Alumnus Q and A: Mike Umbro, Founder and Principal of FieldView Capital Advisors

Mike Umbro (’05) enrolled at Pepperdine University’s Seaver College without a clear goal for his career. Yet, 21 years later, he’s using his professional calling to serve the state of California, its residents, and its power grid as the founder and principal of FieldView Capital Advisors—an energy consultation firm based out of San Diego. 

The journey from curious Pepperdine student to energy entrepreneur did not occur overnight. Rather, Umbro discovered his vocation over years, after following the service-driven instincts instilled in him as an undergraduate. Now with an innovative new technique for developing sustainable power, he is dedicating his time to being a resourceful neighbor to his fellow Californians.

To learn more about Umbro’s journey, the Pepperdine Newsroom hosted a Q and A conversation tracing his path toward Greater Purpose.

What drew you to Pepperdine as a student? 

Umbro: Pepperdine was the strongest academic school that I was accepted to. All the stars aligned for me to enroll at Seaver College. My sister was in the midst of her degree there; I loved the community, the people; and as a native San Diegan, the campus’ proximity to the beach was a huge draw. To me, everything just seemed perfect about the opportunity. It was a great fit.

Entering as a first-year, did you have a sense of what your vocation might be? 

Umbro: I didn't have a job or career path in mind when I started at Pepperdine. I knew I wanted to study business, and I ended up majoring in economics and minoring in marketing. Through those programs, I took plenty of courses that equipped me with the fundamentals of the corporate trade. I went in with an open mind, embraced the faculty mentors available to me, and built a strong foundation of knowledge to enter the workforce.

How did your Pepperdine education equip you for your career? 

Umbro: One of the things I discovered about myself at Pepperdine: I love talking and collaborating with people. Seaver College’s campus community is a great place to network. Through various connections, I was introduced to prominent business leaders and was able to secure numerous internships in the commercial real estate and sports-marketing fields. Ultimately, these relationships led me to my first job out of college at Morgan Stanley. Pepperdine’s size enables students to have a great deal of access to impactful professional mentors who can open doors of opportunity down the line. 

Was there a specific class opportunity, professor, or mentor that proved particularly impactful to you while you were at Pepperdine?

Umbro: My first experience at Pepperdine was a first-year seminar class with Hung Le (’87, MA ’03). The whole semester was about servant leadership, and he was the perfect person to lead those discussions because that's what his whole life has been about. It was a special time for me to learn from someone like Hung at a very young age when I didn't know what I wanted to do or who exactly I was. Many of the principles I learned from him, I still use today in my career.

What sparked your interest in and passion for the energy sector? 

Umbro: Early in my career, I decided to go where opportunities took me. Using this philosophy, I went from a job at Morgan Stanley to sourcing acquisition targets in San Diego. By fate, I was  thrown into this job where I sourced oil and gas assets around the United States. What I immediately loved about the field was the people. The oil and gas business is filled with very family-oriented folks, who are just down to earth. 

As I spent more time working in the energy industry, I learned that California was the number two consumer of gasoline and diesel and the number one consumer of jet fuel. The more I discovered about California’s energy dependencies, the more I wanted to figure out how I could help bring affordable, reliable energy to the state. Fast forward 20 years into my career, and we're running out of oil and gas; we've got the highest gas prices in the country; and we've got the highest electricity rates in the country. Considering all this, I feel like this is a time where I can take those skills of servant leadership and use them to bring affordable, reliable energy to the people of California.

How do you and  your firm help supply low-cost energy? 

Umbro: We help develop geological thermal energy storage projects, known as GeoTES. Essentially, GeoTES is a way to use a water reservoir as a reliable power source. How it works is this: After we bring up an oil reserve and sell the fossil fuel, we’re left with high saline brackish water that’s nonusable for agriculture. Rather than ignore this reservoir, we use concentrated solar mirrors to heat the leftover fluids to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. At this hot temperature, we can dispatch hot water to a steam turbine power generator and create energy for California’s grid, and we can do it when the state needs it most—during the evening and night hours.

Already, we have established this practice in West Kern County and across Central California. We’ve successfully partnered with the Department of Energy, as well as three national laboratories. At this point, using GeoTES, we can create power continuously for 42 days if our grid needs it.

What do you consider your greater purpose?

Umbro: My greater purpose, first and foremost, is my family. I want to bring my children up knowing God. Beyond that, we're called to love one another, and I try to live this out in my career by sharing my  knowledge and investing my time in trying to make this state a better place for my neighbors.