Rokas founded Contrarian Ventures in 2017, back when investing in climate tech was still considered contrarian – before it became “cool.” With a passion for building communities, Rokas believes deeply in the power of networks and collaboration. Rokas has led and was the first institutional check in a range of leading climate tech companies, including PVcase, BeZero Carbon, and Ember, to name a few.

He dedicates significant time to enhancing the firm’s platform and has co-founded key climate tech ecosystem initiatives such as the Energy Tech Summit (Europe’s largest climate tech event), Climate50 (a ranking of the world’s leading climate tech investors), Climate Brick (a framework for scaling climate ventures from pre-seed to IPO), the At Scale Foundation (a movement with a mission to support 1,000 climate tech companies, attracting 100,000 new professionals to the sector, and targeting a 1% net-new GDP impact), and the WinterFest European edition.  

He began his career as an inflation trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch before transitioning to entrepreneurship and early-stage climate investing in 2016. 

Outside of his professional life, he is committed to building social capital. He serves on multiple non-profit boards, including Vilniaus Marathon, Vilnius University Endowment (Board of Trustees), and Rupert Art Center (emerging artists residency and education programme). He is also the Co-founder and Chairman of the Origins Foundation, producing a docuseries about Litvaks and their cultural legacy.  

Originally from Lithuania, Rokas holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of Glasgow and studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Harvard Business School (Executive Program in PE & VC). He is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 25).

Tomas is a General Partner at Contrarian Ventures where he enjoys the “full stack” work of the fund. Ranging from fundraising from LPs, sourcing and executing deals, coaching junior colleagues, or running founder-focused events across Europe. Tomas has led investments into a number of Contrarian portfolio companies such as Zoomo, SunStore, and Beebop. 

Before Contrarian Ventures, Tomas spent six years as an investment banking professional executing more than $6bn worth of global transactions across a variety of industries, including power and utilities. He has previously held roles at Centerview Partners, BNP Paribas, and Société Générale, with stints in both London and New York.

Beyond his work at Contrarian Ventures, Tomas is a long-standing board member of the Lithuanian Venture Capital Association, an advisor to several family offices, and an active participant in the tech ecosystem. In his free time, Tomas is a sports fanatic; he can often be found on basketball or tennis courts or attending Formula 1 races.

Tomas’s academic background includes studies at ESADE Business School, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Glasgow.

Patrikas is a Principal at Contrarian Ventures, having joined early in the firm’s journey in 2020. Now based in London, he focuses on expanding Contrarian Ventures’ presence in the UK and staying closely engaged with portfolio founders.

With a particular interest in distributed energy resources (DERs), including financing, deployment, connectivity, and optimisation, Patrikas actively supports portfolio companies including Beebop, Starflow and Jumptech. He is always eager to meet founders across all areas of climate tech who are genuinely committed to solving the climate problem.

Before joining Contrarian Ventures, Patrikas lived in China, Singapore, and Taiwan, and speaks fluent everyday Chinese. He graduated with a BSc in Finance from ISM University of Management and Economics, also studying at Singapore Management University and Shantou University. Previously, he worked at SEB Bank and Telia.

Outside of investments, Patrikas is deeply involved in shaping Contrarian Ventures into a full-stack climate platform, contributing to key initiatives such as Climate50 and the Energy Tech Summit.

Originally from Lithuania, Patrikas enjoys exploring new cities and cultures whenever he gets the chance.

Robina joined Contrarian Ventures in 2022, bringing her expertise in ecosystem building and supporting early-stage climate tech startups. Based in Munich, she has been instrumental in expanding the firm’s presence in Germany, focusing on nurturing early-stage businesses in the climate tech sector.

Her investment interests center on innovative technologies that address key challenges in the decarbonization of the global economy –  including the flex market, and energy efficiency in compute.

Before joining Contrarian, Robina founded RE-NT, a company that helps textile businesses transition to circular economy models by providing a sustainable materials database. She holds a degree in Economics and Finance from Maastricht University and a Master’s in Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Bern and Zurich. Additionally, she completed a course in Business & Climate Change at HEC Paris.

Robina also serves on the startup advisory board of dena (Deutsche Energie-Agentur, the German Energy Agency), where she mentors early-stage energy startups in Germany.

In her free time, Robina enjoys marathon running, sailing, boxing, literature and music. 

Vlad joined Contrarian Ventures in June 2025, initially as an intern and now as a full-time Investment Analyst. He supports the team in sourcing, analysing, and executing climate tech investments, bringing both precision and energy to the process.

Originally from Romania, Vlad spent his formative years in Dubai, where he attended an international school and developed a passion for travel and exploration, especially across Asia. He still retains a bit of his Arabic from those years. He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Amsterdam and an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics. Now based in Vilnius, Lithuania, Vlad combines his global perspective with a hands-on mindset to contribute to the firm’s mission.

Beyond work, Vlad enjoys staying active through biking and analogue photography, and he has recently rediscovered his interest in squash. He also played guitar and tennis for nearly a decade, though both were always more about having fun than perfection.

