For more than 25 years, Pete has been driving disruptive businesses as an entrepreneur, advisor, operator and investor. At each stage of his career, he’s focused on leveraging innovation to create sustainable, profitable growth. And he loves nothing more than helping leaders envision and then realize their most audacious entrepreneurial ambitions. 

Pete is a respected thought-leader, a frequent keynote speaker on innovation, and an active lecturer at business schools including Tuck, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Wharton, Singapore Management University and ESSEC. He’s also authored articles for the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Inc, Fast Company, and MIT's Sloan Business Review.

Prior to becoming a founding partner of Newcastle in 2021, Pete helped launch and scale the innovation firm, Fahrenheit 212. During his tenure, Pete drove growth for clients across sectors and established strong relationships with a global network of innovators. In 2016, Pete co-led F212’s sale to Capgemini and helped scale the business across the US, UK, and Europe.

Pete holds an AB honors from Harvard, where he was a John Harvard Scholar and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Can you describe an experience of working at Newcastle that was particularly memorable? 

Right after we launched the fund, a well-regarded, very seasoned—and somewhat curmudgeonly— investor listened to our pitch, sat back in his chair pensively, and then burst out with "You guys are the PowerRangers of investment. I love it!" We'd never thought of ourselves in precisely those terms, but the metaphor was apt, and the obvious joy he derived from discovering something genuinely new was all the affirmation we needed. At that moment, I knew the model we were building was as unique as we hoped it would be. 

If you could instantly become an expert in anything, which would you choose and why?

Snowboarding. I tried it when I was 40, and I fell so fast, so often, and so hard that I'm convinced the mountain was mocking me. 

What's the most ridiculous thing you believed for way too long?

That the passion with which I cheer for the sports team I'm watching on TV has a direct, causal connection to their performance. 

What's your go-to karaoke song?

“(Everybody Was) Kung Fu Fighting”