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Justin Wright-Eakes: Funding Innovation in the Water Industry at Oval Park Capital
These modular small hydro installations are the work of Emrgy, one of the water tech companies that Oval Park Capital has invested in.
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24 | HYDRO LEADER | June 2021
Hydro Leader: Tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Justin Wright-Eakes: I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. I started college at Davidson College and finished up at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in business administration. In 2008, I moved to New York City and started a career in investment banking. It was an interesting time to be in New York. The financial crisis was just getting underway, and there were banks failing left and right. I quickly moved over to Citi, where I worked initially in corporate banking and later in the hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMRGY.
istory is full of stories of innovators with groundbreaking or brilliant ideas, but in need of an initial investment to get their ideas off the ground. That is where venture capital firms like Oval Park Capital come into play. Since its founding, Oval Park Capital has focused on innovative and novel technologies that can make a difference in the world as well as turning a profit. The firm has recently begun investing in the water sector with those same goals in mind. In this interview, Oval Park Capital’s founder and managing partner, Justin Wright-Eakes, tells Hydro Leader how the company was founded, the principals and strategies it uses to find the best investment opportunities, and why the water industry is an ideal partner for investment going forward.
