Susan Preston, General Partner
The CalCEF Angel Fund will be led and managed by Susan Preston, an angel investor and world-recognized expert in angel financing. Ms. Preston is an author of numerous articles, white papers and books on angel financing.
Her most recent book, Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs, Early-stage Funding for Long-Term Success was released by Wiley Publishing in March 2007, and her first book, Angel Investment Groups, Networks and Funds: A Guidebook to Developing the Right Angel Organization for Your Community, a comprehensive guidebook on the establishment and operation of angel investment groups, for which she has received numerous accolades, was published by the Kauffman Foundation in 2004. She was also a contributing author to State of the Art: An Executive Briefing on the Cutting-Edge Practices in American Angel Investing.
She has been and continues to be a national and international speaker on economic development, angel and venture financing. Ms. Preston is one of the founders of the Angel Capital Association, the North American industry association for angel organizations. She was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for 6 years and continues to serve as a consultant, specifically focusing on initiatives related to angel investing and angel organizations.
Ms. Preston has held several board positions with public and privately held corporations, and has served on non-profit boards. Ms. Preston has been profiled in Red Herring, Inc. magazine, Smart Money, Worth and other local and national publications; and has contributed to numerous nationally published articles on angel investing. Ms. Preston is the founder and past-president of Seraph Capital Forum, the first all-women's angel investment organization.
She is the architect of the Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act, a bi-partisan federal income tax credit bill for private equity investing, which was introduced in the House and Senate in 2006 and has been reintroduced in the current Congressional session.
Ms. Preston received her JD, cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law and her BS, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in Microbiology and Public Health from Washington State University.
Matt Lecar, Fund Manager
Unlike many cleantech investors who’ve only recently gotten up to speed on the energy industry, Matt Lecar has a 16-year track record in energy innovation. He has spearheaded strategic initiatives with some of the best-known energy companies in the world, including heading up new product development at PG&E from 1998 to 2001. During a five year association with the Electricite de France (EDF) Group, the world’s largest electric energy company, Mr. Lecar helped launch and grow a Silicon Valley-based corporate venture, Easenergy, where he was responsible for business development, including frequent tours to Europe to negotiate pilot and partnership agreements, as well as commercial purchases of technology by EDF and its affiliates. Examples of companies Mr. Lecar worked closely with at EDF/Easenergy include Clipper Windpower (AIM IPO 2005), Enerwise (acquired by Comverge in 2007), and Serveron (acquired by BPL Global in 2007). Immediately prior to joining the Angel Fund, Mr. Lecar worked as a Venture Consultant at Trinity Ventures, refining cleantech strategy for one of the most respected names on Sand Hill Road—a 20-year-old generalist firm on its ninth fund with over $1.3 billion under management.
Mr. Lecar is frequently invited to be a guest speaker at events such as the Institute for Private Investors, Smart Metering East and West Coast events, and the Net Impact and Cleantech Venture forums. He is the author of several research publications, a journal article and a book chapter, and his regular columns in smartgridnews.com and metering.com reach an audience of more than 20,000 energy industry professionals. Mr. Lecar brings to the Angel Fund a network that includes colleagues throughout the US and overseas utilities, the venture capital and private equity community, technology company executives, EPRI and the DOE national laboratories.
Mr. Lecar earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he focused on energy and environmental policy, and a Bachelor’s Degree with High Honors in Physics and Political Science from UC Berkeley.
Investment Committee
A five-person Investment Committee will make investment decisions. For the first two years, the Committee will include Susan Preston, two CalCEF representatives and two other Limited Partners or representatives of Limited Partners of the CalCEF Angel Fund. Susan Preston will be a permanent member. As the founding Limited Partner, CalCEF will take two seats on the Investment Committee, one permanent and one for the first 2 years. Initial investments will require an 80% affirmative vote while follow-on investments will require a unanimous vote. This Investment Committee structure leverages the CalCEF network, the intelligence and experience of CalCEF Angel Fund members and the expertise and discipline of a professional fund manager, while maintaining an abiding focus on value creation and returns.
