Our guest for this episode is Valentyn Zadorin. He is a private equity investor at Siguler Guff and is responsible for deal evaluation and execution for Siguler Guff’s Global Emerging Markets platform. Prior to joining Siguler Guff in 2022, he was an Investment Banker at Barclays Investment Bank covering the technology ecosystem. Previously, he was a Co-founder and Partner at a full-service 3PL provider in Ukraine and an investor in emerging markets. We get to know more about Val as he talks abo...
May 10, 2022•33 min•Season 4Ep. 124
In today's episode, we chat with Joe Spector. Joe is Founder and CEO at Dutch, an online veterinary pet telehealth service. He is also an investor and advisor to several startups in the healthcare space. Fleeing from Uzbekistan at a young age, Joe experienced a massive culture shock. However, it didn't stop him from adapting to his new environment and learning new things, including English. It wasn't an easy path, though. Because of financial issues, Joe had to work nonstop during college to sup...
May 05, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 123
Our guest on this episode is Nick Wobbrock, Co-Founder and COO at Blue Forest Conservation, a mission-driven, non-profit organization, leveraging financial innovation to create sustainable investment solutions to environmental challenges. Their flagship financial product, the Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), deploys private capital to finance forest restoration projects on private and public lands to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. We are also joined by Brandi Pearce, faculty in Managemen...
Apr 28, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 122
Today's episode is about clean energy, green hydrogen, and decarbonization. Our guest, Sheldon Kimber, has over 20 years of experience in energy finance, development, and entrepreneurship. He is currently CEO and Founder of Intersect Power, a clean infrastructure company bringing utility-scale energy and storage solutions to wholesale customers, delivering value and viability to both energy buyers and asset investors. Professor Severin Borenstein who is an expert on these topics also joins us in...
Apr 26, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 121
Happy Earth Day! In celebration, we had the pleasure to chat with Lynelle Cameron. She is a business executive, investor, and board member with 20+ years of corporate experience helping large and small companies capitalize on market opportunities related to ESG, sustainability, social impact, and climate change. She was most recently VP of Sustainability at Autodesk and CEO of the Autodesk Foundation and is currently at a pivot point in her career. Lynelle got a Master's in Environmental Policy ...
Apr 22, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 120
*Warning: Please note, this podcast includes references to topics including violence and sexual abuse that some people may find disturbing. Today, we chat with Dima Okhrimchuk, CEO and Co-Founder at Organization.GG, a marketplace for online experiences in the gaming multiverse. Dima was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. He had the opportunity to become an exchange student in the US and this experience made a huge impact on his personal development. He dreamt of getting an education abroad and af...
Apr 20, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 119
Our guest for today, Alejandra Arrué Lou, is a solutionist implementing new creative solutions at the intersection of business, social impact, and innovation. She has worked for Deloitte Consulting and IDEO, and is currently a Consortium & Forte Fellow at Berkeley Haas. Spending her early years in Guatemala City and moving to the US when she was nine years old, Alejandra experienced different cultures at a young age. It might seem like a difficult transition; yet, she felt fortunate and priv...
Apr 14, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 118
Today's episode is all about diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Our guest, Cynthia Owyoung, is a DEIB leader and author. She is currently the Vice President of Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging at Robinhood and the Founder and CEO of Breaking Glass Forums, which aims to accelerate diverse talent and inclusive organizations. She also recently published a book entitled, "All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results." Cynthia has always been intere...
Mar 31, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 117
In celebration of Women's History Month, we had the pleasure of chatting with Nanxi Liu. She is Co-CEO & Co-Founder at Blaze and former CEO and Co-founder at Enplug (acquired). She serves on the Board of Directors for CarParts.com (NASDAQ: PRTS) and is one of the youngest women on a public company board. Nanxi also holds a spot on Forbes's 30 Under 30 list of innovative young tech leaders. Although Nanxi is part of class 2012, it wasn't until 2020 that she graduated after completing the Amer...
Mar 25, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 116
As someone passionate about video games since she was little, it is no surprise that Tiffany Chin decided to pursue a career in the video game industry. She specializes in strategic planning and brand management for video games, anime, movies, and other types of entertainment. Currently, Tiffany works as the Global Brand Manager at PlayStation. She also serves as a mentor for the Academy of Interactive Arts, sits on the advisory board for South by Southwest, and is a Forbes 30 under 3 in the gam...
