Richard MacKellar
Managing Partner
Richard is a successful entrepreneur, business leader, university professor and former CEO of start up companies. He joined Chrysalix as Managing Partner in 2007 and has been instrumental in refining Chrysalix’s strategy for investing in intelligent systems, cleantech, and metals and mining technologies for resource intensive industries.
All three of Richard’s start up companies combined advanced intelligent systems with enabling hardware to become world leaders in their fields. From raising $57 million in venture capital financing and growing a company of two to 100 people, to successfully positioning a start-up for acquisition that resulted in annualized investor returns of 45% to 60%, Richard is a powerhouse of business acumen and knowledge gained from 30 years of industry and VC experience in the energy technology sector. Over the years, he has built strong strategic relationships with large corporations including GE, Honeywell, Mitsubishi, three of Canada’s largest utilities, and three larger utilities in the United States that provide him with unparalleled industry insights.
Richard’s expertise includes identifying and commercializing innovation. He sits on the boards of Chrysalix portfolio companies MineSense, HaiLa, and Rockburst Technologies, and is an observer on the board of Feasible.
Richard has a Metallurgy Degree from Sheffield University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He teaches Entrepreneurial Finance in the MBA program at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Team
Fred van Beuningen
Managing Partner
Fred is a Managing Partner based in the Netherlands. His industry expertise spans C-level, Executive Board and CEO positions in oil & gas, chemicals, logistics, innovation and sustainability, and scaling up ventures.
Richard MacKellar
Managing Partner
Richard is a Managing Partner based in Vancouver. He is an entrepreneur and startup CEO with industry expertise in electric power, material science, mining and metals.
Dr. Wal van Lierop
Executive Chairman & Founding Partner
Wal is the Founder of Chrysalix and a Managing Partner based in Vancouver. He launched Chrysalix in 2001 and is recognised for his expertise and thought leadership in industrial innovation, energy and cleantech.
Dr. Charles Haythornthwaite
Senior Partner
Charlie is a Senior Partner based in the United Kingdom. He leads the opportunity recognition and investment selection process in the Chrysalix RoboValley Fund and has a special interest in mining innovation.
Dr. Alfred Lam
Partner
Alfred is a Partner based in the Netherlands. He has incubated and launched ventures from academia and is involved in the development of investment theses, deal sourcing and due diligence with a special interest in energy and resource productivity.
Wendy Leong
Vice President, Finance
Wendy is the Vice President of Finance based in Vancouver. She has nearly 25 years of experience in private equity investment management and works closely with the investment team on valuation and finance matters.
Alicia Lenis
VICE PRESIDENT
Alicia is a Vice President based in Vancouver. She works on investment theses development, deal sourcing, due diligence and portfolio management. Alicia has close to 15 years of industrial technology sector experience.
Nicholas Andruschak
Associate
Nicholas is an Associate based in Vancouver. He is responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence, and developing investment theses. Nicholas is particularly interested in companies developing sensor systems and intelligent systems to facilitate Industry 4.0.
Giuliana Unger
Analyst
Giuliana is an Analyst based in the Netherlands. She has expertise in cleantech innovation and carbon capture and utilization (CCU), and she is responsible for sourcing new deals and due diligence.
ADVISORY BOARD
Matthias Bischel
Matthias is a former member of the Executive Committee and Director of Projects & Technology at Royal Dutch Shell. His previous roles include Executive VP of Development & Technology, Managing Director of Shell Deepwater Services and Director of Petroleum Development Oman.
Mark Dudzinski
Mark is the former Chief Marketing Officer at GE Energy responsible for $45B in business including thermal & renewable power generation; oil & gas exploration, development & transport; electric transmission & distribution; and industrial controls.
John Thompson
John is the former VP, Technology and Development at Teck Resources. John left Teck to form PetraScience Consultants Inc., providing exploration and technology services to the mining industry. He is the Wold Professor in Environmental Balance for Human Sustainability at Cornell University.
Stefan Heck
Stefan is the CEO at Nauto, an AI platform for urban mobility. Previous roles include consulting Professor at the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University; and Director at McKinsey where he cofounded the Cleantech and Sustainability Transformations practice. Stefan is the co-author of the Resource Revolution.
Peter Bryant
Peter’s expertise is in growth and innovation, natural resources and energy, software, technology commercialization and corporate venture capital. His former senior leadership roles include GE and Computer Associates. Peter is a senior fellow at the Kellogg Innovation Network and a Partner at Clareo.