New Energy, Family Offices, and the Value of Relationships: Reflections from Zurich, Paris, and London

In April, Crest Forums partnered with the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange to host a series of private family office discussions across Zurich, Paris, and London, bringing together a select group of European family offices and five Canadian companies operating across the new energy ecosystem.

Over three days, more than sixty family offices, private allocators, and advisors joined the conversations. While the companies represented different segments of the energy and resource value chain, a consistent theme emerged throughout each discussion: family offices continue to evaluate opportunities through a fundamentally long-term lens.

In an environment often dominated by headlines, market sentiment, and short-term performance metrics, many of the families around our tables were focused on different questions.

Who is leading the business?

How aligned is management with shareholders?

Can the company create lasting value while addressing a genuine global challenge?

What is the pathway to commercial success?

These conversations reinforced a belief we encounter frequently across the Crest community: family offices are often less interested in chasing trends and more interested in backing capable leaders, durable businesses, and opportunities with the potential to create value over generations rather than quarters.

A Diverse Group of Companies, A Common Thread

The roadshow featured five Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange listed companies operating across lithium, battery technology, natural gas, industrial efficiency, and energy infrastructure.

Among the participants were:

• Frontier Lithium (FL): A father-son duo developing a massive, high-grade Canadian resource. Their project is positioning itself to be competitive with the world’s lowest-cost benchmarks, like Australia’s Greenbushes Mine.

  
  

• Thermal Energy International (TMG): A track record of profitable growth by recovering waste heat and converting it to usable energy for global mega-brands in the food, beverage, and pharma industries.

  
  

• Pine Cliff Energy (PNE): The highest torque to Canadian natural gas with an industry-leading low production decline. They are innovators in the space, recently signing a deal to supply an entirely off-grid, gas-powered data center in Alberta.

  
  

• NEO Battery Materials (NBM): Led by an ex-LG and Samsung team (another impressive father-son duo), they are providing South Korean-made batteries to the defense sector with future plans to scale into data centers.

  
  

• E3 Lithium (ETL): An industry leader in Direct Lithium Extraction. They hold one of the largest brine deposits in the world and have a remarkably clear, technical path to commercialization.

  
  

Although each company operates in a distinct segment of the market, many shared similar characteristics. Founder involvement, meaningful insider ownership, deep technical expertise, and management teams with years of experience navigating their respective industries were recurring themes.

Those qualities resonated strongly with Crest attendees.

Family offices frequently spoke about the importance of alignment and stewardship. Many noted that the businesses which attract their attention are often those where management demonstrates a clear commitment to the long-term success of the company and where strategic decisions are guided by durability rather than short-term market expectations.

Beyond the Energy Transition

While the discussions naturally touched on electrification, critical minerals, energy security, battery technology, and industrial decarbonization, the conversations often extended beyond the energy transition itself.

Questions frequently focused on execution risk, capital allocation, project economics, customer adoption, and the practical realities of bringing large-scale projects into commercial production.

These are the types of conversations that family offices are uniquely positioned to have.

Unlike many institutional investors operating within shorter reporting cycles, family offices often have the flexibility to evaluate opportunities over much longer time horizons. This perspective allows for deeper discussions around strategy, governance, and long-term value creation.

Relationships Remain the Foundation

One of the most encouraging aspects of the roadshow was the quality of the conversations that unfolded across all three cities.

Family office principals challenged assumptions, asked thoughtful questions, shared lessons from their own operating businesses, and engaged directly with management teams in ways that simply aren't possible in larger conference settings. Discussions extended well beyond financial performance to topics such as execution risk, governance, capital allocation and long-term strategy.

Those conversations reminded me why Crest exists.

While technology has made information more accessible than ever, meaningful relationships are still built around a table, not behind a screen. Bringing together exceptional management teams and thoughtful family office investors, creating space for candid discussion, and allowing trust to develop naturally remains one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.

As we concluded our final discussions in London, I found myself reflecting on a theme that had carried through the entire week. Markets will rise and fall. Sectors will move in and out of favour. Technologies will continue to evolve. Yet the qualities family offices value most remain remarkably consistent: capable leadership, aligned interests, long-term thinking and trusted relationships.

My sincere thanks to the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, the participating management teams and the many family offices who joined us in Zurich, Paris and London. It was a privilege to bring everyone together, and I look forward to continuing the conversations.