Executive and Technical Search for Startups

Leveraging our extensive network and proven search process, we find the leaders and technical experts needed to accelerate innovation and commercialization of breakthrough climate technologies.

  • Advanced Energy Storage

  • Climate Tech Venture Capital & Consulting Firms

  • GridTech & Energy Efficiency

  • Industrial Biotech & Green Chemistry

  • Low-carbon Fuels

  • Low-carbon Cement and Sustainable Mining

  • Next-gen PV and Windows

  • Sustainable Packaging

  • Sustainable AgTech, FoodTech & Supply Chain

  • Water Technology

Sector Expertise

Some of Our Clients

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Testimonials

  • "Berkner Group led the recent executive searches at one of our portfolio companies, leading to the very successful hires of their COO and their head of sales. The company had a top global retained search firm engaged on the COO search, but they came up dry after a year. Berkner Group was then able to close it within six weeks! We also have Berkner Group engaged with some other searches in our portfolio and I couldn't be more impressed by the results (and our CEOs would say the same thing)."

    Alex Luce, General Partner at Creative Ventures

  • "Berkner Group is the best. We appreciate how organized and methodical your company is. It’s rare that a recruiting company listens and works with our team without pushing high salary people to capture placement fees. We appreciate the quality of notes that come through and the diligence of the written scorecard. Nothing falls through the cracks. I tell everyone that they have to work with Berkner Group."

    Leah Ellis, CEO and Co-founder, Sublime Systems

  • "Thank you for the exceptional work that Berkner Group did for Kalion in identifying qualified talent. Each time we have engaged Berkner Group, they offered upfront perspectives on the availability of talent and potential timelines for how quickly we might find talent. Their insights were right on target. Additionally the team fulfilled all of its commitments and kept the project on schedule and on course. I could not offer higher praise for Berkner Group."

    Darcy Prather, President of Kalion

  • "Berkner Group has been a dedicated partner on three crucial hires that all demanded specialized skill sets. Their diligent approach quickly delivered a large pool of exceptional candidates, streamlined the interview process, and expedited negotiations. As we grow, I continue to count on Berkner Group to help me build a team of high-performing, driven individuals who want to put an end to food waste."

    Moody Soliman, CEO and Co-founder of Ryp Labs

  • "Berkner Group has been an incredible partner in helping Mori execute searches for specialized technical talent. One of the engineers they recruited for us was so successful that we promoted her to Vice President of Engineering in less than a year."

    Adam Behrens, CEO, Mori

  • "Chris has become a trusted consultant that I turn to for advice on a wide range of issues. Overall, he has made a highly significant, positive impact on our company’s success trajectory. And to top it all off, he’s a pleasure to work with. I couldn’t recommend Chris and Berkner Group more highly."

    Miles Barr, CEO, Ubiquitous Energy

Executive Search Successes

Terra CO2’s Chief Operating Officer

Low-carbon cement startup, Terra CO2, had been struggling to fill its COO position with a leading search firm for a year before engaging Berkner Group. The CEO was looking for “the perfect candidate,” someone he could trust to handle critical aspects of the company’s operations. Working with us, TerraCO2 had its new COO, W. Chance Allen, in six weeks.

In the initial discovery phase, we collaborated with Terra CO2 to develop an in-depth scorecard that defined and ranked the desired qualifications and explored the nuances of the role. We conducted an extensive research effort leveraging our team of researchers, our network of 500,000+ top industry professionals, and our proprietary search methodology. As a result, we uncovered potential candidates that the other firm had previously overlooked.

Our team completed the initial vetting and interview process with Chance in two weeks. Due to our focus on accelerating the search process and the decisiveness demonstrated by Terra CO2’s CEO, the interview process took about a month. Chance accepted an offer for the COO role five weeks after being sourced by Berkner Group.

Terra CO2’s COO search highlights the thoroughness, credibility and sector-level insight Berkner Group provides with every search. Together with filling the company’s Commercial Director role, we have had a hand in elevating the startup’s core leadership team.

"After raising our Series A2, we were ready to scale our technology to achieve the next level of commercial success, so (on a Board member's recommendation) we engaged Berkner Group to recruit our CTO and VP of Engineering. Berkner Group's strong network, rigorous recruitment process, and strategic insights were invaluable in landing our “dream team” of leaders with the industry expertise, track record, and cultural fit we were hoping for. Thank you, Berkner Group - you’re amazing!"

- Amanda Hall, CEO, Summit Nanotech

Elevating Summit Nanotech’s C-Suite

Summit Nanotech, a venture-backed startup commercializing sustainable direct lithium extraction technology, partnered with Berkner Group this year on three key hires: VP of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer. The company raised a Series A2 in January 2023 and was named among the 50 fastest-growing sustainability companies and most investable cleantech ventures in Canada by Corporate Knights and Foresight, respectively. We proudly showcase our work elevating Summit’s executive team with highly specialized and in-demand expertise.

VP of Engineering Search

Summit’s new VP of Engineering, Katerina Kryst, is an accomplished Canada-based leader with a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and extensive experience scaling lithium extraction technologies. Upon finding Katerina, it was immediately apparent that she would be the perfect candidate for Summit, but she was hesitant to leave her current role. We understand that leaving a company can be a difficult decision, so we respectfully kept in contact with Katerina and worked to facilitate an intro meeting with Summit. Katerina eventually showed interest in learning more, and after discussions with Summit’s CEO, Amanda Hall, Katerina was all in and excited to join their team!

Chief Technology Officer Search

We identified, thoroughly vetted, and introduced the eventual CTO hire, Jeremy Patt, to Summit within 12 days. Jeremy has more than 15 years in leadership as a chemical engineer and a seasoned CTO, most recently at AquaHydrex. We identified him as an ideal candidate based on his experience commercializing multiple first-of-kind chemical process technologies, including scaling from R&D to pilot plants and manufacturing.

Upon interviewing Jeremy, CEO Amanda Hall and members of the Board decided to immediately pause the search and focus on him as their top candidate. Jeremy’s rapid advancement was a clear indicator that our team had succeeded in narrowing in on the exact skills and experience they were seeking. Because we found Jeremy quickly, Summit had the perfect CTO hire well ahead of schedule.

We are grateful Summit Nanotech trusted Berkner Group to do what we do best: efficiently and reliably elevating our client’s teams by finding and attracting the most qualified candidates.

Recent Placements

EXECUTIVE

  • COO

  • CTO

  • Chief of Staff

  • Chief Commercial Officer

  • VP of Engineering

  • VP of Finance

  • VP of Business Development

  • VP of R&D

  • VP of Product

TECHNICAL

  • Sr. Chemical Process Engineer

  • Sr. Electrical Engineer

  • Lead Engineer

  • Lead Systems Engineer

  • Sr. Mechanical Engineer

  • Material Scientist

  • Sr. Software Engineer

  • Lead DevOps Engineer

  • Formulation Scientist