Chris Rozell, Managing Partner at Cresta, joins us to discuss his journey from portfolio exec to founding a PE firm, scaling businesses to billions, and investing in decarbonization-focused infrastructure. He shares pragmatic insights on ESG, early-stage infra, and building trust with management teams—plus how Cresta bridges the gap between VC and large infra players. 

[00:00 ] Chris Rizel, Managing Partner at Cresta, on infra investing, founding a PE firm, LP returns, and ESG.

[00:29 ] Early career: banking, power, then scaling Regency to billions and launching Cresta.

[01:49 ] Lessons from CCO role—scaling a PE-backed startup to public exit.

[02:40 ] Real leadership is learned in the trenches, not in transactions.

[04:33 ] Portfolio vs. PE firm: loss of customer insight, importance of trust.

[06:24 ] Mistake: avoiding early-stage infra. Cresta tackles it head-on.

[08:20 ] Built Cresta Fund Services to support early-stage founders.

[09:18 ] Go all-in on early infra—don’t dabble.

[10:17 ] Why decarbonization? Deep sector knowledge, big opportunity.

[11:44 ] Focused on waste, ag, logistics, and industry—high emission areas.

[12:43 ] Not impact-first. Returns come from low-cost, proven tech.

[14:08 ] Avoid high-cost hype. Stick to scalable, pragmatic solutions.

[15:35 ] Investing in “dirty” sectors to drive green efficiency and profit.

[16:56 ] Strategy: build from scratch, bridge gap between VC and big infra.

[18:21 ] Targeting the “missing middle” — commercial but small-scale tech.

[19:48 ] De-risk, scale, exit to strategics or infra roll-ups.

[21:41 ] Trends like RNG and biofuels are consolidating—Cresta’s in it.

[23:37 ] Long-term contracts appeal to infra buyers—interest growing.

[24:01 ] ESG: take a pragmatic, cost-first approach.

[25:27 ] Climate’s real, but so are other global issues—balance the spend.

[26:51 ] Keep climate solutions affordable to avoid wider harm.

[27:18 ] Influences: Founders Podcast, Acquired, stoicism.

[29:10 ] Stoic mindset: control your response, not external events.

Connect with Chris Rozzell on LinkedIn. Thanks for tuning in.

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Got feedback or questions? Email Alex at alex.rawlings@raw-selection.com. Until next time—keep smashing it!

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