Welcome to season two of Cleantech Talk with Alacrity Canada! In this first episode of the new season, Julie Angus talks to Melanie McClare, CEO of Swirltex, and Susan Blanchet, CEO of Origen Air and Origen Clean, about what it’s like to be a woman and leader in the clean technology sector.
Swirltex, based in Calgary, Alberta, builds custom wastewater treatment systems for a wide range of applications. The company’s innovative membrane technology was patented by President and Founder, Peter Christou. While participating in Calgary’s Creative Destruction Lab at the University of Calgary, Peter met Melanie who was completing her MBA at the time. Finding Peter’s technology fascinating, Melanie began working at Swirltex in the Chief Operating Officer role before feeling ready to take on the title of CEO.
Origen Air and Origen Clean are both based in Victoria, BC and focus on improving indoor air quality through using nature-empowered products. Susan left a 14-year long career as Legal Counsel in order to become a founder and CEO of a cleantech startup company.
Julie is also a CEO and entrepreneur, leading the Open Ocean Robotics team in their pursuit to develop autonomous energy-harvesting boats for offshore ocean research.
In this episode of Cleantech Talks
Discussing everything from what it’s like to run a cleantech company to how they’ve been dealing with the ongoing global pandemic, the three women share their experiences as professionals in positions of leadership, while simultaneously taking care of their families and growing their companies. Listen to the podcast episode to find out more about their experiences in these positions of leadership and hear what advice they have for others, particularly women, that are interested in the clean technology sector. Also hear about how COVID19 has impacted their business development, what opportunities the pandemic has created, and how their companies and teams have adjusted to the ongoing uncertainty.
Julie, Melanie, and Susan discuss their experiences as women in the cleantech sector and CEOs of clean technology startup companies in season 2, episode 1 of Cleantech Talks.
