Usually search firms are focused on taking your money and specializing in searches where they can profit as an industry grows. One, however, is a little different. 

For the last 12 years Delta Management has focused on helping to build the cleantech industry in Canada, both through recognition of burgeoning cleantech companies and cleantech-focused investors with Canada’s Clean50 Awards (a program Delta founded and continues to run) and through advocating for the industry to Canadians at large, as well as governments. Amongst other things, Delta led the creation several of timely full-page advocacy-oriented advertisements in the Globe and Mail, signed by over 200 Clean50 Award winners and their organizations, asking governments for industry support and encouraging Canadians to envision a prosperous low-carbon economy.

Those Clean50 Awards have certainly paid off for winners: one CEO declared a few years later that his company only existed because the Clean50 Summit introduced him to his first critical customer.  Running on fumes and with zero revenue when they won a Clean50 award, their eventual IPO four years later raised over $100 million!

And in addition to running the Clean50, Delta provides executive search services. The company has a particularly strong and unique expertise developed over 30+ years in staffing senior technical sales and business development roles. Delta’s CEO Gavin Pitchford has a piece of advice for clean tech founders and CEOs: “The biggest single factor in your valuation can be revenue – and the biggest single factor in your revenue – often even more important than whether your product is slightly better or worse than the competition – is whether your sales team is better than your competitions’ sales team. Investing in having the strongest sales team accelerates growth and maximizes valuations like no other factor can.” 

And let’s face it. The very best salespeople are already – and always – succeeding somewhere else. The best are building their employer’s business, making good money, exceeding quota, and they’re simply not wasting their time looking for a new job, because they don’t need to – and being distracted by a job search would cut into their income. 

So the only way to get that extraordinary sales team is through active outreach. Which is where Delta steps in and can help founders and CEOs figure out everything from the right profile through the comp plan. 

The firm also searches for senior team members and executives for other roles across the low-carbon economy. To connect for an exploratory discussion, reach Gavin at gpitchford@deltamanagement.com

Would your CEO winning the most prestigious award for clean tech in Canada help your company grow?

Nominations for Canada’s Clean50 Awards are open from now until Canada Day (July 1). Amongst other categories, the Clean50 Awards look for leaders of cleantech firms, cleantech-focused venture capitalists, and organizations doing impactful research and development into solutions that will impact climate. Visit clean50.com for more details.

Get to know #ONcleantech! Each month, OCTIA will profile a different member company or organization. Want more Ontario clean technology content? Subscribe to our newsletter.