Our Team
BLAKE SCHAEFER • partner
Blake has 18 professional years working in environmental commodities and is primarily responsible for Investments at ECP. Blake was previously Portfolio Manager of Global Environmental Finance for Platinum Partners (2011-2016) in San Francisco, trading and investing in the European, Asian, & North American markets. Prior to this Blake was Director of Global Environmental Finance at Stark Investments (2006-2009), a multi-billion-dollar investment firm, where he established Stark’s London emissions trading facility. Prior to Stark, Blake specialized in carbon emission offtake & investment for the European Carbon Fund at Ixis Corporate & Investment Bank (now Natixis) in Paris, France (2005-2006). Blake examined the European Emissions Trading Scheme during a Master of Science (distinction) from the University of Oxford, St. John’s College, and holds a Bachelor of Science (honors) and a Bachelor of Arts (distinction) from University of California, Berkeley. Blake lives in San Anselmo, CA and enjoys playing guitar, mountain climbing, and skiing. Blake is Vice President of the TC Little League Board of Directors, and is active coaching youth baseball and basketball.
ALEX RAU, PHD, CFA • Partner
Alex has 19 professional years working in environmental commodities, carbon markets, and climate finance and is primarily responsible for Investments at ECP. Alex previously founded Climate Wedge LLC, an independent carbon trading and climate finance investment firm founded in 2005 where he advised & managed direct investments in carbon and related environmental commodity markets for institutional funds. He also cofounded U.S. carbon credit developer EOS Climate, as well as Ugandan cookstoves carbon distributor Up Energy, and wrote the original version of the Voluntary Carbon Standard, a widely adopted trading standard for non-Kyoto carbon assets. Alex was previously at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Energy Corporate Finance practice in London (2001-2004), has a Ph.D. in Physics from Oxford University, a B.A. from Cornell University, and is a CFA charterholder. Alex lives in San Francisco, CA, and enjoys blue water sailing, cycling and keeping pace with science and technology research and development. Alex is also an advisor to the California State Treasurer and Climate Bonds Initiative on green bond markets.
LENNY HOCHSCHILD • Partner
Lenny has 18 professional years working in environmental commodities and is primarily responsible for Investments and firm-wide operations at ECP. Lenny previously was Managing Director at Evolution Markets (2003-2017), the global leader in environmental commodity market brokerage, where he was the head of Evolution’s Global Carbon desk (consistently voted Best Carbon Markets Brokerage Team), and the Western U.S. Renewable Energy desk. He is the co-chair of International Emissions Trading Association’s Western U.S. Working Group and was elected to the inaugural board of Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System. A noted Environmental Commodity Markets expert, he has been a speaker/moderator at numerous conferences, and has been quoted in BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, New York Times, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal. Prior to joining Evolution in 2003, Lenny worked for American Electric Power (AEP), Enron, Traxys and Rudolff Wolff & Company. Lenny received his B.A. with Honors from the University of Rochester. Lenny lives in Mill Valley, CA and enjoys fishing, hiking and mountain biking. Lenny is also a youth rugby coach and on the Board of the Marin Highlanders Rugby Club.
matt evans • DIRECTOR, INVESTMENTS
Matt has 12+ years of experience in climate finance and project development in the US and emerging market countries and is primarily responsible for investment and partnership origination. Prior to joining ECP Matt founded and served as CEO of UpEnergy, an emerging market carbon finance company named one of Fast Company’s 10 Most Innovative Companies in Africa, where he currently serves as Board Chair. Previously Matt served as Managing Director of WattTime, an electric grid emissions reducing software developer, and as Managing Director of Impact Carbon where he launched a climate finance consulting practice and the project developer Impact Water. Matt has also worked with Sunpower, NESsT, and on climate and agricultural models at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. Matt holds a BA in Economics and in International Relations from Stanford and an MBA from UC Berkeley. Matt is an energy transition and global health nerd who enjoys taking his dog on ski trips and advising organizations tackling global poverty.
CLARK O’BANNON • SENIOR ANALYST
Clark has over 9 years of experience in environmental offsets including federally regulated wetland, stream, and species markets, local stormwater markets, and global carbon markets. Clark is primarily responsible for driving structured deal investment due diligence at ECP. Previously, Clark was the Manager of Solutions Analysis at Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC, the U.S.’s leading provider of environmental offset solutions, where he spent time in both the Houston, TX and Richmond, VA offices. At RES, Clark was part of a team that helped hundreds of clients meet their regulatory obligations through the development of turn-key mitigation projects and mitigation banking solutions. Clark holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (distinction) and Economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Clark is an east-coast native who currently lives in San Francisco with his wife. When not watching ACC basketball or the Carolina Panthers, he can be found on extended backpacking trips in the Sierras or running and biking trails throughout the Bay Area.
Tyler Broehm • chief financial officer
Tyler has over 15 years of experience in fund and investment operations including numerous products and strategies in addition to a variety of open and closed end fund structures. He has been responsible for the oversight and management of various departments and processes encompassing the lifecycle of a fund across multiple firms. Most recently Tyler was an initial launching member as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of North Reef Capital which raised approximately $250 MM AUM (October 2020 – May 2021). Previously, Tyler was an Associate Director for SS&C GlobeOp which included developing and managing west coast clientele for an industry leading fund administration firm (March 2015 – October 2020). Tyler holds an MBA from Xavier University, in addition to a B.S. in Finance and B.A in History from the University of Dayton. Tyler lives in Los Angeles, California and is an avid recreational sports and travel enthusiast.
REMY RUIZ • DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS
Remy has over 20 years of experience in financial services across all areas of operations including trading, compliance, fund administration, systems conversions, and front-, back- and middle-office operations. He is primarily responsible for the day-to-day operational activities at ECP. Remy also serves as Director of Operations for Hutchinson Capital Management, a $600 million-asset, independent fee-only financial planning and investment management firm. Previously, Remy was the Director of Operations & Strategic Initiatives at Wells Fargo Affiliated Manager’s Division where he was responsible for the oversight and projects relating to operations, system administration, and risk compliance for Galliard Capital, Golden Capital, and Rock Creek Group. Remy also worked as Head of Operations for Nelson Capital Management, a $2 billion-Wells Fargo affiliate investment advisor specializing in responsible investing. Remy received his B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Remy lives in Santa Rosa, CA and enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with his two dogs.
Advisor
We are grateful for the support and advice provided by our advisors who have helped light the way in front of us.
JOHN-AUSTIN SAVIANO | MANAGING PARTNER, HIGH COUNTRY ADVISORS
John-Austin Saviano is the Managing Partner of High Country Advisors where he serves as a strategic advisor to investment firms and the institutional pools of capital who back them. Previously, John-Austin served as the founding President and Chief Investment Officer of the Berkeley Endowment Management Company (BEMCO) from its inception in 2009 until 2017. John-Austin’s work with endowments began as a part of the founding team that created the investment portfolio for the $6 billion Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation. He also worked as a Senior Consultant at Cambridge Associates. He began his career financing the growth and operations of public and private companies, as both a senior creditor at a commercial bank, and as venture investor. John-Austin earned a B.A. in economics from the University of California, San Diego and an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and serves on the investment committee for the San Francisco Foundation.