Tom Rand (venture capitalist)

Tom Rand (born 1967) is a Canadian climate change expert[1][2][3], author and clean-technology venture capitalist. He founded the clean-tech advisor at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto and is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at the privately backed ArcTern Ventures.[4] He also sits on the boards of a number of clean-energy companies and organizations, including Environmental Defence Canada[5].

This article is about the venture capitalist. For the costume designer, see Tom Rand.
Tom Rand
Born
Canada
OccupationGreen technology venture capitalist, author
Years active2005-present

Rand is a part-owner of Planet Traveler, a hostel in Toronto,[6] named North America's greenest hotel.[7][8][9] He is also known for his advocacy for the "green bonds"[10] policy.

Education

Rand holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo, a master's degree in philosophy of science from the University of London/London School of Economics, and a master's degree and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto.[11]

Career

In 2005, Rand started the VCi Green Funds, with capital from the sale of the Voice Courier group of companies, to provide angel and venture capital to companies developing emission-reduction technologies. He is currently the company's director.[12] In 2009, he became the clean-tech practice lead at MaRS Discovery District, where he remains a senior advisor.[13] He is also a managing partner of ArcTern Ventures,[14] a fund that provides early-stage risk capital to the most promising MaRS clean-tech companies, and he sits on the boards of Morgan Solar, Hydrostor, Polar Sapphire,[15] Woodland Biofuels, MMB Research, Environmental Defence Canada, and Cape Farewell. In 2018 ArcTern launched its Fund II, backed by OMERS and Equinor (formerly Statoil).

In 2007, Rand and his business partner Anthony Aarts began renovations on an abandoned building in Toronto, which in January 2011 became the Planet Traveler hotel. The building was retrofitted to use geothermal and solar thermal electricity, LED lighting, and drain-water heat recovery. Planet Traveler was the first building in Toronto to arrange for geothermal piping to be laid under city-owned property.[16]

In 2008, as an Action Canada fellow,[17] Rand led the "green bonds"[18] policy team. While the policy has not been implemented in Canada, it has been incorporated into the platforms of Canada's Liberal Party[19] and British Columbia's New Democratic Party.[20]

Rand has appeared on Canadian TV shows[21][22][23][24][25] and is a frequent public speaker on the science, politics, and economics of climate change, as well as clean technology, venture capital, and innovation. He is a regular contributor on The Exchange with Amanda Lang.[26]

Writing

Rand has written three books: Kick The Fossil Fuel Habit: 10 Clean Technologies to Save Our World[27], Waking the Frog: Solutions for our Climate Change Paralysis[28] and (upcoming March 2020) The Case for Climate Capitalism: Economic Solutions for a Planet in Crisis. Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit won the White Pine Award for nonfiction in 2012.[29] Waking the Frog was a top 10 best-seller (nonfiction) in Canada in 2014.[30]. Rand is also the author of a number of op-eds in the Canadian Business Journal,[31][32][33] the Toronto Star,[34] and The Globe and Mail.[35][36][37] He argues that climate disruption is a major threat to sustained economic well-being and global food security.


Awards

On June 12, 2013, Rand received Earth Day Canada's Outstanding Commitment to the Environment Award.[38] The organization's president, Jed Goldberg, said at the time, "Tom’s work in promoting solutions to address climate change is legendary. He has facilitated the investment of tens of millions of dollars to those who have designed innovative technologies and processes that address the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges, and he has built a most impressive example of energy efficiency in his Planet Traveler hostel."

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References
  1. "Tom Rand". Wgsi.org. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. "Tom Rand". MaRS. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  3. "Tom Rand - TEDxToronto 2014 Conference". TEDxToronto. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. "Team". ArcTern Ventures. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. "board of directors". Environmentaldefence.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  6. "Toronto Hostel - International Youth Hostels - Canada's Greenest Hostel". Theplanettraveler.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. "Video: North America's greenest hotel". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  8. "Canada's Greenest Hotel Opens In Toronto - Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building". Inhabitat.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  9. "College pals build North America's "greenest hotel"". thestar.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  10. "Green Bonds Policy Proposal - Action Canada". Action Canada. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  11. "Awards - CCSR Conference - Corporate and Community Social Responsibility - Tuesday, November 6, 2012 Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario". Algonquincollege.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  12. "VCi Green Funds". Vcigreenfunds.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  13. "Tom Rand". MaRS. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  14. "Team". ArcTern Ventures. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  15. https://web.archive.org/web/20141213014649/http://www.polarsapphire.com/about-us.html. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. "College pals build North America's "greenest hotel"". thestar.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  17. "Action Canada - Leadership Building for Canada's Future". Action Canada. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  18. "Green Bonds Policy Proposal - Action Canada". Action Canada. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  19. "Dion proposes 'Green Bonds'". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  20. "B.C. NDP floats $10B green bond proposal". Cbc.ca. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  21. "BNN - Watch TV Online". Watch.bnn.ca. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  22. "BNN - Watch TV Online". Watch.bnn.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  23. "Climate change fight: time almost out". CBC.ca Player. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  24. "Canadian author argues climate change arguments need to adopt language of 'common sense' - CTV News". CTVNews. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  25. "CTV News Channel: Waking up to climate change". CTVNews. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  26. "UN climate change report". CBC.ca Player. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  27. "Eco Friendly Energy Resources Book". Ectenpublishing.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  28. "Waking the Frog". Ecwpress.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  29. "White Pine™ Award Program Fiction and Non-Fiction Winners and nominated titles" (PDF). Accessola.org. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  30. "Regina Public Library :: Reader's Cafe :: Bestseller Lists". Reginalibrary.ca. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  31. "The Canadian Business Journal - November 2013 Issue". Cbj.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  32. "The Canadian Business Journal - Feb 2014 Issue". Cbj.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  33. "The Canadian Business Journal - May 2014 Issue". Cbj.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  34. "Keystone compromise faces up to economic and climactic realities". thestar.com. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  35. "Reducing the risk of climate catastrophe". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  36. "Canada can realize the rewards of getting ahead of the innovation curve" (PDF). Tomrand.net. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  37. "Clean technologies that could save the world". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  38. "MaRS cleantech leader Tom Rand recognized for environment-friendly business strategies". MaRS. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
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