Rick Fox of Partanna on Sustainable Construction and Creating Winning Teams

Today’s episode features Rick Fox, co-founder and current CEO of Partanna Global, an innovative company developing carbon-negative concrete.

Rick, a three-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, actor, and entrepreneur, launched Partanna in 2021 with co-founder and renowned L.A. architect Sam Marshall. Their idea was simple, if not audacious: make the traditional concrete-making process, a major source of global carbon emissions, “green.”

And that initial idea has yielded promising results. Rick, who is originally from the Bahamas, spoke to us from inside Partanna’s newly unveiled model home concept in Nassau. 

He joins the pod to talk about building a winning team, his journey leading up to Partanna, what the future looks like, and his impromptu call with the Bahamian Governor. Listen now on your favorite podcast platform. 

More on the episode:

• Check out Partanna’s new model home concept at https://homes.partanna.com/gallery 
• Learn more about what Partanna and Rick Fox are up to at https://www.partanna.com/ 

Episode Time Stamps:

• (0:00) - Rick’s cold open 
• (1:20) - Intro on Rick Fox and Partanna
• (3:20) - Background and the Bahamas
• (10:09) - The origin story of Partanna
• (14:19) - Carbon-negative concrete and its impact
• (18:40) - Early moments and team effort
• (21:47) - VCs, markets, and first mover status 
• (24:55) - Customers, sustainability, and durability
• (27:35) - Impact and doing good 
• (30:36) - Carbon credits
• (32:56) - NBA career and lessons from Lakers
• (35:22) - Acting, entertainment, and the business world
• (37:22) - Optimism and motivation
• (39:10) - Best advice from a coach
• (40:42) - Conclusion and end credits