In this series, we talk with some of the passionate, high-performance team members who are co-creating the Energy Transition Platform: the leading global marketplace for Distributed Energy Systems (DES).
Today, we’re chatting with Calvin Fine, Head of Market Operations for VECKTA. Calvin joins us from lovely Melbourne, Australia.
Meet Calvin Fine
As Head of Market Operations, you have a broad range of responsibilities. How did you get into this field?
One of the things I love about my role is the variety of things I’m involved with on a daily basis. Some days my field is software development, other days it could be energy infrastructure, commercial management or procurement.
I joined VECKTA from Metro Trains Melbourne, where I led the supply and procurement team managing Metro’s investment in a multi-billion dollar portfolio of public infrastructure construction in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to Metro, I spent 7 years as a strategy and commercial leader at global copper mining major MMG.
I have undergraduate degrees in engineering and economics, and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School. If that sounds like too much time in class, the good news is that I love learning, and my role at VECKTA draws on skills from all three.
That seems like a great pairing of personal motivation and professional opportunity.
I get excited about working with great people, helping others to reach goals they never imagined possible, and making lasting improvements.
Curiosity also plays a big role in motivation for me. I was blessed with parents who always encouraged me to ask, dig deeper, and find out “why.” I see that reflected in who I am today; I love the process of finding creative solutions to tough problems.
And you’re building those lasting improvements at VECKTA.
At VECKTA, I’m helping to answer a simple question for the Microgrid market: How do we build more good projects, more quickly?
The key word in that is good projects. Good projects are good for everyone involved; from the energy consumer to the supplier ecosystem, from the communities that host the projects to the capital providers that finance them.
At VECKTA, we unlock more good projects in three ways:
- Focusing attention on projects most likely to deliver good outcomes. We do this with our screening and optimization technology, powered by XENDEE.
- Connecting the right suppliers to optimized projects. The VECKTA Marketplace deploys projects simply, and reduces time, effort and cost for buyers and suppliers.
- Building momentum across the industry by enabling seamless collaboration, and sharing our collective success with the world
What advice would you give to someone pursuing a career like yours?
Be generous, assume good intent, and ask a lot of questions. The best questions push the boundaries of what is possible.
For me, a mid-career MBA opened my eyes to a breadth of people, career paths, and ways of thinking I can’t imagine getting any other way. A big commitment, that I couldn’t recommend more highly.
What is the biggest challenge this industry is facing right now, and how is VECKTA overcoming it?
As an industry, we’ve got to convert interest into reality. The need for reliable, sustainable energy has never been greater. The negative impacts of power disruptions continue to accelerate. Energy users need solutions, and we have the tools to deliver solutions today.
We need to focus on the right opportunities, connect the right people to them, and collaboratively deploy solutions. VECKTA helps energy users identify the best way to meet their unique energy needs, and seamlessly connects them to the best partners to design, build and finance their customized solution.
Which VECKTA value resonates most strongly?
For me, it has to be Challenge Limits. It’s up to us to create the future that we want to live in, and the only way to do that is to change the way things are today. Challenging Limits is deeply linked with curiosity, and with a sense of adventure.
With physical adventures locked down for most of the last year, I’ve been challenging limits and practicing curiosity at home in the kitchen. What started with making bagels for Saturday breakfast on a Friday night culminated over Easter in my brother and I making traditional Napoli style wood-fired pizzas for 30 of our oldest family friends. (With low covid numbers in Australia we’ve been able to resume social gatherings). I couldn’t be happier than seeing how pleased my niece was at choosing her own toppings and having a pizza made for her.
Along the way I’ve made cookies, bacon, marmalade from home-grown oranges, Japanese okonomiaki and dumplings, home-made ricotta and countless other experiments. Delicious! Full disclosure though, they didn’t all work the first time. That’s a big part of the joy of challenging limits though, biting off more than I can chew!
Great perspective, Calvin!
If you want to work with Calvin and the rest of our team on this adventure to transform the sustainable energy market, check out our current career opportunities.
Photo credits: (Jason Blackeye / Unsplash)