Scaling Clean
Jul 12, 2022
Episode 7: Graham Richard
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Host Mike Casey talks with Graham Richard, the former mayor of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He's one of the few people in clean tech who served in elected office. After his political career, Graham took the reins at the Advanced Energy Economy, a national trade association. He's now a senior advisor at the San Francisco-based investment fund, Finite.
More episodes from Scaling Clean
Dec 20, 2022
Episode 14: Jing Tian
Hello #cleantechers! Listeners of Scaling Clean know our show is designed to bring you management and leadership wisdom from experienced company leaders in the clean technology industry. Today, we are bringing you perspective from Jing Tian, who co-founded her own company early in her career and also led the U.S. presence for three different international cleantech firms. And Jing Tian is also Dr. Tian, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Drexel University and served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Chemistry Department at Princeton University.
Jing is now the chief growth officer of Tigo Energy, a company accelerating the adoption of solar energy worldwide through innovative solar power conversion and storage products. She has a wealth of insights from her career of building and managing teams in the clean technology sector, some of which were international in their scope and their focus.
Timestamps:
3:55 — When faced with the challenges of managing multinational teams within global companies, it’s important to understand differences in culture and normal business practices. But building trust as a leader is just as important – and it’s universal.
6:08 — In managing trans-Pacific teams, Jing observes that in China, many young employees aren’t inclined to challenge assumptions of their superiors. To overcome that dynamic, it’s important to go the extra step to create a company culture that empowers everyone to share their opinions.
12:42 — When hiring, Jing advises that employers remember that many potentially game-changing new hires have less than 10 years of work experience. During the interview process, she focuses on learning how candidates perform under stress and multitasking demands. Are they good with people? Are they detail-oriented?
Find out more about Tigercomm’s work at the center of the cleantech industry at _www.tigercomm.us_.
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Dec 8, 2022
Episode 13: Silvia Ortín
Hello #cleantechers. On today’s Scaling Clean, a discussion with Silvia Ortín. She has worked in the power sector her entire career. Silvia started as a contract trading analyst for TXU Energy in the late 1990s. Over a quarter century later, she is the CEO of RWE Renewables Onshore Wind and PV division. Silvia is the first woman to hold the position.
Our goal on Scaling Clean is to aggregate insights from CEOs, investors and advisors on building and running winning teams at clean economy companies. I am really excited to share this interview with our listeners because Silvia has experience as a key part of #cleantech teams in four countries on both sides of the Atlantic. She is a rich source of culturally-portable management lessons invaluable on the global stage.
Timestamps:
1:08 — As a female professional, the importance of having exposure to strong female role models who can show that women’s business voices deserve to be heard.
8:45 — Working in cleantech is “almost a lifestyle,” differing from other sectors because employees are passionate. That passion makes running a cleantech company easier, because employees see they’re working towards something bigger than themselves.
12:59 — Diverse teams have a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing their company.
20:15 — Hiring is difficult because decisions often must be made with a limited amount of interaction with a job candidate. Trust your instincts and have another interviewer in the room for additional perspective.
23:39 — Firing is the hardest part of the job. Be prepared and thoughtful, and have specific examples of what triggered the dismissal.
24:46 — Being a CEO can be a lonely position. Learn to enjoy the role. It makes making tough decisions easier. Surround yourself with people you trust, but who also challenge you and make you better.
Find out more about Tigercomm’s work at the center of the cleantech industry at _www.tigercomm.us_.
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Dec 5, 2022
Episode 12: Claus Nussgruber
Hello #cleantechers! Ever heard the joke about the engineer who walked into a podcast interview and turned out to be a fountain of wisdom and soundbites? Well, our guest today is just that… except he’s no joke.
South African-native Claus Nussgruber leads Utility Global, a net-zero hydrogen company based in Houston. He spent his 31-year career working in and leading corporate initiatives focused on hydrogen and other rare industrial gasses. To me, Claus represents the influx of talent that’s coming into cleantech from other parts of the economy. They’re diversifying the available expertise and perspective, and we’re the better for it.
And you’re going to be better for listening to Claus. While we like to keep our takeaways to five or fewer, this was one of those interviews that overflowed with so many great nuggets of wisdom that we just couldn’t winnow the list past this.
Timestamp:
2:40 – How Nelson Mandel taught Claus to level set his experience of frustrating situations and irritating people.
6:19 – Corporate leadership is not about issuing instructions. Rather, it’s about creating a common goal and organizing the team effectively around it.
9:19 – Running a cleantech company is about realizing potential. Running a company in a more mature space is about maintaining the potential that’s already been achieved.
11:15 – New companies don’t have brand, so the clean economy CEO is the catalyst for the brand’s buildout.
15:17 – Why Claus hired an in-house coach and made the coach available to all of his employees.
18:19 – How opera serves the same purpose for Claus’s CEO performance as ice baths serve athletes.
Find out more about Tigercomm’s work at the center of the cleantech industry at _www.tigercomm.us_.
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