INSPIRING SPEAKER DRIVING BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION

Chrissa Pagitsas, with Pagitsas Advisors, interviews Netflix Sustainability Officer Emma Stewart and discusses Netflix's Net Zero goals.

What does it take to influence a company’s direction from within? How can an MBA encourage change in a large multinational organization while engaging all of the stakeholders needed for successful outcomes? What are the most effective finance or marketing tools and messages that will resonate in the C-suite? Attendees will hear from MBA alumni about their journeys as agents of change. Panel discussion includes: Will Teichman, VP of Business Operations, Kimco Realty Corporation; Chrissa Pagitsas, VP, Enterprise Environmental, Social, and Governance, Fannie Mae; and Katherine Neebe, Senior Director - ESG, Trust & Transparency, Walmart; moderated by Sean Carr, Executive Director and Assistant Professor, Batten Institute, UVA Darden.

We hear lots from and about CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs. In fact, we probably don’t need to write out these acronyms. But what about the CSO? That’s chief sustainability officer, just in case you didn’t. Looking at the headlines these days, we probably need to hear more. So it’s great that Chrissa Pagitsas has decided to write a book based on interviews with chief sustainability offers. The target release date is early 2022. Chrissa is a globally recognized thought leader at the intersection of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability issues in Fortune 500 companies. She is also the VP of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) with Fannie Mae. BOOK DESIGNED TO SHARE SUSTAINABILITY MESSAGE Chrissa was motivated to write her book by something that will resonate with many entrepreneurs. She wanted to share knowledge—and that of CSOs—with others who were set to embark on building a large business dedicated to sustainability. Chrissa says: “I was coming up to my 10-year anniversary at Fannie Mae. I've been working in sustainability and finance at the intersection of green building for quite some time, about 20 years. “There was something that I wanted to share with others, I wanted to talk about what it was like to build a large business dedicated to sustainability, with of course, environmental outcomes, positive outcomes,” she explains. First up, Chrissa encountered the big question many authors face: How would she write this book? Like other writers, she began to talk to people, including professors, authors, and people in the field. PLANNING A BOOK? FIRST LOOK AT THE COMPETITION One of the pieces of advice that Chrissa received: “Look at the competition, look at what else is out there.” She did just that and discovered Published Author host Josh Steimle’s book, Chief Marketing Officers At Work, published by Apress in 2015. Chrissa tells Josh: “I came across one of your blogs about interviewing for your book. And you gave rich descriptions on how to do it.” Chriss also discovered that the perspective of CSOs was missing. “I put together a book proposal and reached out to Apress, and they said: ‘Well, you should talk to Josh because he wrote a book about this’.” When Chrissa was ready to begin, she submitted a proposal and Apress responded immediately, saying they wanted to work with her. IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR A WRITER Chrissa came away with two important pieces of advice from Josh’s blog. 1. Be Organized “One of your blogs referenced having a spreadsheet where you kept track of who you had talked to, when they had submitted the release form, and so on,” says Chrissa. “For any writer when you are working with so many ideas and moving parts, you do need to keep track. Having a system gives you more freedom to actually work out your ideas. 2. Just Go For It! Next up, Chrissa appreciated the fact that Josh encourages people to simply begin. “I think the advice to reach out to people via LinkedIn or just just ask, because you don't know if someone's going to say yes or no. So you might as well ask.” Chrissa was also inspired by the fact that Josh emphasized not becoming frozen if things aren’t perfect. “If you don't write the perfect paragraph or you don’t know the right person. You have to do a draft, and then you’ll refine it. Or you’ll make a new contact, and perhaps that will lead somewhere,” says Chrissa. FINDING INTERVIEW SUBJECTS Chrissa’s list of CSO’s is impressive. They include Bea Perez, the chief Sustainability Officer at Coca Cola; Jim Gowan, CSO at Verizon, Katherine Neebe at Duke Energy. Fascinating conversations there. Virginie Hélias at US Procter and Gamble. If you intend to write a book based on interviews, Chrissa recommends exploring your own network first, and then asking your network for recommendations. These are the best ways of securing interviews. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. ABOUT THE HOST The Published Author Podcast is hosted by Josh Steimle, founder of Published Author. Josh is a book author himself and his article writing has been featured in over two dozen publications including Time, Forbes, Fortune, Mashable, and TechCrunch. He's a TEDx speaker, the founder of the global marketing agency MWI, a skater, father, and husband, and lives on a horse farm in Boston. Learn more at JoshSteimle.com.

"We need to see green bonds backed by green mortgages backed by green homes, explained Chrissa Pagitsas, Director of Green Financing, Fannie Mae. Listen to her vision for sustainable investing after 10 years since the first green bond.