Richard MacKellar | Managing Partner, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital

Richard joined Chrysalix after successfully exiting his third startup company in 2007. As a Managing Partner at the firm, he has a deep technical expertise and understanding of what it is like to be in the shoes of a startup CEO, having lived that world for many years where he built and ran several award winning venture-backed start-up companies. He sits on the boards of Chrysalix portfolio companies GlassPoint Solar, Enbala Power Networks and NanoSteel. Richard has been instrumental in refining Chrysalix’s strategy for investing in the energy companies that benefit the environment in which we live. In addition to contributions at leading conferences and forums, Richard periodically teaches Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Finance as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA and IMBA programs at the University of British Columbia.

Prior to joining Chrysalix in 2007, Richard was President & CEO of LED display technology company Brightside, which he successfully sold to Dolby Laboratories for annualized returns of 45% to 60%. Prior to that, he was President & CEO of NxtPhase where he raised $57 Million in venture capital financing, grew the company from two to 100 people, and built strategic relationships with large corporates including GE, Honeywell, Mitsubishi, three of Canada’s largest utilities and three larger utilities in the United States.

Richard started his career as a metallurgist with NEI Parsons, a division of Rolls Royce that designed steam turbines and generators for power generation. He worked on Drax, the largest and cleanest coal fired power station in Europe and Bruce, the world’s largest nuclear generating station. He continued working for Rolls Royce in Canada through their Ferranti Packard group, supplying high voltage electric power equipment to the electric utility industry.

Richard has a Metallurgy Degree from Sheffield University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.