Juan Rosenkrantz

Juan Rosenkrantz joined an upstart oil and gas firm in his native Argentina at an early stage in the company’s history. His journey there led him to be part of an effort to invest in clean technologies and build new companies to restore nature and the environment.

“That was my first contact with the climate space, and I enjoyed it a lot,” says the Buenos Aires resident. “It’s the future. It’s going to transform how we live, how we source energy, how we respect our planet, and how we preserve nature. There’s a lot of disruption and innovation, and a lot of super-smart, team-oriented people wanting to make a difference.”

Juan aims to work among smart and creative people in an endeavor with a positive impact on the world, and he sees climate tech perfectly aligned with his goals.

What sparked your interest in helping find clean energy and climate solutions?

I was always passionate about energy, because it’s one of the most important forces around the world to help us move and build societies. It’s an industry with a lot of potential in Argentina. I was lucky because Vista was just being funded, and I joined in the early days. The company developed oil and gas assets in Argentina and had very ambitious plans. Vista combined interesting projects with phenomenal people and a very flat structure. From day one, I started working with the CFO and co-founder of the company. My journey at Vista led me to explore the clean energy and climate space and I absolutely loved it. My last job there was to help build the corporate venture capital fund of the company to invest in the climate tech space, but also fund a company that could play a role in the energy transition in general.

Why did you decide an MBA was a necessary tool for you to pursue your goals?

I thought an MBA program would be an excellent place to be exposed to different ideas, connect with people to test those ideas, and see how people in the U.S. are working on climate. I also wanted time to reflect on my career goals.

Why Stanford GSB in particular?

Stanford has a strong network, especially in the climate space. You meet smart, capable people in classes and in the community. I started to think about what I want in my career, what really matters to me, and where my passion for climate comes from. You learn leadership and development of soft skills at Stanford, and the climate field will need new leaders who can turn ideas into reality. To do that you not only need scientific knowledge, but the capability of moving people, of recruiting talent, of coordinating teams, of promoting good teamwork. I knew Stanford would help me become the leader I want to be.

Did your goals and ambitions evolve after you got to the GSB?

I want to work in industries where there’s a lot of impact, as well as smart and passionate people. I believe climate tech is perfectly aligned with that, but I try to be open-minded about the industries I want to work for. This has come mainly by thinking about what matters to me and where I’m happier as a person and as a professional.

Are there challenges specific to South and Latin America when it comes to clean energy and climate solutions?

South America and Latin America can be less stable than developed regions. That definitely is a challenge. In Latin America, when there’s big money at stake, having a strong institution and clear rules is important. I also think some of the underdeveloped countries may have different priorities. For example, some countries in Latin America have high poverty rates, so addressing that is probably a higher priority than energy transition and climate change for those countries’ governments.

Can you offer examples of industries that might interest you for decarbonization-focused investment?

There are a lot of places where you can decarbonize the world. There are very exciting companies trying to figure out ways to enable and boost the adoption of renewable energy using different strategies and technologies (both software and/or hardware). Other companies are looking to remove carbon from the atmosphere by restoring forests and biodiversity. The irruption of EVs has transformed many industries and created many interesting opportunities in the power and critical metals sector. I’m interested in creativity and smart ways of using the tools that we have to solve climate change.

At Nekton Labs, you were focused on the potential of the oceans as a way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and also use AI to help fight climate change. Tell us what you learned there.

Much has been done on terrestrial carbon sinks, but due to its complexity the ocean presents more challenges. It is an open circuit, there are no borders, no limits, and everything is interacting with everything. That complexity has impeded development of new ocean carbon projects to generate and capture emissions from human activities. Nekton aims to boost blue carbon projects in the early stages by providing a layer of technology to prove, track, and estimate the actual carbon impact of each of the projects. No one is going to invest in a project if they don’t know how much carbon that project is sequestering. By using ocean models and scientific data merged with sensors both in the field and from satellites, plus AI that basically feeds from all those data points, Nekton is trying to de-risk those projects and provide ways for people to create carbon credits and instill confidence in investors.

At the GSB, you’ve been involved in the Venture Capital Club and the Entrepreneurship Club. Any valuable takeaways from those experiences?

Both clubs provided me an amazing opportunity to meet with successful entrepreneurs and ask them about anything. How was the process of scaling up this idea? How were you convinced that this was the right idea? How do you assess the absurdities you have to overcome? I’ve been able to understand much better how difficult the life of an entrepreneur is, from recruiting talented people, to getting money from VCs and angel investors, to pitching your idea, to scaling the business, to having to make decisions where there’s no clear right path. I’m grateful for that, because I’m very conscious of what being an entrepreneur means now and the sacrifices you need to make in order to be one, but I’m also more conscious of how fulfilling and satisfying that journey can be.

Have you discovered any helpful mentors along the way?

The co-founder and CFO of Vista Energy was a mentor to me. Starting on my first day, I worked closely with him, and I absorbed a lot from him. I learned how to analyze and tackle complex problems, how to present and convey an idea effectively, and how to transform data points into business logic. He taught me structure and frameworks. More importantly, his ability to build incredible teams, motivate and inspire people to give their A-games, and willingness to listen and make sure everyone shared their perspectives, taught me what makes a leader truly exceptional. He had an incredible work ethic and passion for everything he did.

Any classes at the GSB that have been particularly influential?

[Interpersonal Dynamics] is a unique opportunity for getting raw, unfiltered feedback from others. You gain so many perspectives, and understand how different people have different values. It opens your mind to this multiplicity of ways of thinking about life. That’s so useful to being part of a team or managing teams or being a good leader, to understand different perspectives and empathize. The effects of this class are going to crystalize as time goes by.

Any other classes that stand out?

Acting with Power and Essentials of Strategic Communication made an impact. Through role-playing in Acting with Power, we learned that it’s not only what you say but how you say it, how you combine what you say with your body language, and how you approach powering up and powering down. It opened my mind to the multiple ways I can operate depending on the environment. “Strategic Communication” was interesting for me because it made me think about the importance of body language, pauses, eye contact, and intonation in conveying an idea.

As an Argentinean, you naturally list soccer among your passions. Who is your favorite player: Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi?

I have a recency bias, so I’ll say Messi. I was in Argentina when we won the Cup, and that was a great moment. And there’s still time for Messi to do more.

Photos by Elena Zhukova