In this episode, our guest is David Hunt, CEO of Hyperion Executive Search. He’s also a very prolific podcaster, participating in Leaders in #CleanTech.
David started his career in Executive Search, but he gotthe Clean-energy-entrepreneur tick quick and launched with a couple of co-founders a #Solar business in the UK, way ahead of its time. So we discussed the challenges he faced, zero subsidies at the time, high costs, regulatory changes (feeding tariffs), and selling to mostly “hippies”.
We then explored his journey from 2014 in the #CleanTech ecosystem when he founded Hyperion that was shaped by his own solar entrepreneurial background. He made it his vision to help early stage businesses to grow by providing key talent. Having been there and done that helped David to connect with founders and grow his own business.
Hyperion is focused on Europe and US and help founders to scale. They’re focused on CxO level, but also the hard to find senior to mid-level talent in sales, operations, engineering. He has helped Sonnen, the German manufacturer of residential energy storage systems right when they were just 30 people (they are now more than >500) and were acquired by #Shell in 2020 for an undisclosed sum). Also, David worked with #EVBox acquired by #Engie. Hyperion serves mostly the European market, but also provide services the Middle East, US, and Asia.
Discussion on ClimateTech in Europe: changes are coming from large hedge funds like BlackRock requesting companies to set ambitions #ESG agendas. Another huge trend is institutional investment (from #CVCs or Corporate Venture Capitalists) and private equity getting into the game.
What is David seeing in terms of cultural and talent shift from the traditional O&G sector in the #startup, #GreenTech and #ClimateTech world? David believes that purpose driven decisions are big part of the equation especially for young generations. We had to touch on what were the learning, the tough lessons and in hindsight some of the upsides from dealing with COVID and working remotely.
David’s podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5tXQYrCL89optwyJz8WZPI
David’s company: https://insights.hyperionsearch.co.uk/
Sonnen: https://sonnengroup.com/sonnenbatterie/
EVBox: https://evbox.com/uk-en/
Breakthrough Energy Venture that Bill Gates & Jeff Bezos are part of: https://www.breakthroughenergy.org/
The Energy Gang: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GT5BuD33AiPnqOzQE7YAE
David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcontrerasdiaz/
Art by: Maria Alexandra Monteverde / Instagram: @mariale.ilustra.asi
Editing, mixing and mastering by: Julio César Fernández / Instagram: @juliocfdez
Disclaimer: This podcast was prepared by myself in my personal capacity and the views and opinions expressed in the podcast are my own. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of TGS and TGS does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of the information provided herein.
