he asserts, together and even individually in some cases, can provide all the world’s energy needs many times over. He is a true believer in the cause, and one with a publishing contract, a role at the country’s top cleantech centre and his own investment fund. All this makes Tom quite a force to be reckoned with.

-Ryan Little, Principal of Rocksteady Investments

We hope that you will enjoy our first in this series of Clean Leaders interviews and that you will find Tom’s enthusiasm as compelling as we did.

And now, the interview…

isCleaner: What is your name and affiliation, title and location?

Tom: Tom Rand, Clean Tech Practice Lead Advisor, MaRS Discovery District (Toronto, ON)

isCleaner: Could you describe your background and how you decided to get involved with MaRS?

Tom: Before I got to MaRS, I founded then sold a software company, started VCi Green Funds, worked on public policy relating to green bonds, built North America’s ‘greenest’ hotel – Planet Traveler – and wrote a book called Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit – 10 Clean Technologies to Save Our World.

I got into MaRS, because I wanted to get more deeply involved in clean tech- in particular, helping startups grow and get successful. Since starting the practice only a year ago, we’ve already been ranked 4th in the world in clean tech clusters. We have over 100 clients now, 2 dozen of which have real potential.

isCleaner: The path you have chosen likely involves higher risk, and at times more challenges than a “normal job/role”. What drives you to do what you do?

Tom: Climate change scares the bejesus out of me. I’m a climate change geek in the sense that I am fully aware of what the science tells us. The problem is that it’s taken 70 years to build the fossil fuel infrastructure and we have a couple of decades to replace it.

If you want a worst case scenario (for inaction), we’re talking about the end of civilization. Will that happen? Probably not, but it is very late in terms of pulling back from the edge. We are playing with fire. It is time for all hands on deck.