Our guest in this episode shows a persistent attitude when it comes to technology and business. Orion Parrott innovated the mortgage industry by providing a digital solution to the arduous financial documentation process, then he went on to co-found a luxury real estate firm. Orion touches on the lessons he learned as a serial entrepreneur and EMBA 2014 alum at Haas School of Business. In this episode, Orion reveals how he dealt with challenges in his startup ventures. Leveraging technology, he ...
Sep 30, 2021•32 min•Season 4Ep. 95
Today at the OneHaas Podcast, we have the pleasure to chat with Eric Alessi, EWMBA class of 2020 and a member of the Blue cohort. Eric recently transitioned from Pinterest to Masterclass as an Insights Manager. Eric grew up in New York but spent some time in Italy, originally where his father was from. He studied History and Legal Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. In this episode, Eric shares his career experiences from being a contractor at Facebook, an Ops Specialist and Insights ...
Sep 23, 2021•25 min•Season 4Ep. 94
Sean’s lively conversation with Digital Wellness Coach Sini Ninkovic centers on enjoying the beauty of life without constantly depending on our smartphones. Early on, Sini learned the role of adaptability to a new environment when his family fled Former Yugoslavia and found refuge in Austria. Later, he would earn an MBA at Haas School of Business and work with BMW, Lucid Motors, and Apple. He teaches how one can adapt to technology without being dictated by their devices in his book Untethered ....
Sep 16, 2021•30 min•Season 4Ep. 93
Chris and Sean chat with Lo Toney, an MBA alum and Founding Managing Partner of Plexo Capital. Plexo Capital is an institutional investment firm Lo incubated and spun out from GV (Google Ventures). In this episode, Lo tells us more about Plexo Capital and its goals. Plexo is a Portuguese word that means intricate vascular network, which is what the company is trying to build. He also shares a bit of his origin, a rundown of his career post-Haas, and how he became a venture capitalist. We also he...
Sep 09, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 92
On this episode of the OneHaas Podcast, host Sean chats with Andrew MacNeil, Executive MBA class of 2017. Andrew is currently the Global Head of Enablement at Flexport. He is also a Coach, Advisor, and Mentor for the UC Berkeley Executive Education program. Andrew shares his background growing up in a military family and his time as a US Army Special Forces Officer. He also talks about why he ended up at Haas after leaving the military and how his career in the tech space took off after he gradu...
Aug 26, 2021•25 min•Season 4Ep. 91
Today's episode is all about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Bree had the pleasure to chat with Nicole Sanchez, full-time MBA, class of 2012. She is the founder and CEO of Vaya Consulting, which offers best-in-class DEI, leadership, and culture consulting services for companies shaping the 21st century, primarily in technology and media. Nicole has been doing DEI professionally for more than 20 years. In this episode, she shared her definition of diversity, equity, and inclusion and why creati...
Aug 19, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 90
In today’s episode, we chat with award-winning lecturer Holly Schroth who leads classes in Negotiations, Influence, and Communications. Holly tells us a little about her history and what brought her to Haas nearly three decades ago to teach Negotiations. She also speaks about what makes a good negotiator, her research on Gen Z negotiations, and leaves listeners with some parting wisdom. Episode Quotes: What makes a good negotiation? "What makes a good negotiation is that both sides walk away sat...
Aug 05, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 89
What is machine learning, and why does it matter? Sang Lee, co-founder, and CEO of Qeexo, Co., answers this question for us in this latest episode. Qeexo is the first company to automate end-to-end machine learning for edge devices. Sang opens up about his multicultural background - growing up in Australia and then coming back to Korea to attend college in a very elite university before going to the US to get his MBA at Haas and experience the Western culture. Sang also shares his extensive care...
Jul 22, 2021•53 min•Season 4Ep. 88
In today's episode, Kenny Vaughn had a chat with Elisse Douglass, co-founder of the Oakland Black Business Fund. She is an established real estate professional and has extensive experience in private equity impact investing. While at Haas, Elisse served as co-president of the Black Business Student Association together with Kenny. Elisse talked a little about growing up in Philadelphia, what made her take architecture in college, and then going into real estate development. She also shared the s...
Jul 08, 2021•34 min•Season 4Ep. 87
Allie Foote (she/her) likes to say she has both a day job and a “gay job.” She is currently the director of digital product strategy at Nike and in addition to her formal position, she is also heavily involved in DE&I at Nike. In this episode of the Crossroads Series, we talk to Allie about how she has brought her personal life into her professional work, the importance of authenticity in the workplace, and how to create a more inclusive office culture for all. Episode quotes: Why she decide...
