Three MBA Summer Interns in Business and Climate Change Flashcards
We’re talking with three current HBS students, Nabig Chaudry, Mitch Hirai and Kamya Jagadish, who spent their summers working in climate related internships and are interested in pursuing careers in climate and business after they graduate. They’ll share where they go to stay on top of current climate trends and how their MBA experience is shaping how they approach working in the field.
Kamya Jagadish:
I worked in the federal government for a bit and then came to Harvard where I’m doing my Master’s of Public Policy at the Kennedy School, as well as my MBA. And I really wanted to do both because I felt like I really needed to understand how do I leverage policy so that we can work better with these private companies to solve climate issues, as well as urban sustainability issues. But then clearly, private companies are so often actually providing the solutions themselves. So that’s why I wanted to get the business school degree as well.
11/10/23
20/02/24
Through search and through talking to people, I found this organization called the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, also known as LACI. And they have this really crosscutting mission, where they’re trying to create an inclusive green workforce. And they do that through the incubation of cleantech companies, but also workforce development programs and some policy advocacy. And I really loved that it cut across all of the sectors
Mitch Hirai:
I have been wondering how I can combine my past background. So one from a strategy consulting and another from philanthropy. So I was trying to land in some position at the intersection between social impact and business. And through the introduction from one of the HBS professors here, I landed in venture capital called GLIN, G-L-I-N, Impact Capital, founded by a group of HBS alumni in Japan. And then GLIN, they’re focusing on, how do I say, social impact/ESG Environment and Society of Governance type of investments with their expertise in venture capital. So they are supporting startups in climate tech and meta tech and edu tech and fin tech. They were trying to expand their portfolio, not only in Japan but also in the States. It was amazing for me to get exposed to so many startups in the States in this area of climate response and other green tech.
I thought maybe I can pursue another career in public service, but at the same time I knew that it’ll be important to get exposure to more industry. So I went back to Japan and I joined the Boston Consulting Group. I worked for them for about two years. Then I moved to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the biggest philanthropic organizations. And they established a Japan presence back in 2017. And I became a second employee up there. And I thought that it would be very important to further develop, not only the business acumen, but also leadership skills. So that is why I decided to pass through MBA at Harvard and then I’m here.
Nabig Chaudry:
I was based in London over the summer, specifically at Climate X, which is basically a climate risk startup that produces software that allows users, mostly financial institutions, to be able to assess their really location specific asset vulnerabilities. So what is the impact of climate change, not only today but into the future for a lot of these physical assets, whether those are buildings or structures. And so I think in that space as well, I had a few other colleagues also from HBS who are working in similar tech driven climate startups. And so one of them was actually with Sylvera, which was really exploring this idea of carbon markets and carbon credits.
Mike Toffel:
I wonder if there’s advice you can give folks who are thinking about internship pursuits, whether they’re undergraduate students… One of my sons is a junior in college thinking about internships. Of course your classmates, your first year classmates in MBA programs are all right now thinking about internships.
Nabig Chaudry:
I would tell my younger self. people had always told me, but I don’t think I had quite internalized it, but this idea that you can reach out to anyone and just because there’s not an internship posting or something that’s maybe necessarily readily available online, doesn’t mean that there’s not an opportunity there. And so I actually think a lot of my internships are, especially with these startups which are growing very fast, there’s a lot of opportunity, but they’re not necessarily thinking about taking on interns. I just cold emailed them. So with Climate X in particular, I had just actually sent an email to the CEO and was like, “This startup sounds really cool, it really matches my background. I would love to contribute in any way I can this summer. Here’s some ideas I’m thinking about that I think could be impactful to you, but open to hearing whatever you think.”
And I was actually really surprised he ended up getting back to me and then connected me to the chief product officer and then we had another couple conversations and then the interview process started and it was a role that wasn’t necessarily readily open or available, but I think because I had reached out and there was a good fit, it was just an opportunity that created itself. And so I guess that would be my biggest piece of advice is to not be shy about reaching out and creating those opportunities for yourself and also to not be shy about sending follow-up emails.
So I think actually for a lot of my responses, I didn’t get a response back until maybe the third follow-up email. And it’s not that people don’t want to respond, I think everyone was very open to having a conversation or listening. It was just, people are busy and there’s a lot of emails coming in. So hopefully just catching them at a time where they can look over your profile and be of support or provide some guidance in terms of whether there are opportunities in this space or not.
