At the beginning of March 2021, the Pedersen & Partners Private Equity Practice Team and the Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice Team had the pleasure of jointly welcoming Andrew Thompson, a Silicon Valley entrepreneurial leader who has been a frequent presenter for the World Economic Forum.

Recognised as a thought leader in Healthcare and Technology, Mr. Thompson has raised over $750 million in private, public and corporate capital over the course of his career in his capacity of Founder and Chief Executive.

The team enjoyed a lively and inspiring discussion, and discussed several topics at length, including Mr. Thompson’s insights on bridging the potential of technology with the practice of healthcare.

We share a summary of the findings below, while expressing our sincere gratitude to Mr. Thompson for his valuable insights.

The healthcare challenge

At least half of the world’s population do not have access to basic healthcare. Every year, about 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty due to out-of-pocket health expenses. Population growth, an increasing number of patients with chronic diseases, and the need to provide new, innovative and affordable treatments are just a few hurdles countries must overcome. Achieving global access to healthcare will require a fundamental shift in the way resources are allocated.

Technology drives a fundamental change

More technologists are working today than they have been over the rest of history combined, so change is happening fast. If you want to know what is going to fundamentally shift the allocation of resources over the next 10 years, it’s a good idea to look back at the last 100 years. The mobile internet and associated digital technologies are a transformative shift; these technologies are remaking all our lives socially, politically, economically, and militarily. They are an opportunity to create a fundamental shift in the way resources are allocated.

The tech industry has created a fundamental shift in the way computing resources are allocated. There are three keys to making this happen:

• Consumerise – a cell phone, not a workstation; more computing power is now owned by consumers than by governments and corporations combined
• Systematise – tech ecosystem that enables a seamless experience; all the complexity is dealt with by producers, not by consumers
• Globalise – sell to everyone, not just rich people in rich countries; most people who own a mobile device make less than $10 a day

Changing the healthcare business model to serve customers Different approaches: US, Europe and Emerging Economies

The key to a fundamental shift in healthcare is what happens in the USA – the most advanced and expensive system, serving as a benchmark for the rest of the world. We don’t have a healthcare system. We have a sick care system. The system was designed in the last century to deal with the major problems of the time: acute disease and trauma. It does the job for which it was designed quite well, and it uses the best technology of the 20th century. It is driven by revenue: producers, payers, providers, and politicians all like healthcare inflation. The only people who would like healthcare to cost less are patients, but they are not part of the healthcare business model in the USA.

Covid may accelerate the creation of a healthcare system that makes use of the best technologies we have today. The potential of a building where you plug in to electricity can be magnified by the power of a mobile device where you log on to the internet. The capacity and expertise of people with knowledge in their heads is potentially massively extended by software and servers with intelligence in the cloud. Products designed to be safe in everybody and work in somebody could become services – tailored to you, your genes and your lifestyle, delivered where you live, work, and play, in ways that you see, measure and understand, at a price you can afford to pay.

European healthcare is also a sick care system, largely government-funded, where the key economic drivers are cost saving and budget compliance. The challenge is again incumbency and creating a change in purpose (from sick care to healthcare) in scaled human systems that is very hard to achieve.

Then there are emerging markets – will people in China see things differently? Potentially, but only if they don’t use business models that are based on the tools of the last century. The problem with healthcare and how it works in many emerging markets (India for instance) is that they try to replicate the US healthcare system in many ways, and thus create another magnificent dinosaur-style system that no one can afford. The opportunity for India is to leapfrog into a very different healthcare market that is consumer-driven, based on mobile phones, and addresses the basic and most obvious healthcare needs. The opportunity is not so much about China versus America or India, but about a generation of young, smart people who see the discontinuity, and who see new business models that can fundamentally change the way in which large industries work. Alongside that, governments can contribute through smart regulatory policy that makes it possible for these new companies to succeed.

Adding value as a VC

It is important to figure out what questions you are going to ask and in what order: Does this make a difference for a patient? Will this make money? Adding value as a VC is backing technology that makes a difference for patients, and then working to ensure there is a business model that will make money. It is not backing technology that will make money, and then working to ensure it makes a difference for patients.

Raising Money

Raising money for an early-stage company requires a strong narrative – a story. VCs are some of the most patient, open-minded and least opinionated people you will ever meet. With that in mind, I always encourage folks to realise they have 30 seconds to get them engaged. A great healthcare pitch is:

• This is what I’ve got: a unique technology, a great team, a massive market opportunity, and a fast path into the market
• This is why it’s important: it meets a major clinical need and we have figured out how to align economic incentives for patient, provider, and payer
• This is why you should invest now: we are executing rapidly and we will hit these value driving milestones soon.

Guest Speaker:

Andrew Thompson,

Managing Director and Co-Founder, Spring Ridge Ventures

Moderator:

Alvaro Arias,

Partner, Global Head of Private Equity Practice Group

Guest speaker introduction:

Lydia van der Meulen,

Client Partner, Global Head of Life Sciences & Healthcare Practice Group

Guest speaker introduction:

Beryl Chu,

Client Partner, Private Equity Practice Group

March 5, 2021 – Bangkok, Thailand – Pedersen & Partners, a leading international Executive Search firm with 54 wholly owned offices in 50 countries, is pleased to announce that Charupat Sangwong has joined the firm in Thailand as Principal.

Charupat Sangwong has more than 15 years of professional experience, with postings in China and Thailand. Ms. Sangwong spent the first 10 years of her career working in Mainland China as a Business Analyst and Technical Product Trainer. Prior to joining Pedersen & Partners, Ms. Sangwong worked for a global search firm, based in Bangkok, where during her 5-year career in Executive Search, Ms. Sangwong partnered with local, regional, and multinational clients on senior leadership mandates across Technology, Professional Services, and Consumer & Retail.

“Charupat’s addition to our Asian team is an important step in our ongoing efforts to expand our strong presence in the APAC region. Her comprehensive knowledge of the local and international executive talent markets and her management consulting expertise will be an asset to our Bangkok team and will add significant value to Pedersen & Partners clients throughout the region,” stated Nisit Krutkaew, Client Partner and Country Manager for Thailand.

“I’m excited to join Pedersen & Partners’ global platform, and look forward to partnering with my colleagues across geographies, strengthening our presence in the region, and supporting our clients in transforming their leadership teams,” added Charupat Sangwong, Principal at Pedersen & Partners.

March 1, 2021 – China – Pedersen & Partners, a leading international Executive Search firm with 54 wholly owned offices in 50 countries, is pleased to announce that Caroline Qian has joined the firm in the Shanghai office as a Principal.

Caroline Qian is a Principal with Pedersen & Partners. Ms. Qian has over 15 years of Executive Search and Management Consulting experience focused on senior level executive search, leadership advisory, talent management, and coaching. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Qian was a Senior Management Consultant with a leading global Executive Search and Talent Advisory firm, where she led senior level searches across Industrial, Consumer, and Technology sectors, as well leadership assessment engagements. Ms. Qian is an International Coaching Federation Certified PCC Business Coach.

