From military to climate tech founder | circular economy & turning waste into value | Marat Maayan

In this episode, I sat down with Marat Maayan for a grounded conversation about leadership, humility and what it takes to solve climate challenges inside heavy industry.Marat is the Founder and CEO of Airovation Technologies, converting legacy industrial waste like phosphogypsum into low-carbon products. What most see as environmental liability, he sees as untapped value.We spoke about moving from a 27-year military career into climate tech, building circular-economy infrastructure across Korea, Japan and Europe, and why solving industrial CO2 requires patience, cross-border collaboration and long-term commitment.This conversation moves between walking in the fog, embracing failure, cultural humility and staying heart all in when building at infrastructure scale. Because in climate tech, imagination without discipline does not scale and technology without humility does not endure.Through the formless™ methodology, we explored:LEARN (Letting go)✨ The assumption that heavy industry is fixed and cannot be reimagined✨ Leading from certainty instead of accepting that real innovation begins in the fogUNLEARN (Reimagine & reshape)✨ The ego of being the centre of the universe when systemic problems demand collaboration✨ Innovation as a solo pursuit instead of a cross-cluster, cross-border effortRELEARN (Test & implement)✨ Imagination as a strategic capability, often more powerful than accumulated knowledge✨ Turning environmental waste into economic value through disciplined execution and aligned incentivesACTIVE RECOVERY (Reflect & reset)✨ Staying heart all in while building the stamina required for long development cycles✨ Returning to mission over momentum when complexity increases and progress slowsAbout:Marat Maayan is the Founder & CEO of Airovation Technologies, building circular-economy solutions for heavy industry by converting legacy wastes like phosphogypsum into low-carbon products including precipitated calcium carbonate and sulfuric acid. Based near Tel Aviv, he focuses on value-chain partnerships, local industrial clusters and cross-border collaboration, progressing from international pilots in Korea and Japan toward semi-commercial deployments in Europe and Australia.Where to find more🌐 https://airovation-tech.com🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/maratmaayan/💭 Are you walking in certainty, or are you willing to build in the fog? If something is shifting for you, direction, culture, or growth, begin your Strategic Shape Shift.Start with a 60-minute Strategic Shape Shift DiagnosticBook here: https://calendly.com/beeformless/strategicshapeshiftdiagnostic#ClimateTech #CircularEconomy #IndustrialDecarbonisation #HeavyIndustry #CarbonReduction #IndustrialInnovation #FounderConversations #beeformless #formlessmethodology #learnunlearnrelearn #activerecovery #flowdrivenceo #flowscience #soulfulhighflowconsciousleadership #lifeleadershipbusiness #presencepurposepeopleperformance #insideouttransformation #antifragile #HighFlow #nonlinear