307 International

Innovation Initiatives | Techno-Economic Strategies | Renewables

An electrical engineering PhD and Chartered Financial Analyst with a deep understanding of renewable energy and a background in executive management, I promote innovation and identify promising technology-leveraging business models in the energy transition. 
I support and drive the build-out of IP portfolios; perform techno-economic assessments to explore business model and technical viability; promote cross-functional innovation processes; and lead C-level and VP-level special projects. 

About Finbar

I simplify the complex and deliver clear insights and recommendations to top executives

I am known for being able to identify the business implications of a technology, match those implications against what executives need to know, and provide both a) recommendations for action and also b) the key underlying insights. While recommendations are helpful, it is the insights that enable executives not only to make immediate decisions but also to have context for future decisions, to be able to anticipate what may and may not work as circumstances, customer needs and technological capabilities change.

My background enables me to drive from innovative insight to useful action

I understand engineering; I understand finance; I understand what executives need to know to make strategic decisions; and I know how to work within an organization to get things done.  

My background includes:

a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Caltech
designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst
extensive experience in techno-economic analysis in renewables (with Avantus) and on Wall Street (with Bernstein Research)
track record of identifying patentable innovations and building a patent portfolio (for Avantus)
executive-level consulting with McKinsey & Company
executive experience as a venture-backed entrepreneur. 

For more information...

For more detail on my professional history, please see my LinkedIn page.

Principles

In innovation, the team are the heroes

Innovation requires vision plus expertise. Leadership must supply the vision; but the detailed ideas usually come from the team. Innovation leadership is not about doing the inventing personally (although it can include that); it is about structuring opportunities for ideation, asking the follow-up questions that bring out what the team knows and making the ideas actionable. Also - crucially - ensuring the team feels recognized for those ideas.

It's not so much "can we?" as "how might we?"

When an idea is forming, it is often incomplete. There is an insight there, an expert intuition, that may not be quite right as initially expressed. Innovation then involves teasing out that insight, exploring the intuition behind the idea, looking for viable options to leverage it. The hypothesis must be that it can be done, even if perhaps we don't know how to do it yet.

Similarly, in techno-economic assessments, the facts may look very encouraging - or may warn that a plan that sounded exciting is, in fact, likely to cause pain. A good assessment doesn't just examine facts but also looks at sensitivities, to identify the key risks and/or determine what would need to be true for success. The facts, like a lighthouse, can tell us there is a harbor - or a reef - ahead; the sensitivities tell us where innovation can help, where we need to go, what we need to change - they are the chart that lets us plan the route. 

IP strategy requires vision and early execution

IP strategy usually can't be determined solely by analysis; it has to reflect the company's self-identity and broader goals.  Trade secrets are cheap to maintain, but can be hard to keep. Patents are costly to create and even more costly to enforce (and enforcement can also create internal morale issues) but they can also provide multiple benefits from financing to recruiting - and can even minimize long-term legal costs. The benefits may be difficult or impossible to quantify up front, so that strategy decisions have to incorporate elements of identity and aspiration; and execution has to be deliberate, often happening long before the potential benefits become evident.

307 International

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