Mar 17, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 115
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we chat with Alka Tandan, Senior Vice President of Finance & Strategic Programs at Gainsight. She is a Haas MBA alum with over 20 years in corporate finance, operations, and mergers and acquisitions. In this episode, Alka talks about how she fell in love with technology while growing up in Silicon Valley. We also discuss her career experiences, especially her transition from a big organization like Yahoo to IGN, and her reasons for pursuing an MBA. Al...
Mar 10, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 114
Marie Thompson is a Principal Investor at Powerhouse Ventures, an innovation firm that works with leading global corporations to help them find, partner with, invest in, and acquire the most innovative startups in clean energy, mobility, and climate. Despite her struggle with health, she's made valuable contributions at Powerhouse Ventures, where she was offered her dream role right after her internship. Marie's perseverance shines because of the mindset she cultivated through athletics. In this...
Mar 04, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 113
Tracy Gray, our guest in this special episode, is a Managing Partner at The 22 Fund, Founder at We Are Enough, and Lead Partner at Porfolia Green & Sustainability Fund. She is an innovative and visionary leader with solid international, investment, business strategy, and marketing experience. With over 15 years of demonstrative team and project management success, including a 200% increase in project funding, Tracy is a relationship builder across various industries – from technology to vent...
Feb 24, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 112
In celebration of Black History Month, we chat with Bosun Adebaki, Business Operations at Plaid. He is an action-oriented and analytical problem solver passionate about using FinTech to make financial systems more accessible to everyone. His extensive background in strategy, finance, and operations has helped businesses across Europe, North America, and LatAm scale and succeed. Bosun was born and raised in a part of London called Hackney, which is known for vibrancy and diversity. He got a Busin...
Feb 21, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 111
In celebration of Black History Month, our guest for today is Eric T. McKissack. Eric is a graduate of the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA program. Currently, he is an Investment Executive and Independent Board Director at different companies and nonprofits, including FlexShares Funds and Morgan Stanley Pathway Funds. He is also a Board Member of McKissack & McKissack, a privately-held, family business that is a national architectural, engineering, and program and construction management fir...
Feb 15, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 110
Alex Abelin had an early exposure to sports, theater, arts, and traveling, yet his hidden passion is in business. At 30, the entrepreneurship calling grew louder that he decided to transition away from his comfortable job in Google to be a trailblazer in tech. Alex launched two tech startups: LiquidTalent and LQD Wifi. The acquisition of LQD Wifi by telco giant Verizon in 2016 marked his successful exit from the company. As part of the deal, he had to reintegrate back to the corporate office and...
Feb 03, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 110
His openness to the possibility that life may not always happen the way he planned enabled Oshri Kaplan to become a successful student and venture capitalist. While he was still undecided on which career path to pursue, Oshri seized the opportunity to grow in various fields, including the military, law, and business, where he gained a network of corporate leaders and entered the venture capital industry. Oshri started his career as an analyst in his homeland, Israel, before moving to Silicon Val...
Jan 27, 2022•28 min•Season 4Ep. 109
Digital business leader Jamie Lee shares her rich experience of traveling and knowing people with different backgrounds and cultures. She took classes in countries that gave her a global perspective as a learner and eCommerce professional. She is passionate about driving change for industry leaders and impacting customers globally. Jamie brings her learnings from working with iconic brands Sony Electronics, Electronic Arts, Walmart, and Nike to her current role at a sustainable fashion brand, Ev...
Jan 20, 2022•42 min•Season 4Ep. 108
People working in a culture with a balance of boundaries and empathy are more motivated to perform well. That's what Laila Tarraf realized in her decades of experience as a recruitment and business leader. She carried this realization and successfully developed a work culture that effectively combines high-performance growth and caring culture. Laila is the Chief People Officer at Allbirds, where she is responsible for guiding and strengthening the company's unique, mission-based culture. She wr...
Jan 13, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 107
Diversity in a learning institution challenges racial assumptions, promotes critical thinking, and allows students to interact effectively with people from varying backgrounds. Representation of minority groups in key leadership roles, including faculty positions, inspires young people to break stereotypes and reach their full potential. Élida Bautista is a brilliant woman of color who had to constantly deal with stereotypes, expectations, and lack of opportunities despite her academic strengths...
