Austin Solem

Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Envision Cold

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Austin Solem is cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Envision Cold, an Alpharetta, Georgia company that operates and develops cold storage facilities and provides services across the cold chain, including temperature-controlled storage, transportation, import and export, and blast freezing. He started it with two former Americold colleagues, Eric Diaz and Stephen Draper. It launched in August 2023 on a $500 million investment from an institutional investor, raised with Newmark as adviser, and now runs facilities from California and British Columbia to Florida and the Texas border crossings. Solem came from Americold, where he spent eight years in corporate finance and then M&A. He worked on its 2018 IPO and then launched and ran its first M&A department.

Career Highlights

• Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Envision Cold, directing its operating, commercial and investment strategies.
• Led Envision Cold’s August 2023 launch on a $500 million investment from an institutional investor, which the company said would let it acquire and develop more than $1.5 billion of cold storage assets.
• At Americold, played what Envision Cold describes as a pivotal role in the 2018 initial public offering while working in the corporate finance department, where he developed and ran its forecasting and budgeting processes.
• After the IPO, launched and ran Americold’s first M&A department as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions, and helped structure acquisitions totaling $4.6 billion across 99 facilities in 12 countries.

Professional Journey

Solem spent eight years at Americold, which Envision Cold’s launch announcement described as the world’s second-largest cold storage owner and operator. He began in the corporate finance department, where he developed and ran the company’s forecasting and budgeting processes. That work fed into the preparation for Americold’s initial public offering in 2018. Soon after the listing he launched Americold’s first M&A department and ran it as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. According to Envision Cold, he was instrumental there in structuring acquisitions totaling $4.6 billion and comprising 99 facilities in 12 countries.

At Americold he worked closely with Eric Diaz, who oversaw regional and operations finance for its North American warehouse, transportation and managed 3PL businesses, and Stephen Draper, who ran its Southeast operations. The company’s own account says the three became friends outside work. During the COVID-19 pandemic they concluded that the cold chain needed a new kind of operator, and within a month of deciding to act they were pitching the idea to private equity firms and investment banks. Solem became Chief Executive Officer, Diaz Chief Financial Officer and Draper Chief Operating Officer.

Envision Cold announced its launch in August 2023 with a $500 million investment from an undisclosed capital partner. Newmark, which advised on the raise and on the formation of the company, reported that the capital came from an institutional investor. By then Envision had already acquired cold storage operations and assets in Oakland, San Francisco, Laredo and Vancouver. “The cold storage industry is stronger than ever but needs more national providers to satisfy the increasing demand,” Solem said at the launch. The company’s network now also includes sites in Savannah, Miami, Minnesota, Michigan, El Paso, McAllen, Blaine in Washington state and Surrey in British Columbia. Several of them are positioned at ports or border points of entry for import and export traffic. As CEO he directs the company’s operating, commercial and investment strategies.

He is a Georgia Bulldogs supporter.

Education

University of Georgia

BBA

Emory University

MBA, concentrating in corporate finance and capital markets