Climb, Shift and Launch: Try them all!
Don’t wait your turn. Make your own opportunity.
Oliver’s tips for shifting companies
When I started the EMBA Program, I didn’t know if I would climb, shift or launch. But I did know one thing: I wanted my career to combine my experience in environmental management with business management. With coursework and resources in sustainable enterprise, UNC Kenan-Flagler provided an opportunity to meet this goal.
At the time, I was working as a project manager for an engineering design firm that helps companies with their environmental problems. I mapped out two possible career paths within my existing company. One path would make me a climber by moving into a corporate strategy role at our San Francisco headquarters. The other path was intrapreneureal; I considered developing a proposal to launch a sustainability practice within our engineering firm.
Meanwhile, I also investigated shifting to another company with sustainability as its core mission. I found Cherokee while researching companies that recruit at Kenan-Flagler. Al Segars, professor of our Sustainable Enterprise course, had great things to say about the company, so I decided to pursue opportunities with them.
Cherokee is a private equity firm that buys contaminated real estate, cleans it up and redevelops it in a sustainable manner. When I saw a job posting on their website, I applied, even though I knew I wasn’t a good fit for that position. My environmental experience and business education caught their attention, and I met their managing director. It took a full year of cultivating that relationship, but one day I got a phone call that resulted in a job offer.
In many ways my new job is similar to my old one, but in other ways it is very different. I’m still technically focused – my role is to understand and manage the environmental risks at our properties. But I also use my business skills to communicate these findings to inform Cherokee’s investment decisions.
It took a lot of work and patience, but I’m glad to have a new career that allows me to pursue my interest in the business of sustainability.
Oh, the places you’ll go!!
A comment from Anil Shivdasani, UNC Finance Professor, about “good people working with bad business models” spurred my interest in developing new models for healthcare delivery. My UNC MBA opened new worlds of opportunity both at home and abroad.
During the MBA program, I applied accounting principles to restructure my division for improved returns on investment while enhancing work-life balance and employee satisfaction. Service-line innovation and operations redesign (both done as part of class projects) resulted in sustained improvement in patient access and throughput. The model was scaled to an institutional level by the time I finished my MBA.
The next adventure required all the cultural skills and business training that are part of the UNC MBA program. My interest in social entrepreneurship led to a project with the Government of the US Virgin Islands, setting up child health services through the public sector. You can read about the challenges and opportunities of this project on my blog.
While considering available career options for next year, I used my UNC MBA analytics training to make a decision among several opportunities. Next year, I will be heading up the US clinical research team of a Swiss biopharma firm. This position engages my clinical skills, business training and global health interests. I’m climbing, shifting and launching all at once!!
If you know where you want to go, the UNC MBA will definitely help you get there.
Neil D’Cruz, MD, MBA Evening 2006