Environmental Advocate & Board member, Consultant, Private Investor, Former K-12 Sustainability Director
Greenwich, CT
Laura di Bonaventura was raised by two classical musicians, traveled extensively on tour as a child, planned on being a professional figure skater, and eventually married a Dutchman.
She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School and then worked for McKinsey & Co. for nearly 10 years in the Amsterdam and Los Angeles offices. Laura focused on consumer and retail clients – thoroughly enjoying the post-merger integration of a pan-European brewer.
Post McKinsey, Laura worked with a business school classmate to launch the e-commerce site “cooking.com.” From her time developing the business plan, securing funding, driving traffic, and licensing content, Laura can boast extensive knowledge of chefs and food magazine publishers from the late ‘90s.
After another six-year stint in the Netherlands, Laura turned to her passion for sustainability. As the first Sustainability Director for the largest K-12 independent school in Connecticut, Laura led investments in ~1 megawatt of solar energy and oversaw the construction of a nearly net-zero energy commercial building and LEED-gold faculty housing. She launched a new transportation system, and developed a sustainability curriculum and specialized Sustainability Diploma.
Laura is currently a Principal at MUUS Asset Management, a privately-held, entrepreneurial investment company where she focuses on venture investments in clean tech.
Alongside, Laura advises Subject to Climate, a digital community and resource for climate education. She serves on local conservation and energy commissions, as well as The Nature Conservancy of Connecticut’s board where her work helped put climate initiatives on par with land and water conservation.
She and her husband Frits van Paasschen have three children who are American, Dutch, and Italian citizens, two of whom are affiliated with Stanford.