Derek Brooks is a venture capital investor at 2150 who combines emerging-markets private equity experience with dedicated impact investing leadership, bringing a distinctive global-south perspective to European climate-tech investing after previously serving as Head of Venture at Flat World Partners. As a former Austrian-American Fulbright fellow who worked as a journalist and political analyst in Central & Eastern Europe before becoming what he calls a diplomatic-corps dropout, he applies an unusual geopolitical lens to urban and industrial climate solutions, focusing on Series A investments of roughly €5–6 million for capital-intensive climate hardware and infrastructure companies.