Wavemaker Impact appoints new partner for Australia, New Zealand

Wavemaker Impact, a Singapore-based venture builder, has appointed Monique Conheady as its new venture partner for its operations in Australia and New Zealand. She will be leading the firm’s efforts in the region as it plans to launch its first venture there next year.

Monique Conheady, Wavemaker Impact’s new Australia- and New Zealand-focused partner / Photo credit: Wavemaker Impact

Conheady has worked for 25 years on mitigating the climate crisis. She was the co-founder and CEO of Australia’s first car-sharing service Flexicar, which she sold to Hertz Car Rental. She was also the co-founder of DC Power, an energy retailer for grid-connected solar photovoltaic households.

She is currently the chairperson of electric vehicle charging infrastructure firm JET Charge, a board member of the Victorian Environment Protection Authority, a director of natural materials solutions lab Phantm, and a senior industry fellow at RMIT Forward.

Climate tech-focused Wavemaker Impact is building a portfolio of startups that will have the potential to reduce 10% of the global carbon budget. It aims to create ventures that are “100×100” companies – or startups with the potential to remove 100 million metric tons of carbon emissions while operating as US$100 million revenue businesses.

The firm was founded last year by Paul Santos, Doug Parker, Steve Melhuish, Marie Cheong, and Quentin Vaquette. Combined, the team has built 15 ventures and invested over US$300 million in Asian tech companies, 35 of which are greentech startups.

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