OneHaas

Today at the OneHaas Podcast, we have the pleasure to chat with Eric Alessi, EWMBA class of 2020 and a member of the Blue cohort. Eric recently transitioned from Pinterest to Masterclass as an Insights Manager. Eric grew up in New York but spent some time in Italy, originally where his father was from. He studied History and Legal Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. In this episode, Eri...

Sean’s lively conversation with Digital Wellness Coach Sini Ninkovic centers on enjoying the beauty of life without constantly depending on our smartphones. Early on, Sini learned the role of adaptability to a new environment when his family fled Former Yugoslavia and found refuge in Austria. Later, he would earn an MBA at Haas School of Business and work with BMW, Lucid Motors, and Apple. He teac...

Chris and Sean chat with Lo Toney, an MBA alum and Founding Managing Partner of Plexo Capital. Plexo Capital is an institutional investment firm Lo incubated and spun out from GV (Google Ventures). In this episode, Lo tells us more about Plexo Capital and its goals. Plexo is a Portuguese word that means intricate vascular network, which is what the company is trying to build. He also shares a bit...

On this episode of the OneHaas Podcast, host Sean chats with Andrew MacNeil, Executive MBA class of 2017. Andrew is currently the Global Head of Enablement at Flexport. He is also a Coach, Advisor, and Mentor for the UC Berkeley Executive Education program. Andrew shares his background growing up in a military family and his time as a US Army Special Forces Officer. He also talks about why he ende...

Today's episode is all about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Bree had the pleasure to chat with Nicole Sanchez, full-time MBA, class of 2012. She is the founder and CEO of Vaya Consulting, which offers best-in-class DEI, leadership, and culture consulting services for companies shaping the 21st century, primarily in technology and media. Nicole has been doing DEI professionally for more than...

In today’s episode, we chat with award-winning lecturer Holly Schroth who leads classes in Negotiations, Influence, and Communications. Holly tells us a little about her history and what brought her to Haas nearly three decades ago to teach Negotiations. She also speaks about what makes a good negotiator, her research on Gen Z negotiations, and leaves listeners with some parting wisdom. Episode Qu...

What is machine learning, and why does it matter? Sang Lee, co-founder, and CEO of Qeexo, Co., answers this question for us in this latest episode. Qeexo is the first company to automate end-to-end machine learning for edge devices. Sang opens up about his multicultural background - growing up in Australia and then coming back to Korea to attend college in a very elite university before going to t...

In today's episode, Kenny Vaughn had a chat with Elisse Douglass, co-founder of the Oakland Black Business Fund. She is an established real estate professional and has extensive experience in private equity impact investing. While at Haas, Elisse served as co-president of the Black Business Student Association together with Kenny. Elisse talked a little about growing up in Philadelphia, what m...

Allie Foote (she/her) likes to say she has both a day job and a “gay job.” She is currently the director of digital product strategy at Nike and in addition to her formal position, she is also heavily involved in DE&I at Nike. In this episode of the Crossroads Series, we talk to Allie about how she has brought her personal life into her professional work, the importance of authenticity in the...

What does it take to be an effective leader? Haas School of Business Alumnus and Founder of Group Sixty, Darren Reinke talked with host Sean Li about his book The Savage Leader: 13 Principles to Become a Better Leader Inside Out. Their conversation covered how leaders can form a better bond with their tribe by being humble, showing their curiosity and eagerness to learn.  Darren tackled and shared...

When Alan Lock unexpectedly lost his sight due to macular degeneration, he knew his military career was over. What he didn’t know was how many adventures were about to begin. In this episode of The Crossroad Series, Alan tells us about how he took control of his life by setting four extreme goals: to run the Marathon Des Sables, to row the Atlantic Ocean, to ski to the South Pole, and to swim the...

In this episode of the OneHaas Undergrad Series, Soo Song, 2017 Haas School of Business undergrad alumna, shares her experiences after graduating from the program. She talks about lessons she wished she had known in the early stages of her career, how she is embracing her Asian American heritage, and how she moved from becoming a Business Administration student to building a career in growth marke...

