Paul Richardson

Paul has been focused on impact venture investing for over 20 years, as Managing Partner of Renewal Funds and co-managing the venture portfolio of its predecessor, Renewal Partners.  Prior to his roles with Renewal, Paul had a legal career as a senior partner at Strathy & Richardson, a leading litigation firm in Toronto, Canada, and holds degrees from Queen’s University (Biology) and the University of Toronto (Law).

Paul has also had significant involvement in environmental initiatives, including leading an international consortium of philanthropic foundations and private investors in successful negotiations over a two year period with the Federal and Provincial governments and the Coastal First Nations to structure the financing to support  the conservation of the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest intact, coastal temperate rain-forest left in the world. He has also served as Vice Chair of the Coast Opportunities Funds and is the past President of Ecojustice Canada. In 2013 Paul was named as one of Canada’s Clean50.

Paul is a Board Director of Hodo Foods, Lotek, Prana, and Uncle Matt’s Organic and a past board member of numerous companies including Alter Eco and Sweet Earth Natural Foods.

In his spare time, Paul likes to cook for friends and his ever critical family and generally do anything that involves escaping to the wilderness – whether it is hiking with family or canoe tripping with friends.  His goal is to get a job in a remote cabin in the North counting caribou.

paul@renewalfunds.com

Joel Solomon

Prior to the founding of Renewal Funds, Joel spent 14 years with founder + funder Carol Newell implementing a “whole portfolio activation to mission” strategy, as leader of her activist Family Office. As Executive Director of the Endswell Foundation, he guided the spend down of a $20m endowment, leaving Tides Canada Foundation and Hollyhock as legacy charities, while supporting the success of the renowned BC environmental community. As President and CEO of Renewal Partners’ seed capital fund, he placed over $10m into dozens of values driven companies in BC and beyond.

Joel is a Senior Advisor with RSF Social Finance and is now co-leading their ‘Integrated Capital Fellowship Program,’ a 2012 TEDxVancouver Speaker, a Founding Member of Social Venture Network, Business for Social Responsibility, and Tides Canada Foundation. He serves on the University of British Columbia Board of Governors, and as Chair of Hollyhock.

Joel is Co-Author of The Clean Money Revolution, a call to action to move trillions of dollars from damaging to regenerative use.

To connect with Joel, please send your message to rebecca@renewalfunds.com.

Genevieve Pinto

Genevieve joined the investment team at Renewal Funds in 2017, focusing on investments in consumer products and technology, and supporting transactions across the portfolio. Prior to Renewal, Genevieve was a Partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, with legal expertise in venture capital, M&A and capital markets transactions. Genevieve holds a BA and LL.B from the University of British Columbia and was called to the British Columbia bar in 2006. Genevieve is active in non-profit and community initiatives, including currently serving on the Board of Directors of the BC Women’s Health Foundation and previously serving as a Director for the YWCA Metro Vancouver. Genevieve was a co-founder of the Raise Collective, an organization dedicated to the development and support of women investors and entrepreneurs, and was named to the Women’s Executive Network 2018 Canada’s Top 100 as an Emerging Leader. Genevieve represents Renewal on the Board of Fresh Prep.

In her spare time, Genevieve dreams about actually having spare time, and can usually be found trying to keep up with her young kids and active family and making the most of life on Vancouver’s beautiful North Shore. Genevieve enjoys good food, nice wine and, in the absence of great company, a great book.

genevieve@renewalfunds.com

Geordan Hankinson

Geordan joined Renewal in 2015 and together with Mike Cormack leads Renewal’s technology investing in the areas of energy, mobility and water. Prior to joining Renewal, Geordan worked at Ecotrust Canada where he helped to develop its sustainable business initiatives and provided financial advisory services to a variety of First Nations clients. Geordan has worked on a range of social and economic impact measurement projects, leading evaluations of investments in social housing and support programs for at-risk populations. Geordan has a BA in Sociology and an MBA from Simon Fraser University, where he was co-president of the school’s Net Impact chapter. Geordan represents Renewal Funds as a Board Director for Station A, Swiftly, Opus One Solutions, and FoodLogiQ.

