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EXPANDING CLEAN ENERGY
VARUN SIVARAM | 30
Innovating in the energy industry is what
Varun Sivaram calls an “uphill battle,”
but he’s nonetheless dedicated himself
to helping it advance—and, in doing
so, prevent the worst effects of climate
change. Over the past decade, he has
advised key political leaders, including the
governor of New York, and written a book—
called a “must-read” by former Secretary
of State John Kerry—on how to innovate in
the solar-energy space. Now he’s the chief
technology officer of ReNew Power, India’s
largest renewable- energy company, where
he works to accelerate the expansion of
renewables in a country critical to global
efforts to stem climate change. “I’m
determined to help build an ecosystem”
for a greener future, he says.
ÑJustin Worland
HELPING
STARTUPS GROW
HENRIQUE DUBUGRAS | 23
PEDRO FRANCESCHI | 23
Even the brightest startups can
be stymied by a simple problem:
getting a big-budget corporate
card—without a credit history.
That’s where Brex, the brainchild
of Stanford dropouts Henrique
Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi,
comes in. Instead of evaluating
applicants based on the company’s
history, as a traditional bank would,
the company reviews its real-time
financial data and extends credit
lines based on current factors,
such as funding and spending
behavior. Of course, lending money
to high-risk startups is itself a
high risk. That’s why Brex requires
companies to pay their balances
in full at the end of each 30-day
cycle. In the weeks after the card’s
2018 debut, Brex served more
than 1,000 individual customers
and secured backing from PayPal
founders Peter Thiel and Max
Levchin. This year, competitors
Stripe and American Express
announced similar products—a sign
that Dubugras and Franceschi may
be on to something. —Tara Law
STANDING UP FOR YOUTH
JAYATHMA
WICKRAMANAYAKE | 28
Within the senior echelons of the
world’s largest intergovernmental or-
ganization, Jayathma Wickramanayake
represents youth. Last year, Wick-
ramanayake—who was appointed the
United Nations’ Envoy on Youth in
2017—and the U.N. announced Youth
2030, a strategy to involve young peo-
ple in U.N. initiatives and strengthen
the organization’s focus on their needs,
including sustainable development
and economic empowerment. “We
need to make sure that the United Na-
tions works, not just for young people,
but with young people in partnership,”
she says. —Jasmine Aguilera
PORTRAIT-ILLUSTRATION BY GLUEKIT FOR TIME; MATSOUKAS: SAMUEL TROTTER—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; SIVARAM: SOLARSNOB—CREATIVE COMMONS; DUBUGRAS AND FRANCESCHI: ARSENII VASELENKO—THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX
