Jean-Noel Poirier

Partner at Zero Wake Fund

Speaker

Jean-Noel Poirier is a partner in the Zero Wake Fund, a venture capital fund focused on Decarbonization and Fleet Efficiency, launched in partnership between Meliorate Partners and Washington Maritime Blue.

Meliorate Partners is a venture capital fund investing in disruptive Climate & Blue tech startups.

Washington Maritime Blue is a leading industry cluster and accelerator dedicated to innovation and sustainability in the maritime and ocean sectors.

A longtime investor in climate technology, Jean-Noel previously served as Executive Managing Director of the Clean Energy Venture Group (CEVG), a leading seed-stage investment group supporting clean energy startups. He is also a Venture Partner at Clean Energy Ventures Fund I, a $110M venture capital fund, and a member of E8, the largest cleantech-focused private investor network in North America.

Before transitioning into investing, Jean-Noel built a global career as an entrepreneur and executive across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He co-founded and served as CEO of Inventec Performance Chemicals USA, now part of the Dehon Group. He was also an officer at Global Solar Energy, a leading flexible solar technology company later acquired by Hanergy. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years at Honeywell International, where he held global leadership roles and worked in the corporate strategy group, managing initiatives across a $50 billion business portfolio.

Jean-Noel holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, as well as bachelor’s degrees in applied economics and management sciences from Dauphine University in Paris.

A lifelong ocean and sailing enthusiast, Jean-Noel has raced competitively since an early age and sailed in multiple locations worldwide. In 1999, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard Région Picardie, a world-record-breaking racing catamaran, as part of a five-member crew. He now lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.