CLEANTECH
Graham Illingworth Genalta Power Inc.
G
raham Illingworth is an expert in turning flaws into fortes. From taking his first venture from bankruptcy to rapid growth, to buying a company crippled by lawsuits and turning it into one of the fastest growing companies, Illingworth knows what it takes to turn wasted energy into gold. “A successful entrepreneur is an individual who can adapt by changing weakness into an advantage while not losing sight of their strengths,” he says. So, perhaps it’s fitting that Illingworth’s first “from scratch” venture, Genalta Power Inc., takes wasted energy and turns it into usable electricity for resale. Founded in 2008, Genalta’s success is built on innovation, cuttingedge technology and a distinctive business model. This 21st century approach is complemented by Illingworth’s good old-fashioned values of hard work, integrity and honesty. “I often say I was born 100 years too late,” he says. “My greatest challenge has been in maintaining my resolve to my belief system as we are not always immersed in such a culture.” The company invested more than 100,000 hours of engineering to design effective technologies and computer modelling to convert waste energy into power while maintaining value for the client and financial returns for the investors. “I believe green ventures should be viable in the long term without government subsidies,” he says. “And Genalta is proving that’s possible.” Having achieved its five-year goal of a $100 million equity valuation in just three years, Genalta is well poised for the future. “Both myself and Genalta Power are hoping to continue to grow and develop,” he says. “I look forward to growing who I am as a person and giving back as much as life has given me. Genalta will continue to grow through geographic expansion, horizontal and vertical market development and through further development and deployment of leading-edge technology.”
20
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013