Jan 06, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 106
Business Administration alumnus Neeraj Gunsagar knows that straight, even teeth aren't just for looks. Getting access to oral healthcare can greatly improve one's chances of finding a job, starting a relationship, and even preventing diabetes. And at one point, it even saved a life of a bullied teenager. He talks about his initial meeting with Scott Cohen, and before he realizes it, he is looking into an opportunity that allows him to help more people. Neeraj also shares some of his experiences ...
Dec 30, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 105
Doug Galen is the Co-Founder and CEO of RippleWorks. Founded in 2015, RippleWorks connects leading expertise from Silicon Valley and the larger US tech sector with rapidly scaling ventures for short-term, high-impact projects that unlock the ventures' capacity for growth. To help social enterprises scale faster, Doug Galen works with CEOs to figure out their toughest challenges and connect them to leading Silicon Valley experts to gain startup and leadership skills. In this episode, our guest di...
Dec 23, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 104
One of the key issues that employers and job seekers face today is the overcompetitiveness of the job market. Many industries are affected by the pandemic, and companies are finding ways to efficiently spend budget by hiring the right person fit for the job. At the same time, the sheer number of displaced workforce contributed more to the already cutthroat employment marketplace. Our guest in this episode, Brett Waikart, leads a company that aims to reshape how corporate recruiters hire valuable...
Dec 16, 2021•44 min•Season 4Ep. 103
Having endured a major health setback, Brad Kittredge was pushed to think of ways to address a lesser-known but more pervasive problem: the lack of quality mental health care. The healthcare sector faces many issues, including bureaucratic structures, guess and check diagnosis systems, and inadequate access. Fast forward to today, Haas alum Brad Kittredge has contributed to the digital health space by developing tools that enable data-driven health care services. Brad is MBA 09 and the Founder a...
Dec 09, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 102
MBA alumnus Andrés Martell talks about creating lasting legacies. In this episode, Andrés retells his journey into the U.S. Marine Corps and fulfilling his childhood dream to join the military. After leaving the Marines at 22, he founded Vin Ambassador, a travel and events business. Growing up with an entrepreneurial father and a tourism background, he used these connections and experiences to offer something unique. But how did his Haas experience prepare him for this pivot? How did he survive ...
Nov 30, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 101
Technology enables us to work with various people around the globe, but can it also provide a secured interaction and prevent fraud? Alex Martin, our featured Haas alumni this week, specializes in accurate and immediate identification of fraud for diverse organizations in numerous sectors including insurance, government, and many others. Prior to founding Clearspeed, Alex served in the U.S. Marine Corps leading infantry, reconnaissance, and special operations units over 4 operational deployments...
Nov 22, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 100
Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception. - Ruth Bader Ginsburg Our guest, Commander Kelly Deutermann takes us back to a point in her life where she felt that no matter what skills she brings to the table, someone will always doubt her capabilities. Instead of being discouraged, she trained in the US Coast Guard and earned the respect of her colleagues when she was promoted as an Instruction Pilot. Kelly is MBA 2017 and currently a P...
Nov 09, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 99
According to Global Energy Review 2021, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions may rise by 4.8% in 2021 as the economy's demand for coal, oil, and gas rebounds. It causes more harmful greenhouse gases to be released into our atmosphere, contributing to rapid climate change and global warming. Our guest in this episode, Kas Farsad, uses his expertise in Material Science and cement technology to lessen the CO2 emissions in the construction industry. His innovative solutions provide an economical ...
Oct 28, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 98
As part Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, we're featuring Jaime Raul Zepeda, a graduate of EWMBA 2019. Through grit and hard work, he moved alone to America at 17, took classes during the day, and mopped floors in the evening. His family in Mexico developed his passion for business and civic leadership. His dad runs a small business, while his mom actively serves the community by feeding the prisoners, giving free haircuts to the homeless, and teaching adults to read and write. Jaime continue...
Oct 14, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 97
Equity in education ensures that every student has access to quality learning resources regardless of race, gender, and social status. Our featured Haas alum for the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month is Guadalupe Nickell. She understands that students need specialized support to succeed in school and life. Guadalupe’s experiences as a student with a biracial heritage motivated her to address challenges in the public education system. She is a graduate of Berkeley Columbia EMBA at Haas Schoo...
Oct 07, 2021•31 min•Season 4Ep. 96
