Rachel Hester on Pursuing an MBA Career in Sustainability At Nike, and Beyond
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
Release Date: 11/17/2021
Scott Case, Recurrent Co-Founder, Offers Career Advice and Insights (Part 2)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
In the second part of the conversation, Scott Case, co-founder and CEO of shares his career journey and lessons learned. Scott has worked at small companies, big companies, and started two companies himself. He shares some lessons learned at his first startup, EnergySavvy. Scott then offers advice for people looking to enter the clean technology or energy revolution space. He suggests that recent graduates should gain experience by working for a large company in the industry they want to decarbonize, learn about the processes, and then identify high-leverage ways to disrupt the industry...
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Scott Case, Recurrent Co-Founder, Talks About Used EV Battery Data Transparency (Part 1)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
Gregory Heller and Jonathan Azoff talk with Scott Case, the co-founder and CEO of , a Seattle-based startup that offers independent evaluations of used electric vehicle batteries. Case discusses his journey as a second-time entrepreneur, having previously founded Energy Savvy, a company that helped energy utilities connect with customers for home energy efficiency upgrades. Case explains that Recurrent was founded in June 2020 to address the growing need for transparency in the used electric vehicle (EV) market. As more EVs enter the used car market, buyers are increasingly concerned about...
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Josh Mastromatto, Co-Founder of Waste Diversion Company Rego, Shares Career Advice (Part 2)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
In the second part of the conversation, Josh Mastromatto, co-founder of , shares insights on how his experience as an athlete has shaped his approach to building a startup. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on what you can control, learning quickly, and surrounding yourself with people who can help you improve. Josh shares what he looks for an values when hiring. As a first-time founder, Josh's biggest learning curve was navigating the fundraising process, and he shares the importance of reaching out to experts, identifying patterns, and continuously acquiring knowledge through books...
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Josh Mastromatto, Co-Founder of Rego, Talks About Building A Sustainability Business Diverting Waste With Software (Part 1)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
In this episode of "Conversations on Careers in Climate Tech," Gregory Heller and Jonathan Azoff are joined by Josh Mastromatto, co-founder of , a startup addressing waste management in urban apartment buildings during move-out periods. Rego aims to reduce waste by diverting discarded items from landfills to more sustainable destinations where they can be reused. Part 1 of a this two part discussion covers the the inspiration behind the startup, the pivot from their original idea, fundraising and growth. Josh also shares the challenges of being a first-time founder and the support received...
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Steven Zhang, Founder of ClimateTechList.com Shares Career Advice (Part 2)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
Gregory Heller and co-host Jonathan Azoff continue their conversation with Steven Zhang, the founder of , a comprehensive job site dedicated to climate technology roles for both technical and non-technical professionals. Gregory, Jonathan and Steven discuss strategies for job seekers aiming to enter the climate tech industry. They talk about , emphasize systems thinking, and explore the sector’s diverse roles. The conversation highlights the need for a systematic job search approach, the value of networking, and the importance of aligning personal values with career...
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Steven Zhang on founding ClimateTechList.com (Part 1)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
On this episode first episode of the “Conversations on Careers in Climate Tech” mini series, Gregory Heller and co-host Jonathan Azoff speak with Steven Zhang, the founder of , a comprehensive job site dedicated to climate technology roles for both technical and non-technical professionals. We explore what drove Steven to create the listing, the technology behind it, and how he orchestrated his own pivot to working in climate tech. Steven talks about the importance of networking and informational interviews to map out the industry landscape. We cover the complexities of the...
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Gabriel Scheer Talks About Attending COP28 (with Jonathan Azoff)
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
In this episode I am joined by cohost Jonathan Azoff of SNØCAP, and we talk with Gabriel Scheer, Director of Innovation for Mobility and Energy at . Recorded on December 12th, 2023, the conversation covers Gabriel's fresh insights from his first attendance at COP28, offering valuable perspectives for MBA students and professionals interested in climate innovation and sustainable careers.
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Jonathan Azoff of Snocap Ventures
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
Gregory Heller speaks with , an experienced tech leader who transitioned into a mentor and investor role with a focus on sustainability. Jonathan is a GP at a VC firm that invests in early-stage, profit-oriented platforms that directly and indirectly solve the climate crisis. Jonathan's journey began with a strong interest in environmentalism and computing in high school, leading him to Silicon Valley. He worked in various tech companies like Disney, Zillow, and WeWork before moving into roles more aligned with his passion for sustainability, including involvement in a nonprofit focused on...
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From Non-profit founder to Clean Tech Venture Capital Funder, a Conversation With Alexandra Iljadica
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
Gregory Heller interviews Alexandra Iljadica, an investor with BHP Ventures, in this episode of "Conversations on Careers and Professional Life." Alexandra discusses her journey from running a youth-focused nonprofit in Australia to becoming a key figure in venture capital with a focus on sustainability. She talks about her path through various roles, including setting up the 5G Innovation Lab at T-Mobile, and emphasizes the importance of networking and relationship-building in career progression.
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David Woodson Talks About His Career In Campus Sustainability and District Energy
Conversations on Careers and Professional Life
On this episode, Gregory Heller interviews David Woodson, the Executive Director for Campus Energy Utilities and Operations at the University of Washington. Woodson shares his journey from and undergraduate at UW to his current role as leader in sustainability with a proven record of making an impact. David highlighted the importance of being adaptable and ready to learn in any job. His journey exemplifies the value of being open to various roles and responsibilities, which can lead to unforeseen career paths. David mentioned two books during our conversation: He also the as a resource...
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On this episode I speak with Rachel Hester, Foster MBA 2018. Rachel went to work for Nike in a finance manager role after graduating, and in a little less than a year moved into a role in sustainability Finance. Since we recorded this conversation during the summer of 2021, Rachel has moved on from Nike and joined VMWare to work on ESG strategy and finance.
Rachel shares some excellent advice for students who are interested in pursuing a career in sustainability.
I think there are three key takeaways from my conversation with Rachel:
- Be vocal about your passion. If you want to work in sustainability especially at big company, sustainability might not be in your first role or title. But when you get that job, let anyone and everyone know what your interests are, and you can start that even while you are at Foster.
- Get sustainability experiences during your time in the program, internships, case competitions, applied projects, and things of that nature.
- Identifying your north star, developing a framework to guide the decisions you'll make during the program and stay focused on what your goal is. This is one of the reasons we take all of our students through some design thinking exercises based on the book and curriculum of Designing Your Life which comes out of the d.school at Stanford during our orientation programming.
Some links to resources we mentioned:
- My conversation with Austin Morton about his sustainability career path
- Sustainable World Radio
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Scientific Knowledge
- Doughnut Economics (Book) DoughnutEconomics.org
- Thinking In Systems (Book)
- SASB: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
- Sustainable World Radio
- The Formula Botanica Podcast
And a few more that we didn't:
- MBA-Edge.com
- Sustainable Career Pathways
- http://edsjobslist.com/
- http://www.greenjobsearch.org/
- https://jobs.climatebase.org/