Equilibrium offers a team with extensive experience as investors, asset managers and company builders. We have advised and invested on behalf of multi-billion dollar companies and institutional investors. Our team members have collectively managed funds in excess of $2 billion. We have built, counseled and led companies from garage to IPO. We have also demonstrated our leadership as impact investors, driving sustainability in public policy and executing innovative public private partnerships.

Building on this team asset, Equilibrium is building the first sustainability focused asset management platform to meet investor demand for institutional grade investment products in this sector. Creating impact at scale is a deeply personal mission.


Equilibrium Team | Board of Directors | Advisory Board Members | Strategic Partners


Equilibrium Team


Board of Directors

John Podesta
President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for American Progress
Under his leadership, John grew the Center into a notable leader in the development of and advocacy for progressive policy. Prior to founding the Center in 2003, John served as White House Chief of Staff to President William J. Clinton. He served in the president’s cabinet and as a principal on the National Security Council. While in the White House, he also served as both an assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff, as well as staff secretary and a senior policy advisor on government information, privacy, telecommunications security, and regulatory policy.

Most recently, John served as co-chair of President Obama’s transition, where he coordinated the priorities of the incoming administration’s agenda, oversaw the development of its policies, and spearheaded its appointments of major cabinet secretaries and political appointees.

Additionally, John has held numerous positions on Capitol Hill, including counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas A. Daschle (1995-1996); chief counsel for the Senate Agriculture Committee (1987-1988); and chief minority counsel for the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks; Security and Terrorism; and Regulatory Reform (1981-1987).

John is a graduate of Knox College and the Georgetown University Law Center, where he is currently a visiting professor of law. He also authored The Power of Progress: How America’s Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate and Our Country.

Andrew Turner, PhD
Chairman, Northern Lights Ventures, LLC
Andy guides the activities of Northern Lights with respect to organizational priorities. Prior to co-founding Northern Lights, Andy ran the investment and research function at the Frank Russell Company (“Russell”). In that capacity he built and led a 100+ person investment team for the firm with offices in London, Paris, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Toronto, San Francisco and New York. While leading this team, Andy encouraged the development of Theory Directed Research, and created the infrastructure and culture necessary to systematically collect data on over 10,000 management meetings to quantitatively demonstrate the power of this novel approach. The experience of helping build Russell’s global investment business provided direct exposure to the unique needs and challenges involved with motivating investment professionals and creating long-term sustainable investment environments. Perhaps most importantly, Andy was one of a handful of senior leaders who can be credited with creating one of the most powerful investment cultures in the industry. Andy is a member of the Company’s Investment Board.

Dave Chen
Dave Chen’s commitment to sustainability is a result of his work in venture capital, regional economic development and energy policy. Throughout his career, Dave has seen the greatest impact – financially and personally – when his heart was tied to operational goals. In founding Equilibrium Capital Group (eq-cap), Dave’s plan is to repeat that pattern.

In 2007, Dave was a visiting executive at the Meyer Memorial Trust developing a investing thesis on mission-related investing (MRI); this tool has since been adopted by several institutions. In late 2007, he applied the MRI findings to form Equilibrium Capital Group, an Oregon-based holding company building a portfolio of operating companies managing assets in key sustainability sectors. Each of these companies is charged with executing a unique investment strategy in a targeted area: green buildings; resource efficiency; energy; water; land; carbon; and agriculture.

Previously, Dave was a general partner at OVP Venture Partners, joining the firm in 2001. His investments at OVP include @once (acquired by InfoUSA), Ambric, Intelligent Results (acquired by First Data), Net6 (acquired by Citrix), Tzero and UXComm. He served on the board of @mobile prior to its acquisition by Software.com. Until 2002 Dave served on the board of HNC Software when it was merged with FICO (NASDAQ:HNCS, now NYSE:FIC).

Prior to OVP, Dave founded GeoTrust (acquired by VeriSign 2006) and The Ascent Group; was Vice President Marketing Mentor Graphics; was an associate at McKinsey & Company; and was an early team member in 1978 at Solectron.

Dave serves as:

  • Board Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Portland Branch
  • Governor-Appointed Chairman of the Oregon Innovation Council
  • Advisory Board Member of the Oregon Investment Fund (OIF)
  • Advisory Board of the X Prize for Energy & Environment
  • Board member of the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance (NCIIA)
  • Board member of The Freshwater Trust
  • Board member of B Corp
  • Chairman (2003-2009) of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI)
  • Chairman (2006) of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum
  • Faculty at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, on the topic of sustainability and finance
  • Faculty for The Prince of Wales’s Business and the Environment Programme (University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership)

Dave has a B.A. in biology, from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.M. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Dave is co-owner of Patton Valley Vineyards, committed to making the finest Pinot Noir based on sustainable vineyard practices.

