Who is Iván Markman?
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Iván, welcome! Before starting, could you introduce yourself briefly?
Hi - thank you for having me! Throughout my 20-year career, my focus has been on driving meaningful growth for global B2B software companies, utilising data and analytics to create value.
My experience spans leadership roles in the C-suite, involvement as an investor, and serving on boards for companies of varying sizes and market stages. I was born in Argentina and relocated to the US in 2000. Interestingly, my entrepreneurial journey began with my own DJ business, which I still maintain as a hobby. I live in Los Angeles with my family and we love exploring new places through our frequent travels.
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To start off, could you tell us about your initial impressions of Climate X and what drew you to join their Advisory Board?
Over the last few years I have been learning more about Climate Tech and connecting it with my experiences in other realms of technology. As part of that exploration, I joined The Drop which is a conference organised by Pale Blue Dot (one of Climate X’s investors). At that conference I met Lukky and Kamil for the fist time and was super impressed.
At first, I loved them and their company’s focus. Then I learned more about the rest of the team, product, customers and investors which increased my excitement for the company and its prospects.
As we had further conversations, it became clear that we could partner to accelerate Climate X’s already significant growth and innovation - which is why we are now working together.
Working with Climate X
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With your extensive background in technology and startups, what unique perspectives do you believe you bring to a climate risk analytics firm like Climate X?
With my tech and startup background, I've been through the whole journey of B2B software growth, from starting at zero to running multiple billions of revenue globally. Every company, no matter where is at, needs customers, talent, capital, and know-how – just the details change depending on a variety of factors.
I bring in my experience to help drive meaningful growth, helping figuring out how to expand globally, keep innovating for more success, and build solid relationships with customers, investors, and strategic partners to support market leadership. It's also about growing the company while keeping the good vibes in the workplace and augmenting its culture.
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From your standpoint, what makes Climate X a promising investment in the climate tech space?
Climate X has got an amazing mix of talent, strong products, a series of happy customers who also happen to be leaders in their space, and backing from savvy investors.
All of these elements on their own map to what I’ve seen as critical ingredients for significant value creation. And, on top of these, it's doing something crucial in the climate change space, leading the change in an area that's key for the world to do well despite all the climate shifts.
I love businesses where asset value creation and a meaningful purpose are intrinsically aligned, which makes it so much more appealing of an opportunity.
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Climate X's Spectra platform seems to be a game-changer. How do you see it evolving to meet the needs of the financial industry?
Climate X Spectra has already gained traction among market-leading companies. Looking ahead, I anticipate that the ongoing cycle of usage and learning will naturally lead to the evolution of the platform, along with its embedded data and analytics.
As more organisations engage with Spectra, there are bound to be opportunities to expand its functionality to cater to a broader range of use cases and markets. This iterative process of user feedback and product evolution not only drives innovations within Spectra but also opens doors for the development of new products and collaborative partnerships. It's a continuous cycle that fosters both the enhancement of the existing platform and the exploration of new opportunities in the financial industry.
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As someone who's been involved in significant company growth, what strategies do you envision for scaling Climate X's operations?
As someone with experience in driving substantial company growth, I identify significant opportunities for Climate X to scale its operations.
First and foremost, the core space they address is vast and nascent - thousands of companies can benefit from what they offer today. You can think of it as Climate Risk Analytics 1.0.
Beyond that, there's vast potential to address new use cases within Financials and extend into realms like Real Estate and beyond. This presents ample room to engage more customers as we continue to grow. Simultaneously, expanding into new geographic markets and introducing additional products emerges as another avenue for potential growth.
The strategy involves a dual approach of broadening the scope of services within existing sectors and venturing into untapped markets and product offerings. Think of these as Climate Risk 2.0, 3.0 and beyond.
There’s a lot of opportunity for strategic growth as the market continues to adopt solutions, become savvier and more global.
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The collaboration between finance, real estate, and tech is crucial in today's market. How do you see Climate X enhancing this synergy, and how do its solutions align with global regulatory demands for climate risk disclosure?
In the current market scenario, the collaboration between finance, real estate, and technology is pivotal. Climate X plays a crucial role in enhancing this synergy by recognising that data serves as the fundamental fuel for the entire process. The effectiveness of analytics-driven learning and subsequent actions propels impactful outcomes.
Engaging in a positive loop between usage and data is essential, as it continually enhances the quality of actions, predictions, impact, and overall value.
Globally, we observe a shift where nations are adopting a more proactive stance to ensure decisive action in response to climate challenges. It has become not just a desirable pursuit but a necessary one, with implications reaching the broad spectrum of national health, wealth and security.
Moreover, transparent and trustworthy risk reporting has emerged as a paramount need, particularly driven by investor demands. This aspect is dynamic, evolving, and deserves ongoing discussion within the broader context of Climate X's objectives.
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Finally, could you share your vision for Climate X's impact on the industry over the next five years?
In my experiences to date I’ve seen how smart uses of data can drive tremendous transformation and positive impact across industries. I am very excited about the prospect of how Climate X can bring these types of outcomes to an area that is as existential as navigating climate change.
I am looking forward to partnering with the team to help drive actions that are taken with powerful foresight and can, as a result, help us move the world forward in a meaningful way - creating a ton of value along the journey.