Alessandro is a Principal at Contrarian Ventures. He has 10 years of experience in climate investing. He is passionate about disruptive technology-enabled business models that lead the transition toward a clean, digitalized and connected world.

Before joining Contrarian Ventures, Alessandro was an investor at Energy Impact Partners, focusing on investments ranging from Series A to Growth Equity rounds.

Previously, he was a Vice President at Alexa Capital, working on capital raising and M&A for climate tech companies, as well as on the sale and refinancing of renewable assets. Prior to joining Alexa Capital, Alessandro worked in the investment banking division of William Blair & Company.

He graduated with an MSc in Finance from Grenoble Ecole de Management (London Campus) and is fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time kitesurfing, motorcycling, or in the ring-fighting for charity.

Iohan is the Finance, Operations, and Compliance Officer at Contrarian Ventures, where he oversees all aspects of accounting, financial reporting, fund administration, taxation, and compliance.

Before joining Contrarian in early 2022, Iohan spent 6 years at EY Luxembourg in their Private Equity department, where he specialized early in venture capital. He led audits of a wide range of regulated fund structures, managing a €1M+ client portfolio made of large US and UK listed fund managers as well as European boutique VC firms. Known for his hands-on approach, he built and reviewed valuation models and waterfalls, crafted investment process checklists, while applying IPEV and IFRS standards with precision.

At Contrarian, Iohan wears many hats – building and refining the processes that keep the firm running smoothly. Whether it’s navigating complex tax matters, tightening reporting frameworks, overseeing valuations, or ensuring internal controls meet the demands of a regulated fund manager, he’s driven by a deep commitment to uphold the highest standards of quality and transparency. Always challenging the status quo, he looks for ways to make workflows sharper, more transparent, and fully aligned with regulatory requirements, all while delivering timely audits and investor reports.

Originally from Belgium, Iohan holds a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies from Maastricht University and an MSc in International Business Economics & Management from KU Leuven. His studies and career have taken him across the USA, the Netherlands, Poland, Luxembourg, and now Lithuania, shaping his global outlook.

Outside of work, he’s a passionate golfer focused on lowering his handicap, and is always chasing the best flight deals – eager to keep discovering the world with his family.

Agne joined Contrarian Ventures in early 2023 as Chief of Staff, bringing several years of experience from international, high-paced and structured environments. She began her career at SEB and Danske Bank, where she built a solid foundation in how large organizations run. Later, at London-based hedge fund Symmetry Investments, she got her first real taste of the finance and venture world—learning to navigate a fast-paced, global environment.

At Contrarian, Agne supports both partners and the wider team, helping with internal operations, communications, team wellbeing, and onboarding. She also takes the lead on event planning, including the Contrarian Summit and AGM, and helps drive branding, social media, and the internship program.

She studied at Vilnius University and spent two years in China, where she graduated from the International American School and continued her studies in Chinese. This experience gave her an invaluable international perspective, cultural fluency, and people skills that continue to shape her professional approach.

Outside of work, she’s always up for an adventure – whether that means travelling, getting lost in a great book, or cheering on her favourite Formula 1 team. Next on her list: finally getting that motorcycle license.

Vasare joined in late 2025 as an ESG & Impact Analyst, bringing deep expertise in sustainability regulations, sustainable finance, and environmental risk management.

Her academic background spans two distinct fields, providing her with a unique perspective on the complex challenges facing society and the planet today. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, where she received the Dean’s Prize for best performance in Strategy, Operations, and Entrepreneurship, she completed a master’s in ESG Management at King’s College London. During her studies, she also gained practical experience consulting for the luxury brand Molton Brown on their ESG performance and business strategy.

Today, Vasare’s mission is to fully integrate ESG into the investment process while supporting portfolio companies in meeting ESG expectations and developing KPIs. She is also dedicated to establishing comprehensive ESG and Impact reporting frameworks.

Outside of work, she enjoys a plethora of different activities such as painting, making music, playing different instruments, travelling, horseback riding and many more.

Benjaminas joined Contrarian Ventures in June 2025 as the firm’s Data Scientist, anchoring the effort to turn raw information into a single, trusted source of truth. Based in Vilnius, he designs and maintains data pipelines, builds AI-driven automations, and experiments with cutting-edge LLM agents -freeing the team to spend less time on grunt work and more time on creative problem-solving.

Before Contrarian, Benjaminas spent three years in the UK as a Data Analyst and Operational Excellence Analyst across two companies, where he equipped commercial and ops teams with self-serve dashboards and insight tools. He holds an MMath & Physics from the University of Manchester, where hands-on projects applying machine learning in physics and dissecting GAN algorithms first sparked his fascination with data science and AI.

Fluent in English and Lithuanian, he draws on 7½ years living in England – and the friendships that came with it- to navigate multicultural environments. Outside work, you’ll find him lifting weights at the gym, reading a good book or strumming a guitar and slowly mastering the piano.

Driven by the conviction that we have only one planet to steward, Benjaminas is eager to harness data and AI in service of climate-tech founders tackling that exact challenge.