“We are delighted to welcome Caroline to Pedersen & Partners as we continue expanding our Greater China team. Caroline brings a level of industry depth and executive search experience that is built on a thorough understanding of the senior leadership talent challenges, pressures, and opportunities. I am certain that Caroline will augment the firm’s capabilities through her ability to identify and attract top leaders, her dedication to transforming organisational culture through building successful teams, and her extensive network in the marketplace,” stated Jed Van Voorhis, Client Partner, Head of Greater China, Industrial Practice, Asia Pacific.

“Pedersen & Partners has won the respect of clients and candidates worldwide, and its global footprint provides excellent opportunities to partner with the C-suite of clients ranging from emerging to international players to attract not only the best leaders, but the right leaders. I’m excited to become a member of this dynamic team, with its unique client and candidate focus that ensures high quality standards in all undertaken assignments,” added Caroline Qian, Principal at Pedersen & Partners.

The future of agriculture will be directly impacted by two of humanity’s biggest challenges: population growth and climate change. With more mouths to feed, less planet to feed them on, and increasingly alarming predictions of environmental shifts, agricultural innovators must figure out how to grow more food, faster and with fewer resources. The implementation of digital technologies will help scale up the planet’s food production mechanisms sustainably. We looked at two major trends, and spoke to stakeholders.

Harvesting data: precision farming

Precision farming combines information science with agricultural engineering, harvesting massive amounts of data from the farming process. Using technological advances such as advanced sensors, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for data processing, precision farming helps monitor big-picture environmental factors, including weather patterns, water distribution, and soil chemistry, as well as tiny measurements such as nutrient deficiencies in individual plants. Described as the next “digital revolution” for agriculture, precision farming has already been shown to increase crop yields while reducing fertilizer and pesticide use, which decreases the pollution of groundwater and depletion of non-renewable resources such as phosphorus.

GPS may not seem like a radical new technology now, but its integration into John Deere tractors in 2001 allowed location data to be collected to within a few centimetres. This innovation reduced fuel costs for tractors by as much as 40%, preventing them from covering redundant areas or missing a spot.

Dutch farmers are the world’s top exporters of potatoes and onions, and the world’s second-largest exporter of vegetables by overall value. By using precision farming technology, such as driverless tractors tilling specific land areas and quadcopter drones collecting data on soil chemistry, water content, nutrients, and growth, the Dutch have more than doubled the per-acre potato yield compared to the global average, and reduced water dependence by 90%.

Digesting data: predictive farming through robotics and sensing technologies

With the rise of powerful agritech tools, making sense of data is becoming easier. Machine learning and advanced analytic tools are already being used to mine agricultural data in various ways. Plant breeders can apply these tools before the seeds are planted. Machine learning can predict which traits and genes will be best for crop production, giving farmers the best cultivars for their location and climate. At the field level, machine learning techniques use satellite data to distinguish between crops such as corn and soy, providing valuable information for crop insurance, logistics, and commodity markets. The intersection of robotics and data from an increasingly connected farm will accelerate this trend further.

Farm robotics are getting better and better, and the viability of this technology is being explored across the agricultural value chain – from planting, through harvesting and meat processing, to grocery logistics. John Deere spent $305 million in 2017 to acquire Blue River Technology, a startup that makes robots which are capable of identifying weeds and spraying them with high-precision herbicide, reducing input costs and increasing efficiency. There is also a new demand for robotics as a service, especially for fruit-picking. By 2024, the agbot industry is projected to be worth an estimated $5.7 billion, a fivefold increase from 2016. Moreover, a myriad of remote sensing techniques, including in-field sensors, drones, and satellite imagery, allow farmers to view their crops from multiple perspectives. With advances in computing and sensor technology, farmers can now access high-cadence, broad-area coverage with field-level detail. These technologies provide farmers with up-to-date information in real-time, so changes can be made to their crops accordingly.

A global trend?

The advances described above represent a global trend, but are not yet globally adopted.

What will it take for data-enabled farming to go mainstream? “Across the world, we see our customers not only taking more of an interest in these technologies, but actually testing them where they are applicable,” says Bernhard Schmitz, who heads the central digital development unit for AGCO Corporation. “But this trend strongly varies from one part of the world to another.”

For instance, demand in big farming nations like India is still lagging behind. Surely for these trends to sweep the globe and become available to Asia’s 144 million farmers, basic digital literacy must be the first step. While many of these farmers now have access to smartphones, very few are using them in their agricultural work. Once these farmers are connected to the agritech infrastructure and can use these technologies to enable data-driven decision making, they too will be able to join the digital green revolution.

Whether it is precision or autonomous farming, the next decade of farming will be strongly impacted by data-driven technologies. There is already a multitude of solutions on the market that are ready to be commercialised. Nevertheless, farmers' readiness to adopt the new wealth of technologies is lagging behind in large parts of the world. Big players and OEMs in farming will have to act as evangelists and watch out for digital talent to bring the merit of new solutions to the rural parts of the planet, where the majority of agricultural products are grown.

Precision farming agritech startups to watch:

• Taranis, an aerial imaging company that provides farms in Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine and the United States with data to identify potential crop issues.
• Tule Technologies, a company focusing on irrigation and water use data.
• Pynco, an agricultural data analytics platform available for over 160 countries, that sends alerts directly to the farmers’ smartphones.
• Xarvio, a fertilizer and soil management platform powered by BASF

January 8, 2021 – Singapore – Pedersen & Partners, a leading international Executive Search firm with 54 wholly owned offices in 50 countries, is pleased to announce that Ruchika Gokarn will be our new Client Partner in the Singapore office.

Ruchika Gokarn is a Client Partner at Pedersen & Partners, based in Singapore. Ms. Gokarn has over 20 years of professional experience in Executive Search and HR Consulting. Throughout the course of her career, Ms. Gokarn has successfully completed numerous senior executive level placements across Private Equity, Technology, Retail, and Industrial industry sectors throughout Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Pedersen & Partners, Ms. Gokarn was based in Jakarta, Indonesia as a Partner and Executive Coach for an Executive Search and HR Consulting firm.

“I am pleased to welcome Ms. Gokarn to our team in Singapore, as an experienced professional, who brings more than two decades in Executive Search and HR Consulting. Ruchika built her career working in Indonesia, but also India and UK and her knowledge of the markets, local and cross-border clients will bring a new wave of closed assignments, placed positions and new professional relationships to our track record in such industries as Private Equity, Technology, Retail, Industrial and others,” announced Reza Ghazali, Client Partner and the Head of ASEAN & Board Services ASEAN.

“Pedersen & Partners’ global team has an impressive track record in maintaining relationships with the existing clients and approaching new ones, especially during this difficult period for companies all over the world. I am thrilled to be joining Pedersen & Partners and work together with my new colleagues on providing high-level support for our clients and help place top-level executives,” added Ruchika Gokarn, Client Partner at Pedersen & Partners.

