Steve Cook
Role: Associate
Steve Cook is a serial innovator at the boundary of deep tech and commercial value creation. He has 25 years of experience entrepreneurially developing new businesses for the energy transition.
Steve completed a D.Phil. in Bio-organic chemistry at Jesus College, Oxford before joining bp where he spent over 20 years pitching, building and leading new business areas from a blank sheet of paper.
He was an early pioneer in hydrogen for transport – building and demonstrating hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. Steve was part of the launch team for bp’s Alternative Energy business in 2005, which spent $10bn developing wind, hydrogen, solar and biofuels businesses globally. As VP Technology Commercialisation (a new role he created) he built a capability within bp to creatively monetise IP. In this role he span out new venture-backed companies, for example Silicon Microgravity. In 2018 he successfully pitched the idea to the bp CEO to create a subsidiary within which to scale new digital businesses for the energy transition – this became bp Launchpad, which has since won world’s best venture builder for two consecutive years in the International Chamber of Commerce / Mind the Bridge innovation awards. Steve led this organisation, building a portfolio of seven companies with a combined revenue at end 2022 of around $100m.
Steve left bp at the end of 2022 and now has a portfolio of roles in the energy transition start-up / scale up ecosystem including: Senior Advisor to Verdane Capital’s Energy Transition Fund, Chair of the Board for Luffy AI, and NED at Optimal Monitoring.
Steve has also been a founding trustee of two charities. My Social Innovation (providing entrepreneurial skills to disadvantaged young people in London) and New Dots (commissioning the work of new classical composers).