HEC Alumni West Coast Stories — Ugo Catry, Investment Principal at Total Carbon Neutrality Venture
“If you want to have a real impact on climate change and the environment, go work for the big bad guys”
What is your job and how did you get there?
It all started when I was a student at HEC Grande Ecole. I spent my year of professional experience, “année de césure”, working at the cabinet of French Minister of Ecology. I was involved in the implementation of the “Grenelle” environmental laws. After graduating with a Master's in Energy and Finance and getting a double diploma from Science Po, I decided to dig deeper into the scientific side of sustainability. I joined the Master in Environmental Science at Mines ParisTech that led me to study both in Paris and Beijing and to join Total for a 6-month internship focused on developing solar farms in the Chilean desert. In 2009, I transitioned to an analyst role at Total’s global venture fund, the group’s arm that invests in innovative technologies to build future revenue streams from clean energy. It is a very exciting and varied job: our investments range from smart grid to batteries and shared mobility.
After 5 years in Paris, I moved to the San Francisco office in 2014.
On a daily basis, I wear 3 hats:
a VC one, scouting for cleantech start-ups to invest in for a 5 to 10 years ROI;
an advisory one, as I bring support to the executive team in the start-ups we invest in;
and finally, a corporate strategy and change management one, contributing to Total’s long term vision for growth and positioning into the energy businesses of tomorrow.
What do you love about your job?
I love the complementarity of these 3 hats.
I love the thrill of investing, of closing a deal.
I love building relationships with start-ups. It is so interesting to work with them in close collaboration and really understand their business, customers’ pain points, value chain, and ecosystem.
I love the exposure to Total’s top management and that I can influence the trajectory of a big, historical company that needs to reinvent itself.
What makes the West Coast special for your job?
50% of our investments are made in companies based in the Bay Area. Even if London, Paris, and Berlin are growing, the Bay Area is still the Mecca. Not only in terms of quantity, but also in the way scaling start-ups are structured. If it may sound more and more common for some startups in Europe, it is absolutely systematic here: instead of being organized by P&L, they revolve around Product Managers. They orchestrate their whole team around the product and the user usage first, the top line and the margins come second, somehow naturally, because they’ve got the best product.
And above all, VC is a hyperlocal job. It is based on relationships, networks, and ecosystems. You need to be close to the entrepreneurs you invest in or want to invest in.
What is your advice to readers who would like to work in clean finance and cleantech?
If you want to have a real impact on climate change and the environment, forget small, local projects, go work for the big bad guys: oil and gas companies, global food processing companies, airlines… A company like Total has an annual 400 million ton carbon footprint. Which accounts only for 0.1% of the global footprint. However, it is not easy for companies like these to attract talents. One reason being peer pressure: you don’t want to be the one to go work for the bad dirty guys when your friends are launching organic local businesses. If you can overcome this and are ready to lead changes in corporate culture, this is what you have got to do!
If you are based in the Bay area, make the most of the incredibly rich meetup culture in the region: join as many groups as you can, attend as many after-work meetings as you can, talk to as many professionals as you can!
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