SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
INSPIRE
Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 AM
French Quarter
Opening Remarks
9:00 - 9:10 AM
White Auditorium
Welcome to Kellogg’s Inaugural Climate Conference! Join us for an overview of speakers, session logistics.
Speakers: Carolina Madrid and Matt Steggeman
Climate Change: Can We Win?
9:10 - 9:35 AM
White Auditorium
The world is concerned about the impact of climate change on the environment and on human health. The need for collective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change is imperative. Can we win the hardest challenge humankind has yet to face?
Speakers: Professor Meghan Busse- Kellogg School of Management
Climate as a Winning Strategy
9:35 -10:15 AM
White Auditorium
Jimmy Samartzis, the CEO of Lanzajet, will provide a detailed insight into Lanzajet's operations and strategy to tackle climate change.
Speaker: Jimmy Samartzis – Lanzajet
Coffee Break
10:15 - 10:30 AM
The Role of Government in Leading Change
10:30 -11:20 AM
White Auditorium
Join Kellogg Professor David Besanko and Representative Sean Casten as they explore the crucial role of government in the energy transition at our upcoming conference. Besanko, an expert in the field of economics and a leading scholar on regulatory policy, and Representative Casten, a member of the House Select Committee on Climate Crisis, bring unique perspectives and valuable insights to this important discussion. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from these two thought leaders as they delve into the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future, and the ways in which government policy can facilitate and accelerate this vital process.
Speakers: IL Representative Sean Casten (IL-06), Professor David Besanko '82 PhD - Kellogg School of Management (Moderator)
Climate Change and Equity: Ensuring a Just Transition for All
11:20 -12:05 PM
White Auditorium
Climate equity ensures the just distribution of the benefits of climate protection efforts and alleviates unequal burdens created by climate change. Speakers Wendolyn Holland and Paula Glover moderated by Kellogg Professor, Megan Kashner, will discuss their career journeys and inspire students by providing honest insights about what is needed to achieve an equitable energy transition.
Speakers: Wendolyn Holland '01 MBA - Holland Consulting, Paula Glover - Aliance to Save Energy, Professor Megan Kashner '03 MBA - Kellogg School of Management (Moderator)
Lunch & Connections
12:05 -1:30 PM
KGH 1420 & 1430
CONNECT
STARTUP / INVESTOR TRACK BREAKOUT SESSIONS
1:30 - 2:15 PM
Life in Climate after Business School: Opportunities in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
White Auditorium
Climate change represents a big opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs alike. Climate funding has more than tripled in the last couple of years and it continues to grow at a fast pace. Join Kellogg Alumni working as Climate investors and operators for an informal chat about these growing career opportunities and how you can tap into these.
Speakers: Derek Beaty '08 MBA - Kapok Partners, Jason Blumberg - Energy Foundry, Saad Youssefi - Batterzye, Nikodem Pancewicz - Matergy, Carolina Madrid '23 MBA - Kellogg School of Management (Moderator)
2:25 -3:10 PM
Embedding Sustainable Solutions into Customers' Everyday Lives
KGH 1110
Electric vehicles, plant-based food, and flight carbon offsets – we have already started to see the impact of the climate transition in our day to day lives. But has progress been quick enough? And what role do consumers need to play going forward to drive the transition forward?
Speakers: Sarah Pinner '22 MBA - Beni, Sameer Anwar '14 MBA - Trove, David Donnan (Moderator)- Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University & Silvertip Management
OR
Money Makes the World Go Green
KGH 1420 & 1430
Infrastructure spending, the growth of new climate startups, green bonds – none of these would be possible without financial services. How are investments across the public and private markets helping, or hurting, the climate transition?
Speakers: Shanu Mathew - Lazard Asset Management, Joe Schagemann- Invenergy, Jacob Gleason '22 MBA - Buoyant Ventures (Moderator)
CORPORATE/CONSULTING TRACK BREAKOUT SESSIONS
1:30 - 2:15 PM
Adapting Our Infrastructure to the Changing World
KGH 1110
Wildfires, record flooding, and catastrophic storms – how are companies tackling the adaptation of existing infrastructure to better withstand climate change? And what new solutions across the grid are mitigating these effects in the long run?
Speakers: Darpan Kapadia '00 MBA - LS Power, Jason Kazmar '11 MBA - Element Fleet Management, Mark Feasel - FuelCell Energy & Adjunct Professor at Northwestern Univeristy (Moderator)
OR
Energy Mix: From What Sources Do We Get Our Energy?
KGH 1420 & 1430
2:25 - 3:10PM
The current energy mix has evolved over the past 10 – 15 years with the growth of renewable energy, but limitations still exist. How are traditional providers navigating the energy transition, and what new innovations on the horizon are poised to join the new energy mix?
Speakers: Jonathan Pistorino – Volexion, Grace Rumford '16 MBA – NextEra, Matan Meital '15 MBA - Trina Storage, Michael Rutkowski '96 MBA - 1898 & Co. (Moderator)
Life in Climate After Business School: Opportunities in Sustainability
White Auditorium
We know there is much to consider after Kellogg, and having a meaningful career is at the top of many of our lists. Learn from Kellogg grads how they built successful careers in the sustainability space and what opportunities lie ahead for you.
Speakers: Peter Walter '97 MBA – L.E.K. Consulting, Davis O'Connell '19 MBA – Accenture, Jessica Bollhoefer - Google, Victoria Zimmerman '13 MBA - McDonalds, Matthew Steggeman '23 MBA - Kellogg School of Management (Moderator)
COFFEE BREAK
3:10 - 3:25 PM
EMPOWER
Building a Climate Startup
3:25 - 4:10 PM
White Auditorium
Ever wondered what new business opportunities are being opened by Climate change? How do you balance creating a sustainable and scalable business while creating impact? What does the market look like for Climate solutions and what is the investor sentiment? - Join Kellogg founders for a fireside chat as they try to give you a blueprint for building scalable Climate businesses.
Speakers: Don Meier '19 MBA - Deloitte (Moderator), Saumya '17 MBA – Co-Founder, Kheyti
Driving Systemic Changes to Create Large-Scale Impact
4:10 - 4:40PM
White Auditorium
Solving this climate change not only requires new solutions to tackle this problem but we also need to take proven solutions and figure out ways to deploy them at a large scale. This often requires an understanding of market forces, regulations, consumer preferences, financial incentives and a unique ability to design systems integrating all these aspects to successfully create a meaningful impact at large scale. Hear from the experiences of our two speakers who have been instrumental in driving system changes themselves. Carl – COO of Lanzatech will share his experiences on how we changed the perception of the industry and created a place for their carbon recycling technology. He will be joined by Prof. Chen, who will talk about his experience of deploying strategic capital to drive systemic changes across industries.
Speakers: Carl Wolf '20 MBA – COO, LanzaTech, Dave Chen '84 MBA - Kellogg School of Management Adjunct Professor & CEO at Equilibrium Capital (Moderator)
Closing Remarks
4:40 - 4:55PM
White Auditorium
Thank you for attending!
Networking Reception
5:00 - 6:15PM
We are excited to invite you to a post conference networking session to further build connections with speakers and other event attendees.