Mitch Hirai:
I would say try to take advantage of the resources that are available, identify as much as possible. And from the perspective of international students, when I first came to HBS, it was very difficult to find key players in this space in the states or outside of the States. So I asked many of my friends who have expertise in the field of my interest or I asked many professors who teach relevant courses. And then I found GLIN Capital through the introduction by one of the HBS professors, as I mentioned. And it was very helpful because even Japanese startups or Japanese venture capital, without proper introduction, I wouldn’t be able to find out, or it would be a little bit difficult to reach out to founding members. So I think network and trying to take advantage of the resources available.
Mike Toffel:
I think a lot of people when they think about networking, they feel it’s a little bit uncomfortable because you’re looking for a job, but sometimes you’re networking just to understand who the players are and who might know who the players are. I think that’s a really important distinction between the fear or loathing folks have about networking if it’s direct job asks, versus this background research that you described.
Kamya Jagadish:
I really do think that so much of what’s happening and what’s super interesting in this space is not necessarily happening at huge companies that might recruit through traditional channels. And I also just messaged the CEO of LACI on LinkedIn and that was what led to conversations and getting the internships. So I think definitely if there’s no job posted, you should still try reaching out and even just having a conversation to Mitch’s point and seeing who they think is doing other interesting work and really treating every opportunity to talk to someone as an opportunity to learn about other interesting problems or interesting companies or people.
Mike Toffel:
So how do you keep track of this? What are the news sources or databases that you use to be your inbound filter?
Nabig Chaudry:
I think there’s more and more that are coming out even on a weekly basis. I think my go-to for anyone who’s interested in climate tech is really Climate Tech VC. So CTVC I feel like offers a really good grasp of just getting a lot of primers on really basic climate information and how different industries are decarbonizing. I think from a knowledge base, I think, New York Times offers a really good Climate Forward newsletter, which is really good just to keep a pulse on the industry and how regulations are changing the space that exists. And then I would say another thing might be actually just looking at climate specific job boards. I think some of those are coming out more often, and I think you can also get an idea of which sort of industries and spaces are growing really quickly there as well.
Kamya Jagadish:
For me, I follow a lot of things like City Lab. And honestly maybe at this point roughly half of their articles have to do with the climate. So it’s interesting to see how that has increased over time as well.
Mitch Hirai:
We always use basic resources like Crunchbase and also Y Combinator other accelerator programs. They provide a list of startups that are doing many social impactful or sustainability related businesses as well. And also just by networking with other venture capitals across the regions, not only in the States but in Singapore and other, in London, et cetera, so that they can provide a list of their investment targets.
Mike Toffel:
Let me ask you a somewhat self-serving question. So as an instructor at a business school and a big fan of all the directions that you guys are exploring, I think a lot of folks have a question mark about whether business school is the right use of time and resources. It’s two years, it’s a lot of money, it’s a pause in your career. And I wonder if you can reflect on that question about how are the management skills that you’re learning at business schools helping you navigate these spaces that you’re going to?
Kamya Jagadish:
I think that the thing that comes to mind first for me is just the importance of being able to storytell and communicate effectively. Which I think is something that, not only is something you learn formally, maybe in a marketing class or something like that in business school, but also just every day in the classroom. And just being able to succinctly get a point across and convince people of your idea is something that I feel like I really get to exercise genuinely every day here at HBS. And I think it’s really important and was really demonstrated to me at my summer internship where I was talking with foundations to get them to fund our program.
Mitch Hirai:
And also just to be surrounded by many students with different interests always inspires me. And now I am thinking about launching my own venture to address a talent gap in social impact and ESG spaces in Japan. And I thought about this idea because I was surrounded by many HBS friends who are also thinking about their own venture. I think if I just stay in organizations as an employee, it would be impossible for me, and to have more courage to think about this venture idea of my own. So yes, I think my days on HBS for two years would be worthwhile.
Nabig Chaudry:
I think for me, maybe I’ll split it into two parts. I think one is just a personal development piece, which I think has actually been so incredible here and I think feeds into everything we do professionally, personally. And so I feel like being at HBS and being surrounded by such a breadth of people and individuals and being in this classroom setting where you are learning all these different things, I think has actually pushed me to be almost a better person and have a better understanding of self and my own relation to the world. Which I think has also fed back into the aspirations and climate and work itself. I think the second piece I was going to say is, I’m coming from a science background, and so I think part of me, especially at Berkeley, was surrounded with a lot of scientists who are very brilliant.
