Raj has founded three private investment firms focused on sustainability over the last 25 years.

Prior to co-founding Activate, Raj was a founder of Silver Lake Kraftwerk, a private equity fund focused on the energy and resource sectors, and a Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), where he founded the firm’s cleantech and India investment practices. At DFJ, he was an early investor in visionary founders at Baidu, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX, Solar City, EnerNOC, Box, Athena Healthcare, Redfin, and Ping Identity.  

In 2005, Raj co-founded DFJ Element with Activate co-founder David Lincoln – the leading dedicated cleantech firm of its vintage. Raj has served on over 25 public, private, and nonprofit boards, including SolarCity (SCTY), Ping Identity (PING), EnerNOC (ENOC), and Parnassus Funds. He is also the founder of the Spotlight Foundation, which focuses on grants to educational entrepreneurs globally.

Raj holds BS and MS degrees in Environmental Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.

Eric helps drive the firm’s investment strategy in the energy transition with a focus on distribution generation, demand side flexibility, and the smart grid.

Prior to joining Activate, Eric spent several years investing in public equities while at ValueAct Capital, a $10 billion activist hedge fund, where he covered several sectors including energy and industrials. Eric began his career as a business analyst at McKinsey & Company in their Silicon Valley office.

Eric holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Yale University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar.

Leila is a Senior Associate at Activate, where she focuses on economic analysis to identify sectors that fit Activate’s strategy.

Prior to joining Activate, Leila was a Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Toronto, where she worked on climate and sustainability projects with institutional investors, NGOs, and corporations. She was selected for BCG’s Social Impact Immersion Program, where she focused on decarbonization technologies for hard-to-abate industries, nature-based solutions, carbon markets, and emissions measurement platforms. Prior to BCG, Leila participated in a fellowship program at Cape York Partnership in Australia, where she worked on a project supporting economic development in Indigenous communities.

Leila graduated with high honors from the University of Toronto with a degree in Finance and Economics and a minor in English Literature. While at the University of Toronto, she received the Student Leadership Award and took part in the Creative Destruction Lab startup accelerator.