Climate Impact Capital

Emily Crose Cabaniss has more than ten years of experience in product development and strategic marketing across the HVAC, aerospace, and oil and gas industries. She began in residential heating and cooling product design and manufacturing, worked as a systems lead supporting a NASA space exploration project, and later served as Innovation Manager at Baker Hughes, where she evaluated emerging technologies spanning hydraulic fracture modeling software, drilling and evaluation tools, IoT, robotics, clean technology, and water management. She holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA in Marketing and Strategy from Rice University.

Rouzi is the founder and CEO of RHIS Group, a project development and management company, and co-founder of GRIDVISE, which focuses on micro-grid design and solutions. Through RHIS, she developed TotalEnergies offshore wind projects in the US, and she serves as a strategic advisor to the US Business Council for Sustainable Development and a project partner at Texas Innovates' Carbon & Hydrogen Innovation and Learning Incubator. She studied at Peking University, the University of South Australia, and Harvard University.

Kala Marathi is a Venture Partner at Climate Impact Capital, where she supports investments in energy transition companies. She previously served as Managing Director of the Cougar Venture Fund, COO of Skypoint Capital, and Managing Director of the Houston Angel Network, where she co-founded the Texas Halo Fund. Earlier in her career she was a founding member of Reliant Energy's corporate venture group and worked in strategy and corporate finance at Continental Airlines and Chase. She holds a B.A. in Japanese and Economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Business.

Mitchell Hauser is a Venture Partner at Climate Impact Capital with a background spanning operations and financial advisory. He was previously a Managing Director at Corporate Fuel Advisors, where he raised equity capital for technology companies in cleantech, energy, and sustainability, and earlier a Managing Director at Cato Capital, an investment bank focused on social impact companies. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Economics and History from Brandeis University, and serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for NYSERDA and a mentor for the Urban-X and 43North incubators.

Sid Vinyard is the Asia & Middle East Venture Partner Director at Climate Impact Capital and the founder and Chairman of Houston Technology – International, which he started in 2011. The two firms work together to source and evaluate emerging technologies for international energy companies involved in the energy transition. He previously owned a software development company whose product was licensed globally by a US Fortune 500 firm, and from 2010 to 2017 he served on the board of the non-profit Houston Technology Center.

Fersheed Mody has more than 35 years of experience in research, applied technology, and project management focused on green energy production. His recent research has centered on methane cracking methods and low-cost catalytic materials used to produce green hydrogen. He views converting natural gas into hydrogen and other value-added products as an extension of the oil and gas industry.

Joe Powell (Joseph B. Powell, PhD) served as Shell's first Chief Scientist for Chemical Engineering from 2006 until retiring at the end of 2020, over a 36-year industry career leading R&D in new chemical processes, biofuels, enhanced oil recovery, and the energy transition to net-zero carbon. He is a Fellow and former Director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, co-inventor on more than 125 patent applications, and co-author of Sustainable Development in the Process Industries: Cases and Impact (2010). He chaired the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2021; he holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BS from the University of Virginia, both in chemical engineering.

Dr. Sergio Kapusta has worked in both academia and industry, reaching the position of Chief Scientist for Materials within Royal Dutch Shell. He currently teaches at Rice University, where he also serves as Executive Director of the Rice Energy and Environment Initiative.