I think there’s a lot of really cool ideas and research happening, but there is this inability or this struggle to figure out how to make products, or make research or make any work being done there really resonate with the larger populace. And also be able to create really impactful work. And so I think the MBA just gives you an opportunity to really bridge that gap of being able to be like, for me, “How do you take science and really turn it into something really actionable that can really support individuals, policy makers, business people, in terms of really making decisions and really incorporating climate into their every day?”
Mike Toffel:
I think when I pursued my MBA a little while ago, it was also to understand the different functions, understand their language, understand their incentives. So as you’re trying to make change in organizations, you can’t be an effective persuader if you don’t really understand all the players and what their potential sources of resistance are, based on the incentives that they’ve been provided. And I think the multidisciplinary approach that all MBA programs have in their first year, give you that language of, “What is the CFO going to say? What’s the COO going to say? What’s the Chief Marketing Officer going to say,” As you pitch your idea that you think is fantastic. And so it helps reshape a little bit your perspectives, and it helps inform you about what information you better get before you start pitching this around because you just know it’s going to fall flat if you haven’t done that type of homework.
Let me turn to what we ask all of our guests as a final question, which is just general advice. You’ve given a lot of helpful advice on particular tips and tricks for internships, and you’ve talked a little bit about the value of MBA programs for yourselves. Our listeners are folks who are interested in business and climate change, maybe in one role now, thinking about other roles, or maybe thinking about getting into this space. And so just general thoughts that you might have for folks who are thinking about career exploration or career switching.
Nabig Chaudry:
I think for me, it was always nature and environment and climate were spaces that kept drawing me and were really consistent in my life for a really long time. And so I feel like there aren’t actually, again, for me, weren’t that many consistent threads that existed throughout my entire life, except for this sort of environment theme. And so I think connecting to that and realizing that this was always something that was important to me, I think really helped me figure out that that was a space I wanted to impact.
I don’t think you need to, if you don’t want to go to grad school, to learn it. I think there’s also so many online learning opportunities and books and things that are coming out that give you the ability to catch up and figure out where you want to make the impact in this space… Sorry, I guess maybe one more thing. I think there’s few places where you can have impact, make a good living, and do really meaningful work. And I think climate is actually one of the only few spaces that currently exists in our day and time that lets us do that. So make the leap. It’s a great place to be.
Mitch Hirai:
One thing I can add is that now no businesses, no organizations can escape from climate change. All of the organizations have to plan what they can do in response to climate change. So maybe for instance, I was from the healthcare because the Gates Foundation was focusing on healthcare, but now they are also looking into how they can make an interference in response to climate change, because there’s an interconnection between diseases and climate change. And I think that can be applied to so many industries, even fashion or even other manufacturing or even financial institutions. Now, all of the organizations, regardless of the industry, they’re working on climate change. So I think it’s important to be open-minded, don’t restrict yourself into a specific field. I think now climate change is relevant to any industry.
Kamya Jagadish:
To Nabig’s point, you’re not too late to get into this space. But even beyond that, I think that everyone should recognize how much their opinion can matter. Especially, let’s say your company is thinking about climate for the first time and you care a lot about it. If you’re pushing things forward and thinking about how your company might think about a sustainability strategy, if you want to do it, your opinions will be really impactful there because it’s not like there is a recipe that always works, otherwise we would’ve maybe made more progress at this point already.
I would say, beyond just clicking on the articles that seem interesting to you and understanding what in the climate space you’re naturally being attracted to, which is what Nabig was saying, I would also think about writing more and just thinking about how do you form your own opinions. Since so much of this is changing and so much of this, there’s no set guidelines or rules around yet. If you’re reading an article and you have a thought, maybe write it down and flush out your own idea around it. I think it’ll help you be an even more impactful climate activist in your career moving forward.
Mike Toffel:
There are many reasons I love teaching at HBS, and the number one reason is the fantastic students that we attract and who choose to come here. And I hope that our listeners have gotten a little bit of a taste of just the remarkable students that we bring to our campus. So Nabig, Mitch, Kamya, thank you so much for joining us on Climate Rising.