Outside of Renewal, Geordan spends most of his spare time in the local mountains on a bike, as well as chasing his two young kids.

geordan@renewalfunds.com

Mike Cormack

Mike is a key member of the investment team and brings with him significant U.S. deal experience. Prior to joining Renewal Funds in 2008, Mike oversaw planning and acquisitions for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). He was the President of Archipelago Holdings, an electronic trading company, which in 2006 executed a historic merger enabling the NYSE to become a public company. At Archipelago, Mike was responsible for sales and operations, successfully executed several mergers, and took the firm into the public markets in 2004. He graduated from the Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Mike has volunteered as a Board Member for Recovery Point Systems and Ecojustice Canada and currently sits on the Board of Renewal Funds investee Cascadia Windows and Olea Networks, and is a Board Observer for Opti.

Jennifer Anderson

Jennifer brings deep experience in the energy and software sectors to help Renewal accelerate investments in the clean energy transition. Working closely with Geordan and Mike, she helps identify, assess and manage Renewal’s technology portfolio companies.

Before joining Renewal Funds in 2021, she was a Customer Success Director at Uplight, a fellow B Corp and leading provider of customer engagement solutions for utilities. Prior to that, Jennifer led several planning and data analysis projects at BC Hydro and oversaw the Product Strategy team at Crystal Decisions through its acquisition by Business Objects (now SAP). She was particularly excited to lead Business Objects’ international philanthropy programs. Between completing her HBSc in Medical Biophysics at the University of Western Ontario and obtaining an MBA from Queen’s, she got her first taste of venture capital as an analyst with Ventures West.

She is a former Board member of KidSafe and continues to be active in the community. Jennifer and her husband love hiking, skiing, biking and surfing along with anything else that can keep their kids occupied.

jennifer@renewalfunds.com

Daniel Vo

Daniel joined Renewal in 2021 and is responsible for deal sourcing, investment research, financial analysis, and due diligence for both consumer and technology investments. Prior to joining Renewal, Daniel worked at British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), where he was an Associate on the Global Thematic Equity Portfolio. At BCI, his work involved research on sustainable long-term themes around resource productivity and investing in relevant public companies across the globe. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, where he was also a member of the Program for Research and Investment Management Excellence (PRIME). During university, he gained initial industry experience as an Investment Banking Intern at Citibank.

In his spare time, Daniel enjoys training mixed martial arts (MMA), playing guitar, skiing down the local mountains and backpacking the beautiful BC landscape.

daniel@renewalfunds.com

Linda Chen

Linda joined Renewal in 2021 and oversees the financial reporting and operational side of the firm. Prior to joining Renewal, she was the Director of Finance at a local venture capital firm investing in technology companies and was also the head of finance for Recon Instruments and was actively engaged in the sale of the company to Intel. Linda articled at PricewaterhouseCoopers and specialized in providing assurance and advisory services to private and public clients across a broad range of industries. Linda is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Accountant (CA) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.

Outside of work, Linda spends most of her time in the kitchen testing out new baking recipes and chasing her toddler around.

linda@renewalfunds.com

Emily Danaher

Emily joined the Renewal team in June of 2015, bringing with her a strong belief that environmental sustainability and financial success are complimentary objectives. She has a background in general and administrative roles, along with extensive volunteer and work experience in values-based organizations, including the United Way. Emily supports the operational side of Renewal Funds, with focus in investor relations and communication, sustainability and B Corp involvement, and internal administrative finances. Emily holds an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University, with a focus in accounting, and continues to study sustainable development and investment through elective coursework. Emily is a Board Director for the non-profit Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC).

Emily enjoys mellow folk music, meandering bike rides with a campsite destination, and strong coffee. In her spare time, Emily can usually be found on a yoga mat, enjoying good food with friends and family, or studying methods to keep various vegetables in her garden alive.

emily@renewalfunds.com

Pia David

Pia joined Renewal Funds in 2021 as Operations Coordinator. She is responsible for daily office management duties, assists in financial and HR administration and supports the DFO and Investment Team. Pia came to Renewal after a progressive career at The Globe And Mail, managing their Vancouver office and assisting National Advertising Sales Managers in Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. Pia studied History at UBC and Technical Writing at BCIT. Her administrative experience has seen her work in diverse industries including recruitment, hospitality, and publishing, and is now proud to be a part of an organization advancing the development of sustainable economies.

Pia enjoys looking after her plant babies, attending arts, musical, and cultural events, and taking advantage of Vancouver’s diverse food culture.

pia@renewalfunds.com