Clearing the Air
Ep. 04 — Fundraising & Scaling
Meet Gabe Elsner
Company
Meet Gabe Elsner
Meet Gabe Elsner, our new VP of Finance. With over two decades of leadership experience in clean energy policy and business, his impact has resonated across both the public and private sectors.
Gabe transitioned to AIR COMPANY after spending the past seven years in the electric vehicle industry, most notably supporting the growth of two industry leaders—Tesla and Polestar. At Tesla, Gabe worked closely with senior management to optimize financials at a critical juncture in the company’s history during the launch of the Tesla Model 3. He later helped launch Polestar in North America, supporting the company’s growth from a pre-revenue startup to a publicly traded entity on the Nasdaq. During his tenure leading strategy and business development and then as Chief Financial Officer for North America, he set up Polestar Financial Services and led the negotiations of a first-of-its-kind EV tax equity deal with Bank of America.
Gabe began his career as a political advisor and campaign strategist, where he worked on a bipartisan campaign to pass federal climate legislation. He also worked with the authors of the climate bill within the Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming in the United States Congress. He founded the Energy & Policy Institute, a clean energy think tank that defends clean energy laws around the country. During his tenure, the Energy & Policy Institute helped enable over $3B in cleantech investment and the deployment of over 4 gigawatts of clean energy.
Our CEO and co-founder, Gregory Constantine, had the pleasure of speaking to Gabe about the roads that led him to join us at AIR COMPANY.
GC
Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to the aviation industry?
GE
My career has taken many turns over the years. I started as a political advisor, helping the country make significant strides to enhance the cleantech industry and energy independence. I had a lightbulb moment ten years ago when I realized that innovation in the private sector was driving job creation and a path toward energy independence in the United States, and I wanted to be part of building the future.
Eventually, I landed at Polestar, where I had the opportunity to lead the Swedish electric vehicle company in the United States and Canada from a team of 5 to publicly traded on the Nasdaq.
My experience in the electric vehicle industry provides a strong foundation for my transition to aviation. Building vehicle manufacturing facilities is very similar to building SAF production facilities. Both require strong capital planning and great financing partners. That said, aviation is a new industry for me, so I'm excited to dive in.
GC
In your own words, can you tell me about your role at AIR COMPANY and what motivated you to join our team?
GE
I wasn’t necessarily looking for a career change, which shows how impressed I was with AIR COMPANY’s innovation and how the company can play a leading role in the future of energy. I am personally fascinated by the hard science and technological breakthroughs our engineering and R&D teams are enabling. I am confident the company will be game-changing for the aviation industry and for other sectors where our technology is applicable.
As the leader of our finance team, I'm focused on providing strategic financial management for our leadership and Board, which will enable us to further scale innovation and commercialize our technology. My role involves overseeing financial planning and analysis, implementing and managing strong controls, and ensuring our resources are allocated in a way that supports our growth.
GC
You’re intimately familiar with the strategies needed to operate companies in the sustainable transportation space. What will be your focus as we scale?
GE
A big part of my role is working closely with the team and people. My experience across government organizations and campaigns, as well as public and private companies alike, made it clear to me that the team and leadership make all the difference in a company’s success. I’m excited to work closely across the entire organization to instill a strong culture of data-driven decision-making, to ensure everything we do is aligned with and driving toward our goals and ambitions.
From a financial perspective, in addition to what I mentioned previously, I’ll also be focused on growing our finance team and maturing company processes to support a rapidly scaling enterprise.
GC
What is one thing you wish people knew about the cleantech industry?
GE
Significant change takes time. Over the past two decades, we have seen tremendous growth in clean technology, from cars to manufacturing. In the coming years, we will see a stronger push to innovate and find solutions to secure America’s energy future and compete with technology innovation and changing dynamics around the world.
For example, just 20 years ago, most plug-in hybrid vehicles were DIY projects from car enthusiasts. Today, nearly every major automaker globally offers electric vehicle options. This is a testament to the power of innovative companies and tech innovators to find remarkable solutions.