Brian Cartwright, Client Partner, Supply Chain and Logistics for Pedersen & Partners, and regular contributor to Global Supply Chain, meets exclusively with Hussein Wehbe, CEO, Fetchr, to discuss a wide spectrum of issues from the current state of his company’s business, priorities, his vision for the future and how technology is altering and reforming the industry landscape.

Hussein Wehbe CEO, Fetchr.

Brian Cartwright Client Partner, Supply Chain and Logistics for Pedersen & Partners.

Dubai-based Brian Cartwright specializes in Supply Chain & Logistics-related functions for CXO, VP, and Director-level in global, regional, and country level roles, working with service providers and end-user companies across the globe including large listed corporations, family-owned conglomerates, SMEs and start-ups. Cartwright has over fifteen years of experience in Executive Search and Recruitment. During his career he has owned and managed successful businesses in the Middle East and Europe.

The digital transformation journey requires the repositioning of IT in the organisation. For an organisation’s digital transformation to succeed, IT must evolve from a cost centre to an integral part of the value chain towards the customer. Many asset-heavy companies transform into “technology” companies where data comes to supplant many of the assets previously listed on the balance sheet, driving customer experience and allowing the creation of new business models. As a result, many formerly outsourced or “bought-in” IT functions and solutions are brought in-house.

In this series, we talk to IT leaders across a range of industries about how the choice between “making it” versus “buying it” has affected the makeup of their IT organisations, the interactions with business stakeholders and vendors, and the impact on talent acquisition and retention. This conversation was led by Peter D’Autry and Paramita Lahiri of the Technology Practice Group at Pedersen & Partners.

Satya Samal is SVP and Chief Business Officer Europe and Africa with Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI), a global IT services and consulting corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India.

Satya and his team at LTI have partnered with some of the leading companies in Europe and Africa in their digital transformation journeys. Prior to LTI, Satya held leadership roles at NIIT Technologies and Infosys, where he built businesses in new geographies, incubated new offerings and expanded into new industry verticals. Earlier on in his career, he worked with McKinsey & Co in their London office. He started out with SAP, where he was a Development Manager for SAP’s High-Tech industry solution.

How does your organisation, as a partner on the digital transformation journey, adapt to the shifting demands of companies while they consider in-sourcing technology, demand more agility and try to reduce CAPEX, risk and the time horizons of projects?

Let me start by articulating how we at LTI see digital transformation, and how it has changed the way we design technology solutions, and then respond to some of the other points you mention in the question.

When we started the call, you mentioned digital transformation focusing on the monetisation of data. That is indeed one of the major benefits, but in our view not the only benefit. As a digital transformation partner, we try and bring a broader perspective to our clients.

We see the benefits of digital transformation in five areas.

The first area is about re-imagining existing processes and enabling them with new digital technologies to become more efficient, agile, and responsive by orders of magnitude. A lot of things need to come together to deliver this: automation, AI and ML, thinking about processes from first principles, Lean, looking at processes from the user’s perspective, and ensuring they have a consumer grade experience. We call this Operate to Transform – how can we use technology to transform a client’s operations for a step up in operational efficiency and agility?

The second area is where we look at all data available to a company – structured and unstructured, internal and external, sparse and widely available, streaming and rare events – and then use recent advances in data and analytics including AI and ML algorithms to discover opportunities.

Many types of opportunities emerge – more personalised customer interactions, the automation of complex decision-making activities, monetisation possibilities with data, more efficient business operations using techniques such as predictive maintenance, intelligent supply chain planning, smarter pricing etc. We call this transformation towards a Data Driven Organisation.

Thirdly, we look at how digital transformation can change the way customers, suppliers and employees engage with our client companies. To do this well, we need to go beyond technology.

We must look at the transformation from the user’s experience and ask ourselves what a great experience looks like to them, and then deliver it through all the available tech.

One example of this is how we used design thinking, prototyping, user-centric design etc. to re-imagine how millennials engage with a European bank’s operations in Africa. Our solution brought down the account opening time from five days to half an hour – and equally importantly, it was a pleasant experience for potential customers, very different from tedious, error-prone form-filling. We call this Experience Transformation.

Moreover, digital transformation enables new business models. For example, take an asset-intensive business such as manufacturing, construction or engineering. These companies often have idle machines in their inventories, which can be rented out to other companies that need them but do not own them. This is a great opportunity for a new revenue stream. We can set up a marketplace for renting out idle machinery, and now your idle machines are earning money for you. A new business made possible by digital!

Fourthly, one of the biggest challenges to digital transformation is the IT landscape that clients already have. Many companies have built up their core IT for years. Over time, it becomes clunky and expensive, slowing business change. But we must be careful; it is not prudent to throw away all these investments. Rather, we must make the changes judiciously – bring in the new tech, but also make changes to the current tech so that it enables and does not hinder digital transformation.

A lot of things need to be done towards this end: carve out pieces of applications and make APIs out of them so that they can talk seamlessly to each other and the outside world, get these applications to run on cloud infrastructure, de-couple the business logic from the user interface so that the same business logic can work nicely with all types of user interfaces like mobile, web, social media and so on, de-couple the data from the application in a way that other applications can easily access these data. We call this Digitalising the Core.

The final benefit is that we can change the operating model in line with the digital transformation. We could write the most sophisticated AI/ML-based predictive maintenance algorithm, send messages to engineers on their Apple Watches that a machine needs maintenance, but if we are still provisioning spare parts based on a traditional preventive maintenance run, all of these digital investments will have come to naught. For a digital transformation to succeed, we need to do what we call Digitalising the Operating Model.

Now, going back to some of the points you mentioned in your question: there are many changes in the way we are building digital solutions. One area that

I would like to highlight is the shift from a purely process-centric solution design to a user-centric and experience-centric solution design.

Traditional software designs were rooted in the end-to-end process way of thinking, going back all the way to large ERP rollouts. We start with a sales order, then we do an available-to-promise, then we price, we deliver, we ship, we invoice, and we collect the money. We call this traditional process the “order to cash” process – there’s nothing wrong with it, and it is essential to have a strong process foundation.

But today, an additional element must be added. We need to consider how employees, suppliers and customers engage with these applications, and we need to make these interactions and engagements friction-free, memorable, and consumer-grade. Users today expect an Apple or Netflix level experience.

As a partner, we need to provide additional thought horizons, which is where we use elements such as design thinking, persona-centric solution design, and rapid prototyping.

What does this mean in terms of insourcing and outsourcing, or making vs. buying it?

The core of client engagement remains the same. The sine-qua-non of every engagement is that I must fundamentally solve a business problem.

Today, when we solve these business problems, we see a mix of approaches. We see the lines between insourcing vs. outsourcing or make vs. buy getting increasingly blurred.

As I mentioned earlier, clients are launching new business models, making radical process improvements and designing awesome experiences. Often, there are no software products on the market that they can buy which will meet these needs out-of-the-box. There must be some in-house production, but it is unlikely to be 100% made in-house – it is almost always a mix. Let me give some examples.