Roland Van der Meer, Advisor
Partner, Fuse Capital
Roland Van der Meer has nearly three decades of experience as an engineer, strategist and investor in the communications, media, technology, and infrastructure sectors. He provides high-level direction to Equilibrium Capital and its officers and is a hands-on director of Bio-Logical Capital one of its portfolio companies. Roland brings his passion, dedication and insight into revolutionary ventures to the company. He is a managing partner of Fuse Capital, and co-founder of its predecessor, ComVentures, a family of funds that totaled in excess of $1.7 Billion assets under management. Over the course of his career, Roland has invested in and helped manage more than 50 companies that have challenged established norms and found opportunity in untapped markets. Recent investments and board seats include: Bio-Logical Capital – a regenerative land and real state developer; Quantia – improving physicans’ knowledge; and Sensys – improving road and highway efficiency. He holds a B.S.E. from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. from Wharton School. Roland writes a blog called www.Sustainable-Path.com.

Ken Wilcox
Chief Executive Officer, SVB Financial Group
Since January 2000, when he took on the role, Wilcox has successfully pursued a strategy of expansion and diversification, while remaining focused on the company’s core niches of technology, life sciences, venture capital and premium wineries.

Wilcox joined Silicon Valley Bank in 1990 when he co-founded the company’s East Coast Technology Division. In this role, Wilcox managed the first regional office of Silicon Valley Bank and was responsible for all lending activity east of the Mississippi River. Upon promotion to chief banking officer in 1997, Wilcox moved from Massachusetts to California and became president and CEO within four years.

Prior to joining Silicon Valley Bank, Wilcox spent two years as a member of the Technology Lending Group with the Bank of New England and five years at Shawmut Bank in Boston. Prior to his banking career, Wilcox was a professor of German at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wilcox received a bachelor’s degree in German studies from Oakland University and a Ph.D. in German Studies from The Ohio State University. He also earned a master’s of business administration from Harvard Business School.

In addition to his board seat at Equilibrium Capital, Wilcox is a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Asia Society, the Bessemer Venture Partners, and the Young Adult and Family Center at UCSF. He is also an executive committee and board member of the Bay Area Council.


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Advisory Board Members

Roby Roberts (Horizon Wind Energy LLC, formerly with Vestas)

Dennis Grant (CH2MHILL)

Norm Armour (Global Foundries, formerly with AMAT)

Jesse Berst (Global Smart Energy)

Steve Sharp (former CEO of Triquint)

Rod Wendt (Jeld-Wen)

Ron Saxton (Jeld-Wen)

Doug Walker (CoB REI)

Don Baer (Burson Marsteller)

Nik Blosser (Sustainability Industry Journal)

Christine Ervin (USGBC)

Ted Howes (IDEO)

Rey Ramsey (TechNet – formerly with One Economy)


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Strategic Partners



The Coalition for the Green Bank
The Coalition for the Green Bank (CGB) is a consortium of leaders in energy development enterprises including renewable resource developers, original equipment manufacturers, investors, financial advisors and consultants dedicated to the stimulus of green energy assets for clean and sustainable energy and jobs, and economic development. The CGB is proud to have the support of the Pickens Plan, Mesa Power, General Electric, Cavallo Energy, RES-Americas, American Wind Energy Association, Clean Economy Network, ACORE and many more. Bill Campbell of Equilibrium Capital Group is a Steering Committee member of CGB.



B Corporation
B Corporation
B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they:

  • Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
  • Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
  • Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.

Equilibrium Capital Group is a certified B Corporation.


The Global Impact Investing Network

The Global Impact Investing Network
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a select global group of investors and intermediaries who put capital to work at scale to generate social and environmental value in addition to financial return. The GIIN is a platform for leaders of the emerging impact investing industry to incubate the activities and institutions that can accelerate the impact investing industry’s maturation, and ultimately drive substantial capital to solve previously intractable social and environmental challenges. Equilibrium Capital Group is an Investors’ Council founding member.



The Clean Economy Network
The Clean Economy Network
The Clean Economy Network, Inc. (CEN) is the national advocacy association for the cleantech and green business community. We are a broad, nonpartisan collection of professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, workers joined by like-minded professionals and thinkers from across the economy and across the political spectrum. We work at the intersection of politics, policy and business to develop and advocate for policies and programs which meet our guiding principles, catalyze clean development and create green jobs. Equilibrium Capital Group is a founding member of CEN.


Ceres

Ceres
Ceres (pronounced “series”) is a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. Equilibrium Capital Group is a member of Ceres.



Climate Solutions

Climate Solutions
Climate Solutions leads climate and clean-energy initiatives in the Pacific Northwest, while supporting and building a strong base for strong national action. Climate Solutions works with business, agriculture, environmentalists, government, and public interest groups to create practical and profitable climate and clean-energy policies that work for the environment and the economy. Anne McGuire of Equilibrium Capital Group is a board member of Climate Solutions.



The Social Investment Forum

The Social Investment Forum
The Social Investment Forum (SIF) is the U.S. national nonprofit membership association for professionals, firms and organizations dedicated to advancing the practice and growth of socially responsible investing (SRI). Critical to responsible investment practice is the consideration of environmental, social and corporate governance criteria in addition to standard financial analysis. Forum members support SRI through portfolio selection analysis, shareholder advocacy and community. Equilibrium Capital Group is a member of SIF.



Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN)

Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN)
OEN is the largest entrepreneur assistance organization in the state of Oregon. OEN fosters the flow of entrepreneurial ideas, services, and capital to entrepreneurs and helps connect emerging Northwest businesses to growth-stimulating expertise and valuable resources. Equilibrium Capital Group is a member of OEN.

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