About CurvePoint

James Rich is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of CurvePoint Capital. James brings more than 21 years of experience in private and public investments across a wide variety of alternative and traditional asset classes. Prior to co-founding CurvePoint, James spent over 15 years at Aegon Asset Management, most recently focused on climate tech investing in the private markets, where he co-founded the Aegon Climate Capital strategy with Brian Wayne. For nearly three years, James was a member of the board of directors of the Aegon Transamerica Foundation, which donated over $7 million each year to advance financial and social empowerment across the United States.

Prior to Aegon, James worked at Madison Dearborn Partners in Chicago, IL and Morgan Stanley in New York, NY. James is a frequent speaker at investment industry conferences and guest lecturer at business schools and universities and has been featured in the Financial Times, Barron’s, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Pensions & Investments, and numerous other publications. James is a mentor and advisor to climate startups in the Third Derivative accelerator ecosystem. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and an ScB from Brown University. James resides in Boulder, CO with his wife and three children.

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Brian Wayne is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of CurvePoint Capital. He leverages nearly two decades of diverse experience across alternative investments, climate finance and corporate strategy. Prior to co-founding CurvePoint, Brian spent seven years at Aegon Asset Management where he most recently co-founded the Aegon Climate Capital strategy with James Rich. During his tenure at Aegon, he focused on aligning and developing many of the firm’s investment capabilities on impact and sustainability. 

Before Aegon, Brian spent a decade at Congress Asset Management as a member of the private capital investment committee, which deployed in excess of $1 billion in capital and was also head of product strategy.  In addition to founding CurvePoint, Brian also is the co-founder of The Water Genome, a 501(c)3 non-profit impact studio that focuses on identifying and catalyzing water technologies to solve health and climate resilience issues. Brian is a member of The Milken Institute’s Young Leaders Circle, an expert advisor at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, and a startup mentor and advisor to several sustainability programs. He holds a BSBA from Thomas Edison State University and an MBA from The University of Massachusetts. He resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and son.

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Alena Solonina is Partner and Co-Founder of CurvePoint Capital, bringing 9 years of investment experience to the firm. She joined Brian and James on the Aegon Climate Capital team to facilitate deal execution and portfolio monitoring. Alena previously worked at Global Emerging Markets Group and TriLinc Global, focusing on closing the financing gap in emerging markets through direct private credit and equity investing.

Alena actively supports female entrepreneurs through her leadership of the LA Chapter of Women in Climate Investing and Finance. Additionally, she co-founded The RAR Studio, an initiative that provides educational resources and a community platform for female entrepreneurs to help them navigate the complexities of capital markets. Alena’s expertise spans multiple sectors, including sustainable investments and climate finance, aligning with the firm’s mission of responsible and impactful investing. She holds a Master’s degree from Finance University under the Government of Russian Federation and Certificate of Finance from University of California Los Angeles. She resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and son.

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