Ruta joined the operations team in late 2024 as a Finance and Operations Analyst, bringing a strong foundation in finance, strategy, and data-driven decision-making. With experience in investor relations and treasury, she has developed a well-rounded perspective on finance and business growth.

Her career started early – balancing work and studies from her early years of university, she quickly built hands-on experience while pursuing her education. She holds a BSc in Economics from ISM University of Management and Economics, an MSc in Business Administration – Strategy Track from the University of Amsterdam, and an honors program in Data-Driven Management. Along the way, she learned her way around the world – studying in Lithuania, the US (as Kazickas Family Foundation Scholarship winner), Portugal, South Korea, and the Netherlands, gaining a global perspective that shapes how she thinks and works.

Outside of work, Ruta enjoys playing the piano (having attended music school for 11 years), dancing, sports, and travelling.

Kobi Weinberg is Director of Strategic Initiatives at CREO, a nonprofit working to mobilize $1 trillion in private capital for global climate and sustainability solutions. Previously, he developed climate risk transfer products at Nephila Climate in London. Kobi is Managing Editor of Climate Tech VC, an industry-leading newsletter with more than 70,000 subscribers, and he lectures for two climate finance courses he co-designed at Brown University. Kobi co-founded the Chicago Climate Corps (C3), a civic organization advancing Chicago and the Midwest as a global center for climate solutions. He serves as co-founder and Steering Committee co-chair of Aspen Ideas: Climate Chicago. Kobi is an investor in startups across the US, Europe, and Africa.

Michael Huerta is an energy entrepreneur, investor and operator. With a deep background in infrastructure finance and development, he has made notable contributions to the industry.

Previously, Huerta co-founded and operated PearlX Infrastructure, leading the business through its sale to Antin Infrastructure (ANTIN.PA). Huerta also pioneered the storage investing platform at Generate Capital. He has extensive experience managing investments and operations for multi-family offices.  Huerta’s career began at Lehman Brothers after graduating from Johns Hopkins University with dual degrees in mathematical engineering and political science. Huerta believes financial innovation and infrastructure deployment serve as cornerstones for future-proofing society.

Chris is a Venture Partner at Contrarian Ventures. 

Currently, Chris Brown serves on the leadership team as Head of Supply & Principal Investments at Rubicon Carbon, a TPG backed company, where he drives financing of high‑integrity carbon removal and nature‑based solutions. With a foundation in commodities trading, clean transition energy infrastructure, and climate tech M&A and VC, he leverages more than 15 years of experience developing and funding scalable low‑carbon projects. 

Previously Chris Brown was an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, J Aron Commodities, as well as Head of Commercial Innovation and Corporate Development at SSE.

Steven is one of the Founders of Zenobē. He leads the EV team, which aims to make the ecologically sustainable option also the financially sustainable one for fleet operators.

Prior to Zenobē, Steven spent nearly two decades between battery and traded energy commodity markets. He was a Global Head of Deals Desk at Trafigura, where he led the commercial optimisation and market risk management teams for two refineries and over 30 import terminals and storage sites across Africa and Central America. Before this role, he was part of Oliver Wyman, where he supported trading houses and utilities on optimising asset-backed trading strategies as well as investment and disposals of energy-related infrastructure. He started his career in batteries as part of the team that set up AES Energy Storage (now Fluence).

Eryk Frontczak is a Venture Partner at Contrarian Ventures, focused on sourcing early-stage climate tech deals in Poland. He brings a strong track record from bValue, where he spent three years and personally sourced over €20 million in closed investments. Eryk is currently embedded full-time as Head of Carbon Farming at InSoil, one of his sourced deals, where he bridges the financing and knowledge gap for farmers adopting regenerative practices and unlocks soil-based carbon revenue.

Prior to his venture capital career, Eryk worked at a digital publishing startup that a Sony subsidiary later acquired. He holds an MSc in Financial Mathematics from the University of Aberdeen.

Outside of work, Eryk is a healthy movement and mobility enthusiast with a passion for basketball, long-distance cycling, and the occasional return to his classical roots on the violin.

Marc is a Ventures Partner at Contrarian Ventures and a serial entrepreneur who started 12 companies between 1994 and 2008 and invested in over 150 between 2004 and 2018. His purpose in life is to help as many entrepreneurs become successful founders of companies that can create an impact. He is active in Europe, Asia & Africa.

He was a co-founder of Hapgids which later became Just-Eat.com and is currently the biggest global food-delivery marketplace. He was a co-founder of iChoosr, a green energy group-buying platform active in 6 countries. He was also a co-founder of the Dutch & African Startupbootcamp programs, which led to a global accelerator program with more than 900 companies in its portfolio.

In 2016, he joined Contrarian Ventures in his mission to transform the way early-stage investments are made within the energy tech industry. He is using his entrepreneurial knowledge & network to support the current portfolio companies.

In 2018, he founded Venturerock, which is creating a new scalable approach towards early-stage investments where start-ups receive funding based on audited & measurable data. Venturerock currently has 8 companies in its portfolio, which combined will change the early-stage investment industry forever.