Tom Rand
Lead Cleantech Advisor, MaRS Discovery District, Toronto; venture capitalist; author.
Last Contribution:
The Catastrophe of Climate Change Skepticism
Contributor Biography
Tom Rand is a venture capitalist and author and currently acts as Lead Cleantech Advisor at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. MaRS acts to support commercialization of Canadian research and development.
Prior to this position, Tom had a strong and successful entrepreneurial history, including the founding of Voice Courier Inc. – a telecommunications software company – in 1991 and leading its expansion to more than 100 employees in three countries. In 2005, he founded VCi Green Funds, a private venture fund to provide angel and venture capital to companies developing emission-reduction technologies. This included taking hands-on leadership roles in Cleantech companies ranging from geothermal to wind to green buildings to hydrogen. Tom remains as Director.
He has board experience on leading Cleantech organizations (currently board member of Morgan Solar and was the manager for the Green Bonds public policy team, a high-profile initiative that was part of the Federal Liberal Party’s platform in the last election.
Tom is co-developer of The Planet Traveler, North America’s “greenest” hotel, located in Toronto.
Tom is an Action Canada Fellow. He has a BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, an MSc from the University of London, and MA and PhD Degrees from the University of Toronto.
Tom has recently published
a book in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., entitled [www.kickthefossilfuelhabit.net]. Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit: 10 Clean Technologies to Save Our World (Eco Ten Publishing).
