Better Than We Found It

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 7 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we're joined by Michael Chanin, founder and CEO of Cherry Street Energy, the largest non-utility renewable energy provider in Georgia.

Michael's journey is one of conviction, meeting opportunities from studying human rights at the University of Cambridge to high-stakes finance at Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis, his path took an unexpected turn during a casual Friday lunch.

A conversation about a change in state law opened his eyes to a market opportunity, and he went home that same day to start a power company.
In this episode, we explore:

- How a single moment of insight during "Fried Chicken Friday" led to founding Cherry Street Energy.
- The audacity required to challenge a century-old energy monopoly.
- Building a business at the intersection of purpose and profit—not doing good as a byproduct, but as the core.
- The power of making complex solutions "simple as sunshine" for customers.
- Why behavioral traits trump technical skills when building a high-performing team.
- Navigating political headwinds while staying true to a mission.
- Creating a 100-year business focused on enduring value.

Michael shares invaluable lessons on leveraging privilege responsibly, the importance of asking for what you want, and why the best leaders are storytellers who can take complexity and make it accessible.

If you're an entrepreneur, energy professional, or anyone interested in building purpose-driven businesses that create lasting impact, this episode is essential listening.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

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This podcast is brought to you by GS2 Partnership, the recruitment partner for ambitious, impact-led teams across energy, finance, and the built environment.

Find out more about GS2 here

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 6 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we're joined by Jody Snodgrass, CEO of TruGrid, a turnkey EPC for utility-scale solar and energy storage.

Jody's career is anything but linear. He's been a founder who built and sold multiple companies, a top-tier consultant at Deloitte, and a C-suite executive for some of the largest energy companies in the world.

He's seen the industry from every possible angle: as the owner, the contractor and the consultant.

In this episode, we dive into the brutal truths of that journey, the personal sacrifices required for a global career, the hard lessons learned from failure, and the relentless drive for continuous improvement that defines his leadership style.

From starting his first business at 20 and selling it for a 13.5x multiple, to losing everything in the 2008 financial crisis, to navigating the rigid structures of corporate giants like Jacobs and Deloitte, Jody shares it all.

We explore how he's built resilience in organisations, why he values loyalty over competency, his philosophy of "embrace the red," and how he's leading TruGrid through one of the most challenging times in renewable energy.

If you're looking for honest, battle-tested insights on leadership, career growth, and the energy transition, this episode delivers.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Connect with Jody on LinkedIn

This podcast is brought to you by GS2 Partnership, the recruitment partner for ambitious, impact-led teams across energy, finance, and the built environment.

Find out more about GS2 here

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 5 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we're joined by Marta Anadon, Head of US at Upway, a fast-growing circular economy startup making light electric mobility accessible through refurbished e-bikes.

Marta's career journey spans civil engineering in Barcelona, power trading at EDF in Europe, scaling Uber and UberEats across multiple continents, and now building Upway's US business from the ground up.

In this episode, we explore:
- How switching industries with intention builds transferable leadership skills
- The art of launching a business in a new market with just an incorporation and a vision
- Building talent-dense teams where feedback is a gift, not a threat
- Why urban mobility is one of the most powerful levers for sustainable cities
- Balancing mission-driven impact with commercial growth in the circular economy
- The future of refurbished electric vehicles and battery innovation

Whether you're navigating career transitions, scaling a purpose-driven business, or passionate about sustainable urban design, this episode offers practical wisdom from someone who's done it all.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn 

Connect with Marta on LinkedIn

This podcast is brought to you by GS2 Partnership, the recruitment partner for ambitious, impact-led teams across energy, finance, and the built environment.

Find out more about GS2 here

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 4 of Better Than We Found It - the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we're joined by Sohan Das, Vice President of Renewable Energy at EVS, Inc. a consulting engineering firm specializing in utility-scale solar, battery storage, and transmission infrastructure. Sohan's journey is one of purpose, resilience, and serendipity - from growing up in India watching his father's environmental initiatives, to navigating the 2009 recession, to building a renewable energy division from the ground up that now supports 230 families.

In this episode, we explore:

• How early environmental awareness in India shaped Sohan's career trajectory
• The reality of joining start ups during a recession and what it takes to thrive
• Building a renewable energy division from scratch at EVS, Inc. over 11 years
• The critical transition from individual contributor to leader of leaders
• Navigating industry uncertainty while staying mission-driven
• Why consulting engineering firms are the best place for engineers to truly learn their craft
• The importance of diversification strategy in a rapidly changing energy landscape

Sohan shares invaluable lessons on risk-taking, the art of listening, and how to balance technical excellence with people-first leadership. Whether you're an engineer, entrepreneur, or sustainability professional, this episode offers practical wisdom on building with purpose while weathering industry storms.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn

Connect with Sohan on LinkedIn

This podcast is brought to you by GS2 Partnership, the recruitment partner for ambitious, impact-led teams across energy, finance, and the built environment.

Find out more about GS2 here

Welcome to season 4, episode 3 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

In this episode, Josh is joined by Kellie Macpherson, Executive Vice President of Compliance and Security at Radian.

With a career spanning grid reliability, renewables, and executive leadership, Kellie shares