An interview with Stuart Wood, Strategic Advisor, for the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub.
Stuart has a range of executive experience across multiple industry sectors including retail, consumer goods, consulting, startups and investment banking. He also has deep functional experience in strategic sourcing, operations, finance, and innovation. After a nearly two-decade career with two of the largest US companies, The Home Depot and General Electric, he built two businesses from scratch, a cleantech startup that received national accolades for industry leading innovation and a professional services consulting firm focused on procurement and business integration. Stuart is active in the community, sitting on the boards of Atlanta Climate Tech (ACT) and B Local GA and coaching youth sports.
Tell us about your background
I’m fortunate to have experience across multiple industry sectors from retail (home improvement, internet, and travel retail) and consumer goods to consulting, startups and investment banking. I also have deep functional experience in strategic sourcing, operations, finance, and innovation. After a nearly two-decade career with two of the largest US companies, The Home Depot and General Electric, I’ve spent the last 7 years building two businesses from scratch, a cleantech startup that received national accolades for industry leading innovation and a professional services consulting firm focused on procurement and business integration.
As someone who has started your own business, where do you believe the biggest opportunities lie for the Innovation Hub?
The Innovation Hub’s biggest opportunity is to bring together the disparate actors spread across the Atlanta startup ecosystem who are focused on solving our world’s most pressing environmental challenges. When we have an accessible support network, the chances of our entrepreneurial journey being successful increase dramatically.
Tangibly, how do you think cleantech innovators will see the impact the Hub is having?
Innovators face many challenges in building a successful and financially self-sustaining business. Many challenges can be overcome by having a strong and supportive professional network, populated by experienced startup professionals. In reality, how many of us have this built in network when we first start out? I would hazard to say very few of us, while fewer still will have their networks populated by cleantech experienced veterans who understand the unique journey these impact entrepreneurs face. This is a key gap that the Innovation Hub will bridge for the Atlanta startup ecosystem, bringing together a deep network of cleantech professionals, from entrepreneurs, investors, and academics to future customers, all with the goal of growing our economy and benefiting our environment.
Why is Georgia a great place to start a cleantech business?
Georgia is a great place to start a cleantech business because we have an amazing combination of world class academic institutions contributing both technological innovations and a well-educated diverse workforce, along with a dynamic corporate HQ base that can and should be early technology adopters (your first customers!), and a much lower cost of living that allows entrepreneurs to stretch out their financial runway. Our state government is actively growing the cleantech sector, evinced by the global corporate players currently investing significant resources into facilities in Georgia.
This has been a tough year for innovators startups, why should cleantech innovators be optimistic?
Climate change is wreaking havoc across the globe, and all serious governments and businesses recognize this existential threat to humanity and our status quo. Taking a long term view, the demand for new technologies and the expected investment required to combat climate change will keep cleantech entrepreneurs busy for decades.