Elizabeth Wayman

Senior Partner, Breakthrough Energy Ventures

2018 Business Award Winner

Libby Wayman is a senior partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, where she leads investments in early- and growth-stage companies. She also co-teaches MIT’s Climate & Energy Ventures course and is a co-author of Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate & Energy Ventures.

Prior to joining Breakthrough, Wayman served as the Global Director of Innovation for GE's Ecomagination strategy, in which GE invested over $20B in clean technology innovation and generated over $300B in revenue. In this role, she led the development of new physical and digital products, new business models, and global partnerships to address challenges in water, energy, manufacturing, natural resources, and transportation. Prior to GE, Wayman served as the Director for the U.S. Department of Energy, Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, where she worked with the White House and across the Department to establish a portfolio of new advanced manufacturing research programs and Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. Earlier in her career, she developed solar energy technologies at SunPower and Alion Energy, and co-founded a company focused on energy and cold-chain infrastructure in Africa and India. She has served as an ex-officio member of the Secretary of Commerce Manufacturing Council and a founding board member of Boston’s Women’s Energy Network.

Wayman holds a BS & MS from MIT, where she co-founded the MIT Energy Club and the MIT Energy Conference.