In today's episode of OneHaas, hosts Ellen Chan and Sean Li profile Haas Alumnus Andrew Chau, the guy who refers to himself (on LinkedIn) as the "janitor" and CEO of Boba Guys. As AAPI and mental health awareness month come to a close, Andrew discusses discrimination and mental health. Andrew discusses how leaders are vulnerable to being dehumanized. Check out his tips on how to handle...

In today’s episode, host Sean Li is joined by co-host, fellow alumni, CEO, and co-founder of Sounding Board Christine Tao. An exciting conversation takes place between them and Roy Ng, the founder, and CEO of Bond In honor of AAPI month, the group tackled relevant social issues. Learn how they navigated this situation as leaders of their organization and members of the Asian-American community. Ta...

Christine Tao, Haas undergrad alumna, co-founder, and CEO of Sounding Board shares her insight with host Sean Li. She talks about how coaching and development led to her rapid career advancement in Silicon Valley's media, mobile, and tech sectors. Discover what inspired her to create Sounding Board with her co-founder Lori Mazan.  Learn why leadership development creates a direct impact on bus...

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, today's episode features Michael Martin. He is a systems thinker, consensus builder, and self-starter who currently serves as the Data and Analytics Global Transformation Manager at Google.  Michael and host Sean Li chatted about how mental well-being contributes to productivity and the importance of building a sphere of influence. Besides his profess...

Christina Ma discusses how Haas School of Business prepared her for leading a cross-cultural and cross-border team at Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific. The episode features an exciting conversation between her and Dr. Brandi Pearce together with host, Sean Li about how she managed a team with diverse cultures.  Her advice for building a high-performance team? Listen to everyone within the organization,...

Kicking off Mental Health Awareness Month, today's episode features Somesh Dash. He was recognized as one of the top 100 venture capitalists by The New York Times and CB Insights and by GrowthCap as one of the top 40 under 40 Growth Investors. With roots in India, Somesh Dash, the Managing Director and General Partner of IVP sits down with Sean Li to have an epic conversation around topics ran...

An entrepreneur at heart, CEO and Founder of Xendit featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30, shares his secrets to start-up success - from finding the right people to setting bigger things in motion. In this episode, we sit down with Moses as he talks about how Xendit started and how he weaved its success. Leading an award-winning start-up digital infrastructure and payment gateway in Southeast Asia, he s...

What happens when you combine the tools of entrepreneurship with the lens of social change? Today, we speak with Alex Budak, co-founder of StartSomeGood, a crowdsourcing platform for social impact initiatives, which has raised over $10 Million USD to fund more than 1,000 different projects across 50 countries using a grassroots community-driven approach. Currently teaching at UC Berkeley’s Haas Sc...

Paul Rice, the CEO and founder of Fair Trade USA, has spent his career making a huge difference in the lives of farmers and growers. In this episode, he sits down with Bree Jenkins to share his learning journey dedicated to social change, which includes buying a one-way ticket to Nicaragua, where he started and led the country’s first fair trade co-op and ended up staying for 11 years. He discusse...

Scott Kucirek has, hands down, the best job on Earth. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Ocho Candy, an organic (and seriously delicious) candy company based in Northern California. But Scott’s path to Ocho was a circuitous one. In this episode of the Crossroads Series, Scott sits down with Sophie Hoyt to discuss his journey from the Navy to Haas and beyond. He shares insights on how to stay the cours...

In this episode, we chat with our special guest, Chase Roberts. Chase is an EWMBA class of 2019 and currently Principal at a venture capital firm, Vertex Ventures US . Chase shares his journey from studying at Oklahoma University and starting his career in finance to his pivot to Sales in the Bay area at a company called Box. He then shares his decision to go to business school at Berkeley Haas an...

From her early days at Accenture to her current position at Amazon, Caroline Lee has centered her career around people. In this premiere episode of The Crossroads Series, she sits down with Sophie Hoyt to guide us through her life and imparts lessons we can all learn from. With a background in recruiting, Caroline shares with us the mantra that helped her unlock her own strengths, tells us how to...

In celebration of International Women's Month, Sean Li, together with special co-host Keitha Pansy, welcomes Emilie Cortes, a full-time MBA class of 2002. She is the Treasurer at Compton Foundation and the Chief Financial Officer at Toniic. Emilie shares how being a "secret genius" paved the way for a finance career and how her love for mountaineering helped launch her entrepreneurial...