Consulting magazine's honor highlights consultancies "that are shaking up the profession"
February 15, 2017, Chicago—Consulting magazine has named Enovation Partners to its annual list of “Seven Small Jewels”—seven smaller consultancies that are breaking new ground in terms of firm management and financial performance.
“We’re honored to be one of 2017’s small jewels and to be listed with such an impressive group of firms,” said Enovation CEO and founding partner Bob Zabors.
Enovation Partners, which made Consulting’s “Seven to Watch” list in 2016, has seen impressive growth since it began. According to Zabors, Enovation identified three trends when its partners founded the firm in 2013: An emerging wave of technology innovation moving the energy market toward an increasingly distributed and renewable future; natural gas displacing other fossil fuels; and consumers and regulators developing new expectations for reliability, interaction, and sustainability.
“We wanted to facilitate this transition and work with companies to shape the new energy landscape,” said Zabors.
“We’ve been able to work with a broad set of clients--utilities, energy retailers, developers, suppliers, startups, private equity investors, and family offices,” said Zabors. “In turn, working across such a group has helped us expand our innovation capabilities, data sets, and analytics.” For Enovation, enhancing analytics and research are avenues of future growth, he said.
“We have a highly collaborative culture of sharing and challenging ideas and pushing ourselves to innovate, while we help clients do the same,” he added.
In January 2016, Enovation acquired the Cleantech Group, which serves to advance innovation and resource efficiency across sectors. Cleantech connects innovators and investors through events, research, and its i3 platform--an interactive database of more than 24,000 innovative companies.
Zabors also cited his group’s partnerships with WestRiver Management and Silicon Valley Bank, and with the Gas Technology Institute as an early catalyst.
We are in a generational shift, said Zabors. The expectation is that energy will be more renewable, that transportation will be electrified, that distributed technology will be pervasive, and that consumers and investors will look for more controllable and sustainable options.
"What attracts people to our consulting mission is also what poses the greatest challenges—staying ahead of the curve in an increasingly global market for innovation," said Zabors. "We help clients create new ideas and businesses and invest in where the markets will be in the future. It's exciting and, by definition, uncertain."
About Enovation Partners
Enovation Partners focuses on areas of rapid growth and innovation in the energy sector—including distributed energy resources, natural gas infrastructure, and venture investment—and provides strategic advice, advanced analytics and research, and networking opportunities (through its Cleantech Group affiliate). Enovation is headquartered in Chicago, with offices in London, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. www.enovationpartners.com
