William Brent – Sr. Vice President
Cleantech Practice, Weber Shandwick
Seattle, WA and San Francisco, CA
Start Date: 2005
William Brent is a consultant in the Cleantech and Clean Energy sector. He helps companies with marketing and communications, which includes branding, positioning, web development, public relations, public affairs, investor relations, digital media, and advocacy.
“I get to be creative, work with people who usually have the same values I do,” says William. “And I get to be on the cutting edge of technologies and services that will fundamentally change how and what we consume.
Having spent 1987 to 2003 as an entrepreneur and foreign correspondent in China, William witnessed that what he considers to be that country’s “totally unsustainable” growth trajectory.
“Significant work needed to be done to move China away from the Western growth model to a more sustainable, cleaner one,” he says.
William is passionate about challenging and re-thinking some basic assumptions about consumption and growth.
“I’ll never forget the day I went into a McDonald’s in Beijing in 1995 and ordered some french fries,” he explains. “The cashier told me that I got a free ice cream cone with my fries because of a special offer. I told her I didn’t want the ice cream. She looked at me in total confusion and said, ‘But it’s free.’ I realized… that we – at least Americans – have been pre-conditioned to many assumptions.”
He says consumption is a natural part of being human, “but we need to rethink [this]. Clean tech and clean energy do just that, and that is why it’s my passion.”
He says his work in communications along with his entrepreneurial experience starting four companies, including one non-profit, and his time spent in China all came together he joined Weber Shandwick to launch their Cleantech Practice.”
William studied history, Chinese, and science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Beijing Normal University.
