Strategist. Writer.

Twenty years in energy and tech strategy at Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Now running an independent practice with a small portfolio of advisory and board work in advanced energy and AI infrastructure.

Practice Independent Advisory
Current Aalo · Hanwha · Atomic Canyon
Status Selectively engaged

Who I am now.

For about twenty years I worked in energy strategy and business development at Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. I led teams. I built new businesses. I spent a lot of time thinking about how the biggest companies in the world should approach power and infrastructure.

I was good at it. I still am. These days I run an independent practice and I am choosier about what I take on.

My current portfolio is small and intentional. I'm SVP of Commercialization & Strategy at Aalo Atomics, leading go-to-market for mass-manufactured next-generation nuclear energy. I'm a strategic consultant to Hanwha Group and QCells Technology Group, advising on virtual power plants, data center energy solutions, and how a global industrial conglomerate plays in U.S. distributed energy markets. And I sit on the advisory board of Atomic Canyon, which is applying frontier AI to commercial nuclear plant operations.

In between the client work I write. I think a lot about what I have started calling the translation gap: the place where deep technology dies, not because the science was wrong, but because the founders and the buyers couldn't talk to each other. It's the most interesting problem I know.

I'm open to additional board seats and advisory roles where the people are good and the work is real. The good ones tend to come through introductions from people I already trust. If that sounds like you, the door is open.

On the method

Intrinsically complete.
Untouched by the disease of effort.
Nothing to be done.

James Lowe

What I say yes to.
What I say no to.

+ Accept06 / ITEMS
  • Strategic questions where pattern recognition matters more than execution speed
  • Thesis development, market analysis, and adversarial stress tests of ideas you already love
  • Translating between disciplines, industries, and groups that don't naturally talk to each other
  • Conversations where both of us leave thinking differently than we walked in
  • Founders wrestling with the gap between what they're building and who they want to be
  • Engagements with a defined start, a defined end, and a clear thing being delivered
− Decline06 / ITEMS
  • Operational roles, full time or fractional. I am not looking for a job.
  • Open-ended advisory without a scope or a clock
  • Engagements that quietly expand past what we agreed to
  • "Quick calls" that turn out to be discovery sessions for something much bigger
  • Opportunities whose main appeal is the title, the prestige, or who they would let me become
  • Anything where my honest answer is "I could do this" instead of "I want to"

My default is no.
I've gotten comfortable with that.

What I've done.

Active
Current EngagementDec 2024 — Present

SVP of Commercialization

Aalo Atomics / Austin, TX

Lead commercialization and go-to-market strategy for mass-manufactured, next-generation nuclear energy systems. Drive market development, strategic partnerships, and investment strategy to accelerate deployment. Aalo is building sodium-cooled reactors aimed at the AI data center buildout. I help the team think clearly about market entry, financing structures, and how to tell the story.

Active
Strategic Consulting2025 — Present

Strategic Consultant

Hanwha Group / QCells Technology Group

Independent advisory to one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the world on virtual power plants, data center energy solutions, and distributed energy strategy. Helping the team think through how its U.S. technology business shows up in a fast-moving power market and where the real commercial leverage sits.

Active
Advisory Board2024 — Present

Advisory Board Member

Atomic Canyon

Atomic Canyon is applying frontier AI to commercial nuclear plant operations, starting with the regulatory and compliance documentation that slows every reactor project down. Their first deployment was the first commercial generative AI tool at a U.S. nuclear plant. I advise on commercial strategy, partnerships, and market positioning.

Active
Solo Founder2025 — Present

Greenbelt · ScaleOS · Lumen

Greenbelt · AI-Native Platforms

Three AI-native platforms shipped as a solo, non-technical founder. Greenbelt is a venture intelligence platform built around the idea that AI sycophancy is an architectural problem you can solve with structural opposition. ScaleOS is a commercialization readiness engine for deep tech. Lumen is an off-market residential real estate intelligence platform. They taught me a lot about product-market fit. They also taught me about my own relationship with building, which turned out to be the more useful lesson.

Previous
Previous2020 — 2023

Senior Director, Energy & Resources

Microsoft

Chief Strategy Officer and interim CTO for the Energy & Resources industry vertical. Led global strategy to accelerate the energy transition through cloud, AI, and digital platforms. Commercialized open-source investments including the launch of Azure Data Manager for Energy. Built global partnerships with Schneider Electric and SLB to deliver AI-driven energy solutions.

Previous2018 — 2020

Senior Director of Energy

Google

Led global energy strategy and partnerships for Google Cloud. Expanded cloud adoption through collaboration with leading energy software providers. Represented Google in energy-focused open-source governance bodies.

Previous2016 — 2017

Founder & Global Energy Vertical Leader

Amazon Web Services

Founded and scaled AWS's first global energy vertical from scratch. Built go-to-market strategy and team focused on solving complex energy challenges with cloud technology. Authored the foundational AWS strategy memo aligning product roadmap with energy industry needs.

Previous2012 — 2016

Vice President, Sales & Business Development

Key Energy Services

Officer of a publicly traded energy services company. Led a global commercial organization of 140+ people with a $20M budget. Drove $1.2B in revenue growth through pricing, market expansion, and commercial strategy. Promoted three times in under four years.

Independent practice.No is a complete sentence.Choosy, not hungry.Open to the right boards.Independent practice.No is a complete sentence.Choosy, not hungry.Open to the right boards.

Six things I have learned the hard way.

N.01

I'm drawn to building things. That can be a trap.

N.02

The feeling of significance you get from operating at a high level is real. It's also temporary. And it isn't actually the thing I'm after.

N.03

I consistently underestimate how much time and energy a new commitment is going to take. I am working on this.

N.04

Saying yes to something interesting is the easiest thing in the world. Saying no with love is harder, and I'm still learning.

N.05

My best work has always come from real curiosity, not from ambition. I keep forgetting this and then remembering it.

N.06

Being a present father and husband is harder than any strategy work I have ever done. It is also the only work that has ever really mattered.

I'm not hungry.I'm choosy.

If you are looking for a board member, an advisor, or a thinking partner on something hard in energy or AI infrastructure, I would love to hear from you. If you are looking to hire someone full time, I'm not your guy.

Jon Guidroz
Austin · Texas · 30.27°N

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