Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Invites

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The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to climate change, and concerns around sustainability and the environment are growing among conscientious consumers. Join our host, Philip Guarino, as he interviews Andrea Baldo, the fashion CEO with a steadfast commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

As the CEO of Ganni, Andrea and his team have cultivated a creative and innovative brand through transparent and authentic customer communication. The result? Ganni has built a cult following, a community which has driven its explosive growth. From its humble roots as a Danish company, it is now one of the hottest brands on the international stage. But just how did they do it? Listen and find out.

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Andrea Baldo is CEO of GANNI, the Danish contemporary fashion brand which has developed exponentially over recent years with its Scandi 2.0 sense of style full of personality and contrasts.

Andrea received his degree magna cum laude in Economics from the University of Verona and he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

He has over 20 years of experience in the Fashion and Luxury Goods industry: initially as strategic consultant at Bain & Company and then holding top Management positions at brands including Diesel, Marni, Maison Margiela.

Since 2013 Andrea is also Executive Fellow of the Strategic Management Department at IESE Business School in Barcelona where he annually teaches in the MBA program and for which he writes business cases and technical notes on Fashion and Luxury Goods industry.

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In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Eric McNulty, a lifelong student of confidence and Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. With concrete examples and practical tips, they discuss: how to spot the overconfident entrepreneur, why it is essential to cultivate the right balance of confidence and humility, where to find confidence, and how to maintain it in times of turbulence.

As an author, researcher, and entrepreneur himself, Eric provides not only unique insights but the confidence checklist for entrepreneurs and observes that a confident entrepreneur will wait for the investors that her start-up deserves.

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Eric McNulty is Associate Director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. His work centers on leading in high stakes, high pressure situations. He is the principal author of case studies on the Boston Marathon bombing response, super storm Sandy, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He is the co-author of the book, You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When it Matters Most and others. He is a contributing editor at strategy+business and has written many times for Harvard Business Review. Previously, he worked at Harvard Business Publishing (HBP). He was an intrapreneur at HBP and has worked with several startups.

In this episode our host, Philip Guarino, is joined by Tom Sylvester, General Counsel for Hedera Hashgraph. As an expert in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Tom demystifies Hedera’s DLT process and dives into the benefits of building a public ledger for the decentralized economy. From transparency to autonomy to security, the two discuss how the crypto landscape has been leading innovation in the global technology sector, from its transition from Blockchain to Hedera, and everything in between. Tom gives an honest account of the challenges and potential drawbacks to a crypto-forward future, and highlights the new opportunities that await in a world that puts the power of data back into the hands of individuals. Don’t miss the chance to learn about the blockchain technology paving the path to a greener, more secure future.

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Tom Sylvester is the General Counsel for Hedera Hashgraph, a sustainable, enterprise-grade public ledger for the decentralized economy. He also serves as the Board chair for Braver Angels, a national nonprofit that brings liberals and conservatives together to reduce polarization. Before joining Hedera, Tom worked in Abu Dhabi as the Senior Director of Policy & Strategy for Tamkeen, the Abu Dhabi government partner to New York University Abu Dhabi, a highly selective liberal arts college with a globally diverse student body. He also worked in New York as an associate at the international law firm Cleary Gottlieb. Tom grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and received a BA in Social Studies from Harvard and a JD from Yale Law School.

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What we eat impacts our health--and the health of our environment. As Co-Founder and CEO of Eat the Change, Co-Founder of PLNT Burger, and Chair of the Board at Beyond Meat, Seth Goldman is a leader in the climate-friendly food revolution. Join our host, Philip Guarino as he speaks with this inspiring entrepreneur and activist about his mission-based businesses that aim to nourish our bodies and the planet.

In this episode, Seth highlights the importance of maintaining a sustainable diet. As not only a CEO, but also an activist, he discusses his efforts to support non-profits through Eat the Change, and how his passions are what have driven him to the place he is now. Tune in to hear how Seth approaches sustainability with purpose, and created environmentally efficient food alternatives without sacrificing nutrition or flavor.

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Seth Goldman is Co-Founder of Eat the ChangeTM, a snack brand that offers chef-crafted, nutrient-dense planet-friendly foods. Eat the ChangeTM recently launched a line of organic mushroom jerky and will be launching a kid-friendly snack line in late 2021. Seth and his co-Founder, Celebrity Chef Spike Mendelsohn are also co-founders of PLNT Burger, a plant-based quick-serve restaurant that offers delicious burgers, sandwiches, fries, and soft-serve.

Seth is also the Co-founder of Honest Tea and Chair of the board of Beyond Meat. He has been widely recognized for his entrepreneurial success and impact.

He is a graduate of Harvard College (1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995) and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Mark Chussil, Founder of Advanced Competitive Strategies Inc., and business wargaming expert. They discuss the worrisome fact that the vast majority of entrepreneurs still execute on untested strategies, only to discover that the market did not react as predicted. Mark then shares some of his most impactful experiences with companies across a range of industries who now identify major strategic blindspots through testing and simulation.

So how can testing your strategy add billions to your bottom line? And how can you find blindspots in your plan before your competitors do? Mark Chussil recommends that you combine humans and computers and make strategy your business’s super power. And he even invites you to try out his pricing tournament simulation game.

Listen and find out how.

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Mark Chussil is Founder of Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc. A pioneer in business war gaming and computer-based strategy simulation, Mark has helped companies add billions to their bottom lines. He has written/co-written three books, chapters for others, and numerous articles for Harvard Business Review and other publications. His current work on strategy tournaments combines humans and computers to simulate strategy options when it helps most: before committing real money and real careers. His favorite story is when his simulations showed him how wrong he was. Mark has an MBA from Harvard and a BA from Yale.