We often buy off-the-shelf products, but then carefully develop custom code on top of these platforms to meet the unique needs of digital transformation. By the same token, when we make bespoke applications, we use lot of open-source code components such as licensed rule engines and UI frameworks. We develop these applications on low-code development platforms (LCDPs) that we buy. These platforms have reusable components that help us to reduce the amount of coding and the need for specialised developers. Business users can use LCDPs, and with some training, they can design solutions faster than they would be able to with a traditional software development model.

We also buy many third-party API services, as well as services available from cloud providers such as MS Azure and AWS (which are growing rapidly) instead of making that software ourselves. Our own platform-based offerings, such as Mosaic, Leni and our recently-launched LTI Canvas, provide a foundation for rapid customisation based on the specific requirements of clients. So it is almost always a mix of make and buy.

Now, let me respond to the insourcing vs. outsourcing point you mention. Companies outsource for many reasons – to focus management bandwidth on core areas, to bring in expertise that is not available in-house, to ramp up project teams that are not needed once the project is delivered, to do things more cost-efficiently and so on.

These economic drivers are still valid for digital transformation.

But there is an additional dimension at play.

As I was saying, building good digital solutions requires a broader and deeper view of what is available in the market, what we should buy, how we should configure what we have bought, what we should make, what platform we should use to develop this software and how we can stitch all this together to build the best solution.

Taking the right decisions here is not easy. We need to invest an exponentially-increasing amount of effort to keep track of developments in new products, technologies, and tools. For one client, we recently found that some of the most innovative banking solutions are being developed by an Indian company for a Kenyan business.

In summary, to stay ahead, companies must be deeply entrenched in the network of technology advances being made in different parts of the world. Doing that alone can be inordinately expensive.

Partnership can help here: partners are the critical nodes through which companies can access a network of expertise and innovation without blowing their budgets. Partners like us have accumulated a broad-based knowledge repository from serving many clients, we have formal alliance organisations that work with product companies and know what they are building, and we also work with startup ecosystems to know what is happening in that space. We bring a whole portfolio of services, contacts, and information to clients.

The broader expertise and skill set challenges are still there, and have in fact become more acute. While a few large companies can build digital expertise in-house, many companies struggle. Attracting best-in-class digital talent requires significant upfront investment, attention from management, and employee branding. Moreover, it increases the fixed cost of operations and reduces business agility.

In many cases, the pace of digital transformation is far ahead of the pace at which companies can ramp up their expertise, if they try to do it using only their internal resources.

It is important that the partner must put itself in the shoes of the client, understand the business and the opportunities offered by digital transformation. They need to go beyond technology, and address the client’s business challenges.

How should service providers work with start-ups, who are building some very innovative digital transformation solutions?

Start-ups add another element to the dynamic I just described. Some startups are highly innovative with what they bring to market, but many face the same obstacles.

Companies may talk to many start-ups but be unable to decide which one to stick with. What if the start-up fails? Is the start-up strong enough to survive a cycle of iteration and pivoting? Will the start-up succeed in future funding rounds?

Many start-ups are focused on their core solution, and have not yet worked out the broader enterprise environment into which it must integrate. Very few things only operate at the API level.

The solution offered by the startup may not be at an enterprise scale that can run on multiple cloud platforms. It may not support multiple databases, or make it easy for data to flow in and out of all the applications that our clients are using.

This is where partners can be of help.

We run startup networks in different countries to curate startup offerings for the business challenges that our clients face.

We can de-risk startup engagement for the client, by having an arrangement to take over the codebase if the startup folds. We can build tools and software to smoothly integrate the application into the enterprise environment, or to enable clients to migrate data from their old applications to the new innovative applications.

What kind of timeline do you see in digital transformation implementations?

When I started my career, and I’m probably aging myself here, one could do a five-year or seven-year ERP transformation program, with quite a bit of upfront CAPEX. Nobody wants to do that anymore. Clients look for benefits to be delivered within a year, and in many cases within six months or even earlier.

Nevertheless, it is not easy to find the tools and technology to deliver byte-sized, stand-alone implementations. This is where much of our thinking goes today: how to design transformation programs that can deliver value in a progressive fashion. This problem often requires an empirical approach, so it helps to have experience with other clients in similar situations.

Consulting and advisory companies now bring the capability to deliver projects end-to-end. Many build proof-of-concept projects to demonstrate the expected returns to clients. They even propose outcome-based solutions, where they carry the design, implementation and delivery costs, and then take a profit share. How do you see the adoption of such approaches when you engage with the client?

Let me unpack that question. The supplier selection process has indeed changed dramatically. In the past, we used to receive the RFP, design a solution, enter a discussion, fine-tune the solution and agree on commercials. I will call that the “tell and sell” strategy – tell the client your value proposition, and sell the solution.

That has now changed to “show and sell”. Now we must show that we can build something – and that what we have built can deliver value. Otherwise there is no “sale”. This proof-of-concept-based process is becoming common, especially if it is not clear how a solution solves a specific business problem.

We see a lot of this in AI and ML space. LTI has built its Mosaic Data Engineering & Analytics platform. One of the propositions we offer to clients is that they test the value of the algorithm first, and then buy. We develop the algorithms, test it with the client’s data, pull out the insights, and then clients can use these findings to build a business case and scale their investment in the platform.

You are correct in that

outcome-based pricing is becoming more popular. Clients justifiably want to link the fees they pay to a partner to the value of the solution, and commercial models are rapidly evolving in response to this.

For example, a wealth manager can link the partner’s fees to an increase in the size of the discretionary business, if that was the goal of digital transformation. Rapid adoption of cloud and SaaS technology is also helping – clients can ramp up their hardware and software spend as the business scales up, and not have a big outlay upfront.

With regards to the entry of management consulting firms into the digital transformation space, this is a large market growing at a fast pace, and there are opportunities for different kinds of partners. Fundamentally, players who stay focused on solving their clients’ business challenges and stay ahead in the innovation game will succeed.

In terms of talent, how do all these changes in the go-to-market and client engagement strategy affect the talent perspective of your organisation?

In this industry, talent is an important asset with a supply and demand imbalance.

We invest significantly to make sure our talent stays up to date with the rapid advances brought about by digital. We ensure that our people have all the infrastructure and organisational support available to them so that they can acquire new competencies. Competencies can be of many types: technology competencies such how to develop software using the services provided by cloud providers, methodologies such as Agile and DevOps, functional competencies like supply chain planning, demand forecasting, production planning and many more.

There are a few attributes, however, that go beyond the competencies, and we put quite a bit of emphasis on these aspects.

A few years ago, our CEO introduced a very powerful concept: Shoshin. It comes from Zen Buddhism, and the simple translation is that in the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are only a few.

Digital transformation has amplified the need for the beginner’s mind. We want our talent across the organisation to have a beginner’s mind. A beginner’s mind is curious. We want our talent to be curious about the latest advances in technology, and the possibilities and limitations. We want our talent to be curious about our clients. We want them to be genuinely interested in finding out how our clients run their business, how they serve their customers, how their industry is changing, how digital transformation is impacting our clients and their customers, and so on.

