Nancy Zakhour

Nancy Zakhour is a Venture Partner at Ascent Energy Ventures and a leader in the Houston energy and startup community. As the Chief Commercial Officer of Clean Energy Services, a Houston-based clean energy services provider, she leverages her extensive experience in energy innovation and business development.
Her career began in the Texas oil field as an engineer for Schlumberger, which took her around the world to India, Egypt, Malaysia, and Siberia. While working full-time at Callon Petroleum as a completions engineer, Nancy earned her MBA from Rice University. She later joined Occidental Petroleum, eventually becoming a Manager at Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, before moving into investment banking at Piper Sandler.
Nancy serves as a Lecturer at both Rice University and the University of Houston-Downtown, where she instructs MBA classes related to Digital Transformation, Managerial Decision Making, and leadership topics. She serves on the board of Nora's Home and is the creator and author of the 'Elissa Discovers' series of children's books. She actively supports various non-profit organizations through fundraising initiatives.
Nancy holds a bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the American University of Beirut, an MBA from Rice University, and is a certified Project Management Professional.