Jun 24, 2021•36 min•Season 4Ep. 86
What does it take to be an effective leader? Haas School of Business Alumnus and Founder of Group Sixty, Darren Reinke talked with host Sean Li about his book The Savage Leader: 13 Principles to Become a Better Leader Inside Out. Their conversation covered how leaders can form a better bond with their tribe by being humble, showing their curiosity and eagerness to learn. Darren tackled and shared his learnings over the years and how the willingness to put in hard work will eventually pay off. An...
Jun 17, 2021•42 min•Season 4Ep. 85
When Alan Lock unexpectedly lost his sight due to macular degeneration, he knew his military career was over. What he didn’t know was how many adventures were about to begin. In this episode of The Crossroad Series, Alan tells us about how he took control of his life by setting four extreme goals: to run the Marathon Des Sables, to row the Atlantic Ocean, to ski to the South Pole, and to swim the English Channel. He shares his wisdom on the power of goal setting, how to benefit others through yo...
Jun 10, 2021•36 min•Season 4Ep. 84
In this episode of the OneHaas Undergrad Series, Soo Song, 2017 Haas School of Business undergrad alumna, shares her experiences after graduating from the program. She talks about lessons she wished she had known in the early stages of her career, how she is embracing her Asian American heritage, and how she moved from becoming a Business Administration student to building a career in growth marketing. During her conversation with host Ellen Chan, Soo discusses Twitter's newest projects and deve...
May 31, 2021•28 min•Season 4Ep. 83
In today's episode of OneHaas, hosts Ellen Chan and Sean Li profile Haas Alumnus Andrew Chau, the guy who refers to himself (on LinkedIn) as the "janitor" and CEO of Boba Guys. As AAPI and mental health awareness month come to a close, Andrew discusses discrimination and mental health. Andrew discusses how leaders are vulnerable to being dehumanized. Check out his tips on how to handle these mental health issues affecting leaders. Listen to the end of the episode as he discusses his experiences ...
May 28, 2021•46 min•Season 4Ep. 82
In today’s episode, host Sean Li is joined by co-host, fellow alumni, CEO, and co-founder of Sounding Board Christine Tao. An exciting conversation takes place between them and Roy Ng, the founder, and CEO of Bond In honor of AAPI month, the group tackled relevant social issues. Learn how they navigated this situation as leaders of their organization and members of the Asian-American community. Take note of how they draw inspiration from successful Asian-American founders. They discussed their s...
May 25, 2021•32 min•Season 4Ep. 81
Christine Tao, Haas undergrad alumna, co-founder, and CEO of Sounding Board shares her insight with host Sean Li. She talks about how coaching and development led to her rapid career advancement in Silicon Valley's media, mobile, and tech sectors. Discover what inspired her to create Sounding Board with her co-founder Lori Mazan. Learn why leadership development creates a direct impact on business outcomes in the episode and how she made leadership development coaching accessible to all levels o...
May 21, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 80
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, today's episode features Michael Martin. He is a systems thinker, consensus builder, and self-starter who currently serves as the Data and Analytics Global Transformation Manager at Google. Michael and host Sean Li chatted about how mental well-being contributes to productivity and the importance of building a sphere of influence. Besides his professional work, Michael established the John E. Martin Memorial Fellowship and the John E. Martin Mental Heal...
May 19, 2021•38 min•Season 4Ep. 79
Christina Ma discusses how Haas School of Business prepared her for leading a cross-cultural and cross-border team at Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific. The episode features an exciting conversation between her and Dr. Brandi Pearce together with host, Sean Li about how she managed a team with diverse cultures. Her advice for building a high-performance team? Listen to everyone within the organization, from the CEO to the newest employees. A key insight that she offers is that leaders shouldn't follow ...
May 13, 2021•48 min•Season 4Ep. 78
Kicking off Mental Health Awareness Month, today's episode features Somesh Dash. He was recognized as one of the top 100 venture capitalists by The New York Times and CB Insights and by GrowthCap as one of the top 40 under 40 Growth Investors. With roots in India, Somesh Dash, the Managing Director and General Partner of IVP sits down with Sean Li to have an epic conversation around topics ranging: their shared experience of immigrating to the United States, the importance of mental health in th...
May 06, 2021•52 min•Season 4Ep. 77
An entrepreneur at heart, CEO and Founder of Xendit featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30, shares his secrets to start-up success - from finding the right people to setting bigger things in motion. In this episode, we sit down with Moses as he talks about how Xendit started and how he weaved its success. Leading an award-winning start-up digital infrastructure and payment gateway in Southeast Asia, he speaks about his experiences from his days at Berkeley doing 24-hour hackathons, to expanding and lau...