This is at the core of our talent acquisition: curiosity, fresh perspectives and a drive to learn new things.

Our long-term success depends on us continuously doing things that have never been done before. We need to use new technologies to build new solutions for new businesses, and hitherto unsolved problems. In such situations, there will be challenges. We want our talent to recognize these issues, risks and challenges; but we want them to be determined to take these challenges head-on and strive to solve them. Being a problem solver is another important attribute.

We want our talent to be able to look at every situation from multiple perspectives. If I can misquote one of my favourite characters, Atticus Finch, we will never understand our clients until we consider things from their point of view – until we climb into their skin and walk around in it. This is essential when we are partnering with our clients for digital transformation – that fluidity and openness to seeing a problem from many perspectives. This kaleidoscopic perspective opens the door to many creative solutions.

We recognise that we operate in a highly competitive industry. Our success depends on going the extra mile for our clients. For us to do that consistently, we will need among other things talent who are passionate about client value and have the drive and energy to realise their passion.

Chris Barrett, Client Partner for Pedersen & Partners’ Houston office, interviewed Orianna Bretschger and Sofia Babanova for the “Women Leaders – Driving Change” series. Bretschger and Babanova are both experienced scientists, with a diverse and advanced background in electrochemistry, physics, biochemistry, microbiology, material science and analytical chemistry. Together, they founded the award-winning startup Aquacycl, which provides technologies for safe, reliable and cost-effective wastewater treatment. As the top executives of their company, Bretschger and Babanova have the final say in recruiting the right person for the job,and securing a diversity-driven workplace.

Chris: You’ve been a strong advocate for women in the Renewable Energy industry. What are some key issues that need to be addressed to encourage more women to work in this industry?

Orianna Bretschger: One issue is awareness of the different types of jobs that are available in the industry. I wouldn’t say it’s gender specific as much as getting the word out early on in education – in high school, or even better, junior high – that there are some really cool and fun jobs available in water and wastewater. We’ve got a large population of operators who will be retiring in the next five to ten years, and there’s going to be a huge experience and expertise gap to fill. We need people in the industry now, but so many students aren’t aware of these jobs or of the training required to get these jobs – especially women, who are not always encouraged to play with the pumps and the pipes, and may not have awareness of what goes on in these types of jobs and how fun it really is.

I think that’s the biggest thing we can do – raise awareness and encourage women to get engaged early on. We focus our outreach toward helping students understand some of the fundamental science behind technology, that what they can do as a researcher, as a scientist, or as an operator. Building that confidence and awareness in women at a younger age, to know that we can wield a wrench just as well as anyone else, and it doesn’t need to be gender specific. That’s one of the biggest messages to get out there.

Sofia Babanova: That is absolutely true. As a scientist, when I started my PhD, I never thought of what the end applications might be. I was interested in science in general, but the application and where the work was going to go, what kind of technology I was going to develop, that was far away in the future, and detached from me as a scientist in general. Awareness is important, and especially in schools, you’ve got to be thinking about application.

Chris: How do you perceive gender diversity within your organisation?

Orianna Bretschger: We are actually a little female-dominant now. It’s not particularly intentional, though – we always want the best person for the job, and the best people we found for many roles we filled in this organisation happened to be women. You’ll see we are pretty female-heavy in this office, but our engineering team balances that out at the other office. It is important to us to maintain gender diversity, and parity is really the biggest issue that we want to address. It’s about bringing the diversity of thought and culture together, and that includes gender and sex.

We don’t have a specific diversity policy (it’s in process now) – as I said, we want the best person for the job, and we want to make sure that in our outreach and public messaging, we are able to address the first question: why are we doing this? Because we love it, so let’s get more women engaged in order to keep the parity and equality we’ve been able to establish here. Keeping that flow and grounding into the industry is core to what we want to do. The goal is to give team members the best opportunities, and do what’s going to be best for the company and our customers.

Chris: Have you noticed any significant differences between hiring men and women when it comes to the offer and the compensation, with what the women are targeting versus the men?

Orianna Bretschger: I would say there is a significant difference in negotiating confidence. We want parity here in salary, but when we say, “Here is the number. Are you OK with it?” we typically hear yes from the ladies straight away. From the gentlemen we may hear, “Well, I was thinking this number…” rather than an immediate yes, and we rarely get that kind of negotiation from the ladies. With the younger folks, we try to encourage them to do that in the next role they apply for, or even in negotiations with us. You need to associate your value with what somebody else is telling you, and make sure that it is the right value. So, I would say the negotiating part of it is definitely different.

Sofia Babanova: I think having the right mindset is key. In order to fight gender discrimination in general, women should perhaps realise that we think too much about gender discrimination. Especially here in the US, women are always raised with the thought that there is gender discrimination. You apply for the job and you know that you may not be selected, because you are a woman. You have to accept what you can, or what you are offered. You always go to an interview with the idea, “I will be rejected, because I am female”. As a foreigner, I wasn’t raised with that at all, so when I face gender discrimination, I don’t even think about it. For example, talking to guys about technical engineering subjects can be challenging at the beginning, but often I don’t even realize it might be because they have the presumption that as a female, I do not  know what I am talking about. It takes a little bit of conviction, but in the end, if you know what you are doing, and you have the confidence that you know what you are doing, they will get to your level, and there is no discrimination after that. But as I said, in my case, I never thought about it at all.

Orianna Bretschger: In my former life, it was very clear that there was gender discrimination. I had to fight tooth and nail for my promotions, even though I would see male colleagues with far less funding and and far fewer publications get faster promotions and higher salaries. I would see it and fight; I didn’t always win, but it is important to highlight it to management: “Look, I’m seeing this, what are you going to do about it?” Now that we have the opportunity to create our own environment here, it’s refreshing to set the terms.

Chris: I see it all the time with clients I do business with. They make requests ahead of the search, they know exactly what they want, and all I do is to tell them I’ll bring them the best person for the job. When I prepare candidates for interviews, especially women, the first thing I tell them is, “You need to walk in there like you are the only person for that position, walk in with confidence.” Does your organisation follow a deliberate strategy on gender diversity?

Orianna Bretschger: We actually need to intentionally hire a couple of men now, for parity and equality. We are not just seeking gender equality for the sake of it; it’s important for us from a cultural and technical perspective. We want folks who are coming in from other industries and who have different experiences, because what we do is fundamentally very multidisciplinary. In water and wastewater, we’re selling to certain industries, but the technology itself is extremely interdisciplinary. We cover so many different things: chemistry, physics, biology, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering. We’ve got environmental scientists represented here, we have a BSc in biotechnology, Sofia Babanova is a chemist, I am a physicist, we’ve got a bunch of engineers. Those different backgrounds are very helpful for developing what we are doing; we really need people coming at it with different approaches to make the technology cohesive.

When putting teams together, I think it’s important that everybody can communicate in the same language, but that we do not all march in lockstep. For diversity of ideas, we need to be communicating with each other, but not always perfectly. We don’t want a bunch of “yes-people” around, because we won’t go anywhere with that.

