From Engineer to Changemaker: Daniel Lanzetta Sparks Innovation at Macquarie University

In a lecture hall filled with future leaders and wide-eyed entrepreneurs, Daniel Lanzetta—CEO of Smart Energy Answers—returned to Macquarie University in 2025, not as a guest, but as a force.

Back for his fourth keynote, Daniel didn’t just deliver another business talk. He rewired the conversation around leadership, climate resilience, and the real meaning of “impact.” The audience? A new generation of MBA students diving headfirst into the chaos and potential of building something that matters.

Daniel’s journey reads like a startup blueprint—young engineer lands in Sydney, stumbles into solar, hustles through an evolving energy market, and builds one of the most trusted renewable energy companies in Australia.

But that’s not what he came to talk about.

Instead, he laid bare the unseen story: long nights, uncertain pivots, values questioned—and redefined. Leadership, he said, isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about staying in the room when the answers are unclear.

In a world where AI is outpacing textbooks and climate data gets more urgent by the hour, Daniel pushed students to rethink the frameworks they’re being taught.

He challenged them to ask:

• Are you building for growth or for good?

• Can your business scale and sustain?

• Will you be proud of this in ten years?

The room shifted from note-taking to soul-searching.

Daniel brought his industry insights to life, showing how technologies like solar batteries and Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are rewriting the rules of energy. But more importantly, he explained how embracing innovation with purpose is where true advantage lies.

This wasn’t about panels and power—this was about designing business models that don’t just survive the future but help shape it.

Despite leading an award-winning company recognised as Australia’s Best Solar Retailer four years in a row, Daniel shared that he still considers himself a learner. He attends workshops. He reads obsessively. He admits when he’s wrong.

That vulnerability struck a chord. The room wasn’t just listening—they were connecting.

Daniel wrapped up by reframing the definition of success. It’s not the exit. It’s the impact you leave behind.

And with that, the conversation turned. Students weren’t just asking questions about market share or funding. They were asking about integrity. About ethics. About how to build things that don’t just make money—but make sense.

Daniel Lanzetta’s return to Macquarie University wasn’t just a visit. It was a shift. A reminder that in the chaos of growth, the smartest leaders stay grounded in why they started.

At Smart Energy Answers, we don’t just install solar—we power stories like this. Stories about resilience, innovation, and the courage to lead with values in a world that needs it more than ever.