Apr 30, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 76
What happens when you combine the tools of entrepreneurship with the lens of social change? Today, we speak with Alex Budak, co-founder of StartSomeGood, a crowdsourcing platform for social impact initiatives, which has raised over $10 Million USD to fund more than 1,000 different projects across 50 countries using a grassroots community-driven approach. Currently teaching at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, his courses are aptly named “Becoming A Changemaker” and “The Berkeley Changemaker...
Apr 23, 2021•31 min•Season 4Ep. 75
Paul Rice, the CEO and founder of Fair Trade USA, has spent his career making a huge difference in the lives of farmers and growers. In this episode, he sits down with Bree Jenkins to share his learning journey dedicated to social change, which includes buying a one-way ticket to Nicaragua, where he started and led the country’s first fair trade co-op and ended up staying for 11 years. He discusses how sustainability and social responsibility are the real drivers of success, and he calls us to f...
Apr 16, 2021•28 min•Season 4Ep. 74
Scott Kucirek has, hands down, the best job on Earth. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Ocho Candy, an organic (and seriously delicious) candy company based in Northern California. But Scott’s path to Ocho was a circuitous one. In this episode of the Crossroads Series, Scott sits down with Sophie Hoyt to discuss his journey from the Navy to Haas and beyond. He shares insights on how to stay the course when the going gets tough, how to know when it’s time to walk away, why consulting is just not his...
Apr 09, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 73
In this episode, we chat with our special guest, Chase Roberts. Chase is an EWMBA class of 2019 and currently Principal at a venture capital firm, Vertex Ventures US . Chase shares his journey from studying at Oklahoma University and starting his career in finance to his pivot to Sales in the Bay area at a company called Box. He then shares his decision to go to business school at Berkeley Haas and land a job at Segment, where he was involved in Business Development and launching a startup progr...
Apr 02, 2021•33 min•Season 4Ep. 72
From her early days at Accenture to her current position at Amazon, Caroline Lee has centered her career around people. In this premiere episode of The Crossroads Series, she sits down with Sophie Hoyt to guide us through her life and imparts lessons we can all learn from. With a background in recruiting, Caroline shares with us the mantra that helped her unlock her own strengths, tells us how to ensure everyone knows about our own “superpowers,” and teaches us about the importance of setting up...
Mar 26, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 71
In celebration of International Women's Month, Sean Li, together with special co-host Keitha Pansy, welcomes Emilie Cortes, a full-time MBA class of 2002. She is the Treasurer at Compton Foundation and the Chief Financial Officer at Toniic. Emilie shares how being a "secret genius" paved the way for a finance career and how her love for mountaineering helped launch her entrepreneurial path. She also talks about how she got into the global impact investing ecosystem when she joined Toniic, a nonp...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 3Ep. 70
Today, Sean Li and guest co-host Kellie McElhaney, a popular Haas lecturer and founding Director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership (EGAL), chat with our special guest, Monica Stevens. Monica is a full-time MBA class of 1996 and currently the Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Merchant Services. She is the first black woman on the Haas board and the Chair and Founder of the Haas Alumni Diversity Council. Monica takes us back to her early years growing up in a middle-class family, ...
Mar 04, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 69
We welcomed Keitha Pansy from the full-time MBA class of 2002. She is currently the Managing Director at the Women of the World Endowment. WoWE provides institutional financial support to accelerate gender lens investing and promote impact for women and girls. Keitha takes us back to her background from studying accounting at Howard University to finance at Haas and why she decided to get her MBA. She also walks us through her 15 years of blended experience within financial services working with...
Feb 24, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 68
Today, in celebration of Black History Month, we chat with Jason Atwater from EMBA class of 2019. He is the Head of Inclusion & Diversity in Ancestry and co-founder of Black Roots, an employee resource group that champions black employees and customers to enhance Ancestry’s business. He also became the VP of Diversity and Inclusion for Berkeley Haas Executive MBA Program. Jason walks us through his career from being a sales engineer to digital marketing before pivoting into inclusion and div...
Feb 18, 2021•31 min•Season 3Ep. 67
In this episode, we chat with Henry Chesbrough, who coined the term "open innovation." He is the educational director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at Berkeley Haas. He earned his BA in economics from Yale University, an MBA from Stanford, and a Ph.D. in business administration from Berkeley Haas. His research focuses on technology management and innovation strategy. Henry talks a little bit about his background from Michigan to Yale, then Harvard to Haas. He then explains the t...
Feb 12, 2021•42 min•Season 3Ep. 66
