A solar company brought Peter Lorenz to Albuquerque. Now he is helping shape the city's economic future

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Jun. 8—There's no reason for Peter Lorenz to be in Albuquerque.
"Except that I saw an opportunity that I was very excited about ... and just went for it," says Lorenz, the CEO of Albuquerque-based Unirac Inc., which makes mounting platforms for solar systems. "I've been here now 13 years, which, for the solar industry, is a pretty long time. ... I love it here. It's beautiful; it's gorgeous. I think the people are kind."
Like those in New Mexico's largest city, Lorenz is also kind. He spends much of his free time — of which there is not much — working to improve a lagging education system and advocating for many of the small businesses scattered across the city. It's a job Lorenz, who is originally from Germany, sees as a priority in the place he and his family now call home.
Starting in July, Lorenz will become the chairman of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce's board of directors — a role that, in many ways, can influence lawmaking in Santa Fe. It will be Lorenz's second stint in the role since 2022.
He says the GACC's priorities are the same as they have been in years past, focusing on the big issues the city is facing: education, public safety and Downtown transformation.
"What I love about the chamber is we're not active politicians, so you get continuity with us," he says. "We don't need to look for instant gratification. We have the time to work on these big issues and figure out how to effect positive change for everybody. In that sense, I love that mandate and that aspiration."
What's your focus as the chamber's board chairman?
We have to address public safety, which is not an easy problem (to fix) because you have, on the one hand, violent crime, youth crime. At the same time, you also have mental health, right? And then homelessness, that kind of sits somewhere in there, too. I think we want to continue challenging different stakeholders, focusing on what different solutions are, and then effect positive change. We don't need to find one solution that solves it all, and we also don't need to find a solution that is the right answer. We need to find solutions that move us in the right direction, and then we need to collectively have the courage to say, "Look, this is not working well enough. We had good intentions. Let's fix this and go in a different direction," as opposed to, "I only want to do this because this is what I believe in."
How has your Unirac leadership shaped your approach at the chamber?
I think it's always good to ask yourself what drives you, what motivates you, and what is your unique contribution. When I look at what I do here at Unirac, it is so much about building a good team and then removing obstacles for my team members and allowing them to do great things. ... We have an amazing (chamber) board. It's really about bringing out the different perspectives of the board, and then also engaging the board so that the different stakeholders — let it be the city, our legislators, APS — don't just hear from Terri Cole, the CEO of the chamber, or our senior board members, but the whole board. I think that's important.
Tell me about a hardship you've experienced.
I was very successful in consulting. I was kind of ready to get promoted, and I expected to get promoted. To get promoted, you have to stand for something, right? It was kind of like three or four things: problem-solving, developing new knowledge, client leadership and team leadership. I was always known for client leadership and team leadership. People wanted to be on my team. But what happened is this: I was told that I would not get promoted because they found two people who said they would never work with me again. And this was super painful because I thought I was such a great leader. I was young. I was 30 at that time.
How did you overcome that?
I had a choice where I could easily find another job — a better-paying job — or I could stay. I decided to stay and said, "OK, I've got to work on this." Because if somebody feels that way, there is a reason for it, right? Super painful at a very deep, personal level. But it really allowed me to say, "OK, I'm not as good as I think I am," and I need to constantly think about how I affect people around me and what motivates people around me. That was probably the one event that really kind of changed my professional and personal life.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
It's actually from my dad. It's to remember where you come from. I grew up very differently from the way I live now, and I would be nothing without my parents. ... I think you've got to be authentic and know where you come from.
What do you do in your free time?
I have two kids, and I spend a lot of time with my kids. I sit on the board of trustees of a university in New York, Manhattanville, and it's a liberal arts college. All of these colleges have funding problems, so I'm the first non-alumnus to be on that board of trustees. I really want to figure out how I can help that college thrive in five to 10 years. I call that fun. The other one is, I am really focused on mental health, so I do a lot of things for my mental health — I work out pretty much every day in the morning. I meditate. I read a lot. That's kind of like my me time, and how I take care of myself. And then, I do like our brewery scene, and I like meeting up with people.