About us
Our Values
What guides Circle Box
Optimism
Despite the enormity of the climate challenges in front of us, we know that creativity, collaboration, and systems-level approaches can change the course of our world for the better.
Passion for People
It is through the curiosity and ingenuity of people working together that we’ll make meaningful progress, and by helping our clients achieve their north star goals, we will, too.
Authenticity
We share an awe of the interconnected systems and wonders of the natural world, and we believe in reflecting and honoring that with a true, relationship-centered approach to our business.
Our Approach
We help you break out of the box, stop running in circles, and connect new ideas with nature’s wisdom to take action on integrated climate solutions.
When you don’t take time to develop and implement a strategy, that is, in fact, a strategy. (It’s just a faulty one.) We believe there is tremendous value in slowing down to take a pause and clarify what you want to do and how you’re going to get there. That’s our superpower.
Working with Circle Box, you not only clarify your goals, you achieve benefits that ripple across your organization. You will find yourself equipped, empowered and on the right path toward:
•Better revenue growth
•Better cost management
•Better team and stakeholder alignment
•Better solutions to system-level challenges
“Carmen has deep knowledge in the energy transition space as well as a personal passion for driving environmental change. She understands the unique challenges companies and organizations face and has the ability to both create game-changing vision and strategy and drive successful delivery and implementation of ambitious goals.”
Tim Derrick
Energy Transition CEO • Entrepreneur • Investor
A peek into the work we’ve done
Strategy for global professional services firm
We designed and facilitated strategy sessions for the leadership team driving advanced energy services. In these unique sessions, ideas emerged that continue to shape future corporate-wide strategy on the energy transition ahead. Integrated solutions and innovative tactics were thoughtfully incubated as outcomes of these sessions and later grew in impact across the company. These multi-day, offsite, and team-centered sessions were even “stress tested” by one of the top 5 strategy firms and held strong, The results? The team yielded stronger margins, higher growth, lower employee turnover, and countless processes adopted and shared across an organization of over 8,000.
Growth through partnerships
and M&A
We’ve got years of experience collaborating across technical, financial, sales, and marketing teams to create compelling offerings. But often a company needs more to achieve scale. We’ve helped companies clarify when and where partnerships would strengthen solutions and negotiate mutually beneficial terms for long-term alignment. We’ve mapped acquisition landscapes and helped teams successfully adapt and integrate so they’re better able to scale services in evolving markets. At the root of this work was an understanding that there is deep M&A value to be gained through strong relationships where financial, technical, and human systems are balanced.
Empowering
meaningful
equity
For Circle Box, equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice are essential to our DNA. From early corporate citizenship practices to today’s more aligned action, we’ve worked with companies to develop and implement strategic plans and services that not only make sense within the mission of the organization but honor the strength that diversity brings to our systems. Our core ethos calls us to do what we can each day to ensure that polluted or disenfranchised communities neglected for decades, if not centuries, not only have a seat at the table, but also a bold voice in shaping a flourishing future.
Our Founder
About Carmen Henrikson
Before starting Circle Box Ventures, Carmen worked for more than 25 years across the clean energy, climate and sustainability industries. As a strategy and regulatory executive, she focused on helping companies plan, design, advocate for, and implement innovative, integrated, and scalable decarbonization solutions.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the California Efficiency and Demand Management Council (CEDMC) and Advanced Energy Economy (now Advanced Energy United), as well as numerous industry collaborations to promote robust and actionable clean energy transition policies across California and the United States.
Carmen holds an MBA and MS in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute of Global Sustainable Enterprise and a BA in Earth and Environmental Science from Wesleyan University.
When not tackling the climate crisis from her San Francisco Bay Area home, Carmen can be found hanging out with her husband, three kids, and two dogs exploring, hiking, concert-going, and always planning her next adventure.
“I was the science major at the liberal arts college. The environmentalist in business school. The strategist among the engineers. The woman in male-dominated industries. The youngest in the conference room. The oldest in the conference room. The first mom in a tech start-up. Thinking and working beyond the box is just who I am.”“Carmen has a deep understanding of the clean energy industry at both a strategic level and a detailed level of consumer behaviors. Her insight, guidance, and connections provided an incredible foundation for me to build from as I moved into this industry. Carmen’s professionalism and integrity make her a valuable resource, and I am excited to support her journey.”
Kerry McIntosh, PhD
Chief of Staff, Kairos Power
Ready to take this wonderful journey together?
Let’s get on a Zoom to chat about what you need and how we can help.