Chris: Have you ever received any feedback when people are applying to work with you? Do you think that initially you get more female applicants, because the two founders are female?

Sofia Babanova: The only feedback that I usually get when interviewing people is that we are highly intimidating, with our background, degrees, and publications.

Chris: Do you ever ask anybody, “Why us? What attracted you to us?”

Sofia Babanova: Yes. It’s usually the impact the technology has, and the type of work. It’s never about us personally.

Orianna Bretschger: It’s about the work we do and the technology we are providing, and those are the people we want.

Chris: What are some examples of initiatives or policies that can help women become key individuals in renewables?

Orianna Bretschger: Initiatives and policies! I think the social conversation we are having now in the US is good, because it’s bringing awareness to the fact that there is inequality across multiple industries. We’ve seen this in science and engineering for a long time, it’s in Hollywood and everywhere. I think the social conversation is bringing awareness to the fact that we do need some initiatives to change. If these policies specifically focus on educational outreach, this is a big thing where corporations can bring that awareness to schools, and work with local and broader educational programs. We can say, “Here is a cool job that women can do just as well as men, so come and find out more, do an internship with us.” We can start with exposure, getting people inspired and excited about a career path that they may not have considered. I think these initiatives are important from the corporate perspective, and that they should not just focus on gender, but on recruiting across a breadth of specialties and cultures.

Chris: On top of that, there is one thing that I think goes a little overboard when it comes to diversity as a whole, and I see it in Texas all the time. I think too many companies focus on one nationality, which is discrimination.

Orianna Bretschger: It’s got to be the best person for the role, but what we can do as employers to find the best person for the role is to look in diverse areas. Rather than just two or three streams of resumes coming in, you can look at non-traditional colleges and programs. We recruit out of community colleges, technician certification programs, non-traditional educational programs – we know we can find some really great people there, who aren’t necessarily from conventional STEM backgrounds and big-name college programs that are not always so diverse. Looking across different resources will also add diversity. Again, it’s a matter of exposure – looking into a broader pool, finding the best person for the job.

Chris: Do you do any outreach or speaking about women in the industry, and promoting the technology? Universities have had a steep decline in female and even male STEM graduates over the last three years. It’s primarily that a lot of people aren’t thinking about renewable technology – they think “Hey, we’re in Texas, its’s oil and gas,” and oil has been stagnant for almost five years. Companies are not really hiring: oilfield service companies and oil majors have had continuous cuts. You’re a not a big corporation, and you have to set up outreach.

Orianna Bretschger: Sofia and I both do a lot of outreach, so we’ve been engaged with these schools. We are both mentors and like to educate, so we don’t get any brownie points for that – it’s the satisfaction of doing it. Local organisations and schools frequently ask us to come and talk to their young people, usually at high school level, although we’ve done a couple of middle school events. We raise awareness of job opportunities and alternative careers in the STEM field, and we are part of an industry organisation called TMA BlueTech that is big on public-private partnerships, linking industry with academia and policy-makers and so on. We get opportunities through the events they organise, and I speak on a variety of different panels throughout the year, looking at challenges that we as women face specifically in this field, but also just raising awareness that these are some really cool jobs. We do a lot of that!

Sofia Babanova: I was recently invited to give a talk at Buena Vista High School about being a female foreigner who came to the US and is successful in her career. They want to hear about things like: How did I come? What did I do to be successful? What challenges did I face as a foreigner?

Orianna Bretschger: We do six or seven events like that per year.

Sofia Babanova: Our lab technician heard about our company through her sister, who was part of an outreach event. We were talking to middle and high school girls, showing them what kind of career path they can have. That’s how she heard about us – she came as an intern, and we hired her immediately.

Orianna Bretschger: We’ve had a couple of interns from high school like that, two boys that we mentored, and Sofia is still in touch with them. They were both first generation college-students who were never expected to get into any sort of science field. They were from low-income farming families, and they thought they would go back to farming, like they were doing in school. We met them through a program we run at their high-school pig farm, to treat manure. The high school installation has been our longest running technology demonstration and has connected us to students and speaking opportunities. These two boys came in as interns, and one of them in particular won a state Science Fair for working on our project, and that inspired him to think outside the box. He went through a technology certification program after graduating high-school and now he is the first kid in his family who is not in farming, and he earns over 50K a year making microscopes here in San Diego. Seeing this young man, a minority student, grow and gain confidence and look beyond expectations is super cool.

Chris: Especially when it’s a family thing and you feel obliged.

Orianna Bretschger: But now he can do more for his family than he could before. So that’s been really neat, and hopefully we can have more of those stories.

Chris: You’ve emphasised the best person for the position. How important is diversity for senior management and executive positions as you grow – do you want to have a balance, or are you focused on the best person for the job?

Orianna Bretschger: We want to maintain diversity, as it’s better for business, frankly. We want the best person for the role in all cases and diversity plays a large part of that.

Chris: What advice would you give to women who want to get into renewables and clean technology?

Orianna Bretschger: Ask questions! Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Sofia Babanova: Just go out there and apply! Because most of the time, women don’t apply for positions like that at all.

Chris: Let’s talk more about why you moved into this sector.

Sofia Babanova: For me, it was pure curiosity. I love science, and science brought me here, got Orianna and I together. But as a scientist, I never thought about the final application of the research. It was an interesting toy I could play with and understand how it works, and that kept my mind engaged. Later, when I met Orianna, she started to talk about application. When we started our first pilot installation, I was like, “Oh, cool! That can be an actual technology!”. In general, I think it’s important when we recruit people from academia, they should be able to see that light, and think, “I am not just doing science, there is an application for it.” I filed a few patents when I was at the University of New Mexico, and I never thought that they would end up being used. You write them because it’s good for your resume that you discovered something, but you never think that they will actually be utilised.

Chris: The one thing about renewables which is a significant shift from oil and gas is that there are so many more different technological roads that you can go down. There are so many different avenues and applications, whether it’s wastewater, or creating different fuels, or making processes significantly cleaner.

Orianna Bretschger: Making a process cleaner is a win. There needs to be more awareness that anybody who wants to get into renewable energy can do it. You’ve got to be tenacious, unafraid to walk into the room, and you are going to stick out, because we do. But that can be an advantage: you walk into the room as an equal, you stand out as an individual, and your contributions are equivalent. Every woman needs to understand that, and not be intimidated on the initial step through the door. Sometimes it’s hard to cross that threshold, and to feel that way. There have been a few times in meetings when I very fundamentally realise I am the only woman in the room. There are sometimes moments when it’s just too much testosterone, but often I don’t think about it, and it’s just getting to that confidence – you don’t want it to be the first thing you notice. The first thing that comes out is curiosity about how we can work together, collaborate on a project and make a sale – not thinking about gender at all really helps, I would say. Just go for it, and don’t be intimidated.

Chris: Why do you think you chose this path? Thinking about the environment, climate change, and the influence you have, versus chasing the science?

Sofia Babanova: The positive impact that our company’s technology has helps me sleep better, and motivates me. I definitely do not do it for the money. I love what I do, and when it has a positive impact, that’s always a good thing.

