iCatalysts is an open innovation and software firm with a highly experienced team of experts with deep expertise in the high tech, energy, materials, industrial, telecommunications, and utility industries. We have over 20 years of experience providing strategy, open innovation, analysis and development services to large and small companies and to the public sector. Read about our key team members and learn more about us.
THOMAS JENSEN
Managing Director
Tom is the Managing Director of iCatalysts and Co-Founder of Entrepreneur Futures Network (EFN). Tom has 30 years of experience starting and accelerating venture-backed companies and leading global consulting practices and projects for Fortune 500 companies.
Tom served as Global Practice Director of Sustainable Solutions at SAIC, an $11 Billion Fortune 500 company that is an international leader in technology innovation, development and applications. Tom served as principal founder and vice president at Formatics Technologies, a venture capital-backed software company spun off from SAIC that used big data and intelligent matching to accelerate sustainable manufacturing in the chemical and food processing industries.
Tom has led web-based software and IT product market and user research and needs analysis, product design, development, launch, marketing and updates for several multi-million dollar projects for AT&T, utilities and state agencies. Other projects are in strategic planning, metrics, tools development and stakeholder engagement.
Tom has taught venture design at the University of California at Berkeley, lectured at Columbia and UC Berkeley’s Business Schools, and lectured in engineering and environmental management at Stanford University.
He earned a BA in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles and an MA from the Claremont Colleges.
STEVE MESSNER
Director
Steve is an expert in clean technology and energy production and generation technologies, markets and policy. He has over 30 years of experience in private industry and consulting. For iCatalysts, he has worked with CARB reviewing feasibility and costs of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies including Direct Air Capture. He has also recently worked with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to coach and train teams competing for funding for carbon transportation system (primarily pipelines) network proposals. For the California Energy Commission, he had led more than 20 due diligence reviews of clean energy companies seeking public funding. Through the years, Steve has coached and mentored several energy and hard tech startups coming out of university and national labs that have raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
Also, Steve was a pioneer in the field of Climate Adaptation planning, leading the support for the development of California’s first state-wide adaptation strategy, as well as the San Diego region’s initial adaptation plan. Steve has led consulting work for climate change mitigation and adaptation studies for many public and private sector clients such as the US State Department, City of Santa Clarita, the City of Los Angeles, the Port of San Diego, the Port of Portland, SMUD, Bank of America, and SAP. Earlier in his career, he managed environmental compliance for a major oil company, involving studies and projects in fifteen different countries.
Steve is a graduate of Stanford University.
DR. PO CHI WU
Managing Consultant
Po Chi serves as an advisor to SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s accelerator and regularly supports ICatalysts innovation consulting projects and coaches startups. Po Chi recently served as a visiting professor teaching entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley and as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business and Management at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology where he has initiated programs in innovation and entrepreneurship at all levels. His 30 years of experience as a highly successful international venture capitalist and entrepreneur provides a unique perspective and a rich context for everything he does. Po Chi is also a Partner and co-founder of FutureLab Consulting, LLC, which offers a comprehensive approach that combines meaningful strategic modeling, effective consulting, world-class training and software. Previously, he was co-founding Executive Director of the Global Innovation Research Center, Peking University and an Adjunct Faculty at the University of San Francisco. Earlier, Po Chi was a co-founder and Managing Director of DragonBridge Capital, an investment advisory firm that focused on early-stage, technology-focused companies in China. Among other publications, he is a co-author of Agile Innovation – The Revolutionary Approach to Accelerate Success, Inspire Engagement, and Ignite Creativity (Wiley, 2014). Po Chi holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and BA degrees in Mathematics and Music from the University of California at Berkeley.
CASSIE CORAVOS
Stakeholder Engagement Consultant
Cassie’s expertise is in designing and managing stakeholder engagement and adoption programs and services. She has led outreach and engagement activities including user surveys and focus groups, and a variety of events for the State of California, the US Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the National Coalition for Community Capital, DesignCore Detroit, Venture for America, and Jiang China Design’s Innovation Bootcamp. She also served as the Capital Programs Manager for the Build Institute, a small business accelerator focused on equitable entrepreneurship and innovation. In this position, she served as a partner and technical assistance provider of $2M neighborhood-based fund, launched in Fall 2017. She hosted funding panels and workshops for the community by building relationships with banks, PwC, the AARP Foundation, and community development financial institutions and service organizations. She has a Bachelor of Science in Manufacturing and Design Engineering from Northwestern University.
SABINE BENDENOUN
Senior Consultant
Sabine is equally passionate about (1) supporting organizations to integrate social and environmental responsibility in their strategy, culture and operations and (2) coaching teams to accelerate value delivery while improving performance and enhancing organizational agility.
For ICatalysts, she has led research and analysis into state level R&D plans and led stakeholder engagement, training and coaching on a variety of projects.
She has over 20 years experience collaborating with both private and public sector clients across industries both in the United States and Europe; notably in Technology, Healthcare, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Utilities, Government, Construction, Non-Profits, Small Businesses and Start-Ups.
Sabine thrives in areas of innovation and change; understanding critical factors, conceptualizing plans and ideas, building consensus, and overcoming resistance to empower teams to effectively drive change while delivering value. Past projects range from conducting in-depth corporate sustainability opportunities & risks assessments and facilitating stakeholder workshops to develop city-wide comprehensive sustainability strategies and mulit-year plans, to identifying climate related risks to energy generation and distribution infrastructure and developing state-wide energy assurance plans.
Sabine has a Masters Degree in Quality, Environmental, Health & Safety Management from Centre d’Etudes Supérieures Industrielles (CESI) and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the George Washington University.