Alan Salzman, who will be honored at CLCV’s Environmental Leadership Awards tonight, is perhaps best-known for leading the investment community in funding the clean technology revolution.
Salzman co-founded VantagePoint Venture Partners in 1996 and serves as CEO and Chair of the Investment Committee. As a leading venture investor for over 20 years, Salzman has had hands-on involvement in more than 300 companies and has held overall management responsibilities for a dozen venture funds with over $5 billion of committed capital.
As CEO, Salzman oversees the country’s largest clean tech investment team, a portfolio of innovative clean tech companies, and strategic partnerships with a dozen leading companies focused on clean tech commercialization.
Salzman was a high-profile and outspoken opponent of Proposition 23, the “dirty energy” proposition to roll back California’s landmark clean energy law AB 32. The proposition was put on California’s November 2010 ballot by out-of-state oil companies and their allies, including the Koch brothers.
Speaking out against Prop 23, Salzman said:
“The impact Proposition 23 will have on the future of clean technology investing cannot be overstated. If passed, this proposition would seriously impact our clean tech industries and send exactly the wrong message to investors and businesses across the state, the country and the world. A NO vote on Proposition 23 is a vote in favor of our clean-energy future.”
Thanks to Salzman and a diverse coalition of clean tech leaders, labor, environmental, public health, and social justice advocates, Prop 23 was rejected by California voters.
Salzman is a frequent contributor and speaker on clean tech, innovation and global competiveness. He has served as Finance Chair of the World Business Summit on Climate Change and held a decade-long faculty appointment as Adjunct Professor for Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Companies at Stanford University.
He currently serves on the Leadership Council of The Climate Group, the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Selection and Green Investment Committees, and the Board of Directors of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
We hope to see many of our members and friends at tonight’s Environmental Leadership Awards, where Salzman will be honored for championing and advancing California’s leadership in the new clean energy economy.