Orianna Bretschger: We’re a startup and our salaries are not awesome. We have stock options, but we are on the lower end of the pay scale, because we have to be. We’ve been able to recruit and retain great talent because people believe in the products, in what we are doing and the impact we can have. I think that’s motivating for all of us. I got into this because I wanted to do something in renewable energy; I did not anticipate that it would be turning poop into electricity, but I love it, and it is a happy accident.

Sofia Babanova: When you say it, we sound like magicians.

Orianna Bretschger: It’s been fun to be on the forefront, and breaking through boundaries in a lot of ways. It’s exciting.

Chris: Lastly, when you are interviewing potential talent, do you discuss people’s motivations for coming to work? Is it important to you that concern for the environment comes up, and does that have any impact on who you think is a better fit?

Orianna Bretschger: Absolutely! People have to come to work and enjoy it, and get more than just a salary out of it. In startup world, all of us wear a lot of hats and you’ve got to jump in, be creative, be flexible. It’s a very dynamic environment, and so it’s important that we have to be very selective of who to bring into the team. Everybody must be able to jam, because when you have an outlier, someone who doesn’t believe in the products or project, or just wants a 9 to 5, they’re not going to fit. Both the environment and the technology are motivations that play a role in who we want to bring in; it’s not going to work for them or for us if they are not on board with both, understanding what we are doing, and the impact of what we’re doing. We all believe in it, and they have to be as passionate about it as we are, and as able to handle the craziness.

Sofia Babanova: A huge part is the understanding that there will be many, many challenges. Nothing is easy, nothing happens smoothly. We are a startup company, so having that mindset at the beginning makes your job way easier. Many new hires think, “I go to work, do my job and I like it”, but can they face the constant challenges? And then later they break down, “It’s too difficult, I can’t do it.” But that’s how it is, you have to be able to handle challenge and be flexible with your tasks and responsibilities.

Orianna Bretschger: And somebody who is passionate will be more open to doing that, so these two things are directly related as far as we’re concerned.

Perhaps the most significant of all recent developments in retail is the growth and progress of e-commerce. According to a joint study by Dubai Economy and Visa [1], the UAE is currently the most advanced e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa, revealing an estimated annual growth of 23% between 2018 and 2022. While customers continue to enjoy the ‘destination shopping’ aspect of visiting a physical store, COVID-19 has encouraged many people to try e-commerce for the first time. This jump in online users is not expected to reduce.

A recent study of ten markets in the region [2], including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, revealed that up to 40% of respondents are now shopping online more than they were before the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Research commissioned by the global consultancy firm Kearney Middle East asked consumers if they would maintain their current shopping behaviours after the pandemic: 48% in the UAE and 69% in Saudi Arabia answered ‘yes’. This behaviour usually translates to shopping that is less frequent and more planned, with bigger online grocery purchases.

Moreover, the World Economic Forum [3] has estimated the UAE’s 2020 e-commerce market at $27.2bn, with similar growth across MENA.

As we monitor shifting consumer expectations during these times of crisis, we can witness new technologies and online platforms gaining prominence. Preliminary data suggests that these trends will remain as the new normal, even after the pandemic has subsided. The retail sector must prepare for the impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and the internet of things (IoT). These high-tech developments are at the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and no sector will be immune to their advancements. In our opinion, this time will be looked back on as a watershed moment.

Supply Chain optimisation enabling a better e-commerce solution

Transitioning retail supply chains to support e-commerce is not a quick fix; it requires careful planning and a clear strategy for implementation. Many retailers do not have their physical operations set up to match the digital processes and service requirements for running an e-commerce business. A beautiful, glossy online store is all very well, but for this kind of transformation, it is essential to have supply chain leadership from people with both digital experience and hands-on supply chain expertise.

Traditional retailers need significant investment to ensure that warehousing facilities and workflows are suitable for managing e-commerce fulfillment and last mile logistics. Investments in technology will provide end-to-end visibility, while the use of AI and Robotic Process Automation will improve speed and efficiency in analysing data and managing administrative tasks. Investment in robotics and warehouse automation is a key requirement, and we are already seeing a marked increase in activity.

One of the key statistics shared in the Q1 2020 Supply Chain Tech analyst report from financial data and software company Pitchbook is that investment in warehouse robotics technology start-ups was $381 million in the first quarter of 2020, a 57% increase from the same quarter in 2019. 

When it comes to managing fulfillment and last mile deliveries and returns, creating an exceptional customer experience is critical to success from initial order to delivery. The ‘Amazon effect’ has created very high customer expectations; today’s consumers expect full visibility of their order, they expect it to be accurate and they want it fast. Moreover, they expect a level of customer service that is second to none.

An added challenge has been brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, where social distancing measures in warehouses and fulfillment centres are slowing workflows and negatively impacting turnaround speed, the solution is to be found in the smart use of technology alongside the human work force.

Will virtual shopping become the future?

Many consumers are now trying online shopping for the first time, either to avoid possible COVID-19 exposure, or to avoid the new reality of socially-distanced brick-and-mortar shopping altogether.

With the shift to e-commerce accelerating due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, it is time for retail brands to consider the next evolution of retail marketing, Augmented Reality (AR). Forward-looking companies are already developing these solutions and working with big-name retailers in different sectors while others are in deep discussions or working towards pilots. The implications of virtual reality for shopping are substantial; shoppers can put on a headset and enjoy the in-store experience from their own couch. We have seen an outstanding amount of innovation over the past few months, with retailers increasingly using technology to help online customers visualise themselves trying out luxury products.

According to a recent Deloitte report [4], the COVID-19 pandemic will force nearly all business to move towards virtual sales. This shift will not only safeguard short-term revenues and profits, but also move companies beyond the current anomalous situation, and enable long-term profitable growth. We have already seen AR try-on tools for make-up, sunglasses, clothing and even homewares.

Gucci has recently embraced AR virtual platforms in its collaboration with Snapchat, allowing consumers to use Snapchat filters to virtually try on Gucci shoes, and see how they look with an outfit. This Gucci/Snapchat campaign highlights the potential of AR for different e-commerce applications, and is available in the UAE, KSA, UK, US, France, Italy, Australia & Japan.

Diesel recently introduced its Hyper Room, a 360-degree digital platform which offers the ultimate virtual buying experience and exhibition space. Diesel CEO Massimo Piambini believes they have set a new industry benchmark for digital transformation.

The Middle East mall experience: here to stay

However, predicting the post-COVID retail landscape is not simple. We anticipate the emergence of a hybrid shopping experience combining online and physical stores, because technology has not yet reached the point where consumers can experience texture in a virtual environment; we cannot touch, feel, smell or interact with products online. It is also worth mentioning the important social role that malls play in the Middle East, especially during the hot summer months. Individuals, couples, families, and groups of friends will continue to visit the malls for shopping, dining, entertainment – a chance to stretch their legs and socialise whilst respecting social distancing in large air-conditioned environments.

