John spent 30 years helping top brands grow. Now, he’s using those skills to tackle the defining issue of our time—climate change.

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John Marshall is the founder and Executive Chair of Potential Energy Coalition, a nonpartisan clean energy marketing nonprofit whose mission is to dramatically increase public support for action on climate change. John is a marketing expert with more than 30 years of experience advising the leaders of Fortune 500 companies on branding, marketing, innovation and corporate strategy.
In 2017, while he was a senior executive at a leading marketing firm, John’s son Henry came home from school and confronted John about wasting his skills selling shampoo and credit cards instead of addressing the biggest problem of our time – climate change. After being locked in his house for two days by his son, John created Potential Energy.
Prior to founding Potential Energy, John served as the chief strategy and innovation officer at Lippincott, global head of strategy and analytics at the digital agency Digitas, president of the public education company The Princeton Review and partner with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. John has worked with the senior leadership teams of clients such as CVS Health, 3M, Samsung, eBay, Bank of America, and Bain Capital in developing strategy and driving growth.
John is a frequent industry commentator and speaker, whose writings on climate change and marketing have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Washington Post, Wired and Fast Company. His TED Talk on how to talk about climate change can be found here, and he recently delivered a keynote at Aspen Ideas: Climate. John graduated with an AB in Chemistry from Princeton University and an MBA with Distinction from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he was a Tuck Scholar.
John is a resident of Jamestown, Rhode Island where he lives with his wife Lucia and his dog Ricky Bobby.
Our board runs the gamut from accomplished scientists to successful
entrepreneurs and courageous advocates.
Director, The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
Director, The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
Anthony Leiserowitz, Ph.D. is the founder and Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. He is an expert on public climate change and environmental beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences, and behavior, and the psychological, cultural, and political factors that shape them. He conducts research at the global, national, and local scales, including many surveys of the American public.
He conducted the first global study of public values, attitudes, and behaviors regarding sustainable development and has published more than 200 scientific articles, chapters, and reports. He has served as a contributing author, panel member, advisor or consultant to diverse organizations including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR6 Report), the National Academy of Sciences (America’s Climate Choices Report), the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Harvard Kennedy School, the United Nations Development Program, the Gallup World Poll, and the World Economic Forum, among others.
He is a recipient of the Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education, the Mitofsky Innovator Award from the American Association of Public Opinion Research, and the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication from Climate One. He is also the host of Climate Connections, a radio program broadcast each day on more than 650 stations and frequencies nationwide.
Managing Director, Bain Capital
Managing Director, Bain Capital
Before joining Bain Capital, Matt served as CEO of several companies in the media, advertising and marketing technology industries.
Matt has run both startups and multibillion dollar global companies and has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement and named one of the 50 most creative people in business.
Chief Marketing Officer, IRALOGIX
Chief Marketing Officer, IRALOGIX
Prior to joining TIAA, Susan led brand strategy and development for Chase’s consumer and card brands. Her work included advertising, integrated media planning and delivery, agency oversight, creative services, content and social media marketing.
Susan built her career in the advertising industry working and building a range of brands, including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Kraft Foods.
Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard University
Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harvard University
Dan is the Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard University, and Director of the Harvard Center for the Environment. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2000 and served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST).
Dan’s interests include climate change, energy technology, and energy policy. He has studied climate change over the broadest range of Earth’s history and has worked on a range of issues in energy technology and policy.
Partner, Bridgespan
Partner, Bridgespan
Margaret Boasberg is a partner in Bridgespan’s Boston office. Since joining Bridgespan in 2000, she has worked with direct service organizations and foundations in several fields, including education, public health, and youth development.
Margaret has worked on a wide range of topics, including growth strategy, effective philanthropy, program alignment, and organization structure and development. Margaret has deep experience in strategic planning for organizations focusing on disadvantaged populations (including education organizations). She also has worked extensively on strategies to affect the philanthropy of high-net-worth individuals. She is the co-author of two Bridgespan case studies on replication of a program to new sites. From 1990 to 1999, prior to joining Bridgespan, Margaret worked at Bain & Company in a variety of industries, particularly consumer products, and on a number of pro bono client engagements, including the Boston Public Schools and City Year. She also served as director of business development and strategic alliances for HomePortfolio.com.
Margaret earned her BA in History from Yale University summa cum laude and her MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Senior Advisor, Centerview Partners
Senior Advisor, Centerview Partners
Mark R. Tercek is the former president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. He is co-author of the book Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.
Prior to The Nature Conservancy, he was a managing director and partner at Goldman Sachs for 24 years and was a member of the faculty at New York University Stern School of Business. He is the author of the Washington Post and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling book Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.
Chief Executive Officer, Potential Energy Coalition
Chief Executive Officer, Potential Energy Coalition
Eric Asche is the Chief Executive Officer of Potential Energy Coalition, a nonpartisan, nonprofit whose mission is to accelerate the energy transition by driving public demand for solutions. Eric is an Emmy-winning social marketer who has been credited with developing some of the most successful, life-saving public education campaigns in history.
Before joining Potential Energy, Eric served as the chief marketing and strategy officer at Truth Initiative, the organization best known for the anti-smoking Truth campaign whose brand has become ubiquitous in pop culture and was named one of AdAge’s top campaigns of the 21st century. Eric was named a top health influencer by PRWeek and the top CMO for social responsibility by the CMO Club.
Before Truth Initiative, Eric was at GSD&M in Austin, Texas, where he led marketing campaigns for brands like AT&T, Southwest Airlines and Rolling Stone. Prior to that, Eric was part of a business development team at a technology start-up during the dot-com boom, where he led partnership development and fundraising.
Eric is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a trusted advisor to policymakers and business leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of the energy transition. He graduated with a BS in Communications from Auburn University. War Eagle!
Eric enjoys being outdoors and is a firm believer in the power of individual action to create collective impact. He resides in Florida with his wife and three boys, where he continues to champion the cause of a cleaner, greener world for future generations.
Founder and Executive Chair, Potential Energy Coalition
Founder and Executive Chair, Potential Energy Coalition
John Marshall is the founder and Executive Chair of Potential Energy Coalition, a nonpartisan, nonprofit marketing firm whose mission is to dramatically increase public support for action on climate change. John is a marketing expert with more than 30 years of experience advising the leaders of Fortune 500 companies on branding, marketing, innovation and corporate strategy.
In 2017, while he was a senior executive at a leading marketing firm, John’s son Henry came home from school and confronted John about wasting his skills selling shampoo and credit cards instead of addressing the biggest problem of our time – climate change. After being locked in his house for two days by his son, John created Potential Energy.
Prior to founding Potential Energy, John served as the chief strategy and innovation officer at Lippincott, global head of strategy and analytics at the digital agency Digitas, president of the public education company The Princeton Review and partner with the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. John has worked with the senior leadership teams of clients such as CVS Health, 3M, Samsung, eBay, Bank of America, and Bain Capital in developing strategy and driving growth.
John is a frequent industry commentator and speaker, whose writings on climate change and marketing have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Washington Post, Wired and Fast Company. His TED Talk on how to talk about climate change can be found here, and he recently delivered a keynote at Aspen Ideas: Climate. John graduated with an AB in Chemistry from Princeton University and an MBA with Distinction from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he was a Tuck Scholar.
John is a resident of Jamestown, Rhode Island where he lives with his wife Lucia and his dog Ricky Bobby.
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