8 Clockwise is a story told through a number, a direction, and a mark; focused on taking the human energy access from Finite to Infinite.

The brand symbolizes the mission of driving energy access and decarbonization at scale, starting from the earliest stages of innovation to scalable impact. At its core, 8 Clockwise represents cycle of continuous improvement and innovation to tap into the various forms of infinite energy, all around us.

A network of business and sustainability leaders

With a proven track record across industry partnerships, sustainability frameworks, and regulatory compliance, our team brings decades of hands-on experience in building ventures, scaling businesses, and driving growth in complex markets.

Vineet Shah​

Founder, CEO​

Tim Buchner

Senior Advisor

Masashi Imagawa

Senior Advisor, Battery Industry

Dr. Dong-joon Ihm

Senior Technical Advisor, Battery Materials

Our Portfolio Company Leaders

Our Portfolio Companies are focused on decarbonizing and unlocking energy access in their respective industrial sectors, led by zealous and  entrepreneurial founders.

Vineet Shah

Founder, CEO​

Vineet founded 8 Clockwise with the vision to empower startups and enterprises to thrive while making a positive impact on the environment.

He is passionate about infinite energy access to all humans, which he believes can only come from innovation, democratizing technology and building a culture of circularity. He is a proven technology commercialization and business scale up leader with 17+ years of experience in technology companies like Curtiss Wright, Caltrol and Honeywell.

Most notably, he served as the business leader for Honeywell’s Lithium-ion battery business where he launched the first performance guarantee product in the energy storage industry. At 8 Clockwise he brings this business building and scale up experience to help the portfolio companies and advisory clients scale and navigate the dynamic landscape of sustainable economic growth, environmental sustainability and social sustainability.

Tim Buchner

Senior Advisor

Tim Buchner is an accomplished enterprise operator and founder with 25+ years of experience building, scaling, and institutionalizing technology-enabled businesses across startups, private-equity–controlled companies, and global public institutions. He has led organizations through critical inflection points—architecting revenue engines from inception to $50M+ in revenue, scaling enterprise platforms supporting over $2.5T in assets under management, and achieving EBITDA profitability in highly regulated, mission-critical environments. Most recently, he led Private Markets for State Street Alpha and Charles River Development following State Street’s acquisition of Mercatus, where he unified investment management, data, and servicing platforms into a single private-markets strategy and commercialized AI-driven data capabilities. Previously, he co-founded Mercatus and served as COO and CRO from inception through exit, raising institutional capital and delivering strong investor returns.

Tim supports 8 Clockwise’s fund launch and venture-studio initiatives by advising on capital formation strategy, LP positioning, fundraising readiness, and capital-markets execution for both the fund and its portfolio companies. His deep experience across private markets, institutional capital, and enterprise scaling makes him a critical asset as 8 Clockwise builds its fund and embedded executive platform to helps founders raise growth capital and commercialize their technologies.

Mike Imagawa

Senior Advisor, Battery Industry

Mike Imagawa is a recognized leader in the Battery and Materials Industry, with 25+ years of deep technical and commercialization experience, with a career spanning leadership and commercialization roles at global materials giants including Umicore, Dow Corning, and Johnson Matthey. Most notably, he served as General Manager, Japan for Johnson Matthey’s Battery Materials division, where he led business operations and market development across one of the world’s most competitive energy ecosystems. That division was later acquired by Epsilon Advanced Materials, reflecting its strategic importance in the global battery supply chain.

Mike supports our venture studio activities, helping us identify and scale high-potential startups in the battery and energy storage space. His unique mix of domain expertise spanning cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, cell manufacturing & recycling, and commercialization savvy makes him an incredible asset as we deepen our climate-tech venture building work.

Dr. Dong-joon Ihm

Senior Technical Advisor, Battery Materials

Dr. Dong Joon Ihm is a globally respected figure in the rechargeable battery industry, with 30+ years of deep technical and leadership experience across the full secondary-battery value chain. His career includes senior executive and R&D leadership roles at major industry institutions including Umicore and SK Group (SKC). Most notably, he served as Managing Director and Executive Chairman of Umicore Korea, where he oversaw cathode-materials R&D, large-scale qualification programs, and partnerships with top global cell makers, IT device companies, and EV/ESS OEMs. His contributions to Korea’s battery sector were recognized with the Industrial Medal from the Korean government, reflecting his impact on one of the world’s most advanced battery ecosystems.

Dr. Ihm supports our venture-studio initiatives, helping guide our strategy across battery materials, cell technologies, and circular-economy pathways. His unmatched expertise spanning cathode and anode materials, battery cells, recycling, and industrial commercialization makes him an extraordinary asset as we expand our advanced-materials and climate-tech venture building work.