Digital shopping will never replace the experience of physically interacting with a product, but with more people looking to buy online more often, providing additional context through digital means is a smart way to go. Provided that the supply chain is properly set up to support both online and physical stores, it’s a winning strategy.

Rebecca Boudreaux, Ph.D., President Oberon Fuels. Trained as a chemist, Rebecca is an entrepreneurial technology executive with a unique blend of technical skills and business development expertise. She has served on the management team or Board of Directors of various startup companies in the clean tech, life sciences, high tech, and non-profit sectors. Presently, she is President and Director of Oberon Fuels, a California-based company making DME (dimethyl ether) as pathway to zero-emission mobility and carbon neutrality. As one of the top executives of the company, she gets the final say in recruiting the right person for the job and securing a diversity-driven workplace. Chris Barrett, Client Partner with Pedersen & Partners’ Houston office, interviews Rebecca for the “Women Leaders – Driving Change” series.

Chris: What are some key issues that need to be addressed in order to encourage more women to work in the renewable energy/cleantech industry?

Rebecca: Speaking of the key issues, I think more broadly about recruiting the most talented people, male or female, for your team, not just about recruiting women. Particularly now, I think that employees are really thinking about working conditions and perhaps the future of work. One thing that I think is a key issue for women, but also anyone who is the primary caregiver in their family, is the work schedule. In the COVID reality, we are obviously seeing people redefine how, when, and where we work. Children are unable to go to school. People are unable to get additional help to support their aging parents. This is not just a challenge for women, but for all caregivers. Balancing work and home has always been a challenge, but balancing work and home, from home, is the challenge of our day.

What does the future look like? Is it a hybrid of going to the office and working from home? What works for one person may not work for someone else. It’s unlikely that every remote worker can predictably be online from 8 to 5 every day now, but you have to trust the employees to get their work done. The details – how, when, and where they work – are less important. What is important is that everyone is on the same page with their expectations, workforce processes, and communication channels for their teams.

Flexibility is very important for everyone – not just for recruiting women in the renewable energy industry. Flexible working arrangements enable companies to include people who are single caregivers for their children or parents, or who are in similar situations. At the end of the day, we want the most diverse workforce. We want the best talent out there, and having the most options to get the work done is one way to do it.

Chris: Will Oberon Fuels follow a deliberate strategy with regards to gender diversity, or is it more about just hiring the best person for the position? Is there any differentiation between them?

Rebecca: We will always look for the best talent out there, but we are simultaneously committed to a diverse workforce. Why? Because diverse workforces perform better. According to McKinsey, companies with a diverse workforce are 35% more likely to outperform those without diversity initiatives. Boston Consulting Group found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue. Cloverpop discovered that when diverse teams make a business decision, they outperform individual decision-makers up to 87% of the time.

Diversity for us is not just gender, race or creed. It’s diversity of experiences. We look for people that bring a new element to the team – whether that is work experience, academic training, time in a different geographical location, etc. We want the most talented people out there and we want people who offer a unique perspective. It is important to remember that while it’s hard for individuals to be well-rounded it’s not hard for teams to be – if you do it right. People who have different life experiences, different workforce experiences, and who come from different places each offer a different perspective. There’s a saying – “All of us are smarter than one of us" which I think captures this sentiment.

Chris: What are some good examples, initiatives and/or policies that you have seen in your career, that may not be implemented in certain organisations, but that can help women become more influential within the market or within a specific industry?

Rebecca: The importance of having role models, mentors, guides, etc. can’t be overstated. For example, many children start out interested in STEM – science, technology, engineering, and math – but lose interest or hope when they don’t see adults who look like them, or who come from their backgrounds, in these industries.

In particular, it is important for young women to see other women further along in their careers in the renewable energy industry. It should not seem out of the ordinary to see a woman keynoting at an energy conference…but yet sometimes it still is. I think that getting out there, speaking at various conferences and being a role model as I do is important.

Progress is happening. Trucks, a venture capital firm in the Bay Area, has a policy – they will not allow any of their venture partners to participate on a speaking panel unless there is at least one other female panellist present. Event producers are making greater efforts to prioritise people of colour and women when slotting speakers, in a push for more diversity.

It is also important for young female professionals to continuously work on their professional development, becoming the best version of themselves. Different genders often ask for different things in their professional development, but what is important is that everyone has an opportunity to grow.

Chris: What advice would you give to women who want to study or work in STEM, or who are either on the fence or wanting to enter an energy career or a STEM environment?

Rebecca: STEM can lead a whole variety of different careers. I am trained as a polymer chemist with a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering. What I love about being trained as a scientist is that my education taught me how to solve complicated problems, and that translates across countless industries.

During my graduate studies, I was synthesising new polymers for applications in gene therapy, an area which uses DNA to treat genetic diseases. After spending several years making these materials, I then had to learn a new discipline – microbiology – to test them and see if they worked. I had to learn a new area of science, new terminology, and a new way of thinking. But most importantly, I learned to adapt quickly, understand new areas, and solve complicated problems with a limited amount of information.

For the past fifteen years, I have worked in early stage companies solving different problems. From the biotechnology sector during my time at Intezyne Technologies to the renewable fuels sector at Oberon Fuels…very different problems, but, at the end of the day, it’s about unwinding complicated issues and figuring out how to address them one step at a time.

I think a STEM educational path is extraordinarily valuable, and can be used in numerous ways. Traditionally, scientists become professors or enter R&D for large corporations. However, more and more, you are seeing scientists using those same analytical skills they have developed over the years and branching out to develop policy for governments, launch or support early stage companies, become investment bankers and patent attorneys…applying their skills in different ways.

Chris: When recruitment or hiring isn’t a priority, do you ever maintain an emphasis on identifying female candidates in particular, for potential future roles and/or networking for future positions? Do you look at that as an emphasis? There is something of a lack of talent, especially within the renewable sector.

Rebecca: Even when we are not actually hiring at our company, we always keep our eyes open for the best talent, whether male or female. We really want the most talented people on our team. Diversity on multiple levels is most important to us. We want to find the best people to help us solve complicated problems. It is important to build and maintain a network, but you never know when you can collaborate with someone who is in a different role today to help you solve a new problem for your company tomorrow.

Chris: Lastly, are you currently involved in any mentorship programs? You have had a successful career to date, so are you able to mentor other women right now?

Rebecca: The main organisation with which I have remained involved over the years is called WOMEN in America, originally as a mentee over 10 years ago and now as an alumna. The organisation is based out of New York City, and it was started by a group of women who met at the Forbes Most Powerful Women Conference. They recognised the need for women in the earlier stages of their career to have access to high-level female mentors and development opportunities outside of their companies. So they started the organisation, and I was a member of their first mentee class. For three years, I flew from San Diego to NYC three to four times per year on my own dime to learn from my mentors and to continue to develop professionally. At that time, I was transitioning from my first biotech startup, where I had sold my stake in my company, and I was determining what was next for me. This organisation was a game-changer for me! My mentors helped me clarify my vision, and translate my training as a scientist and my experience as a startup co-founder and executive to a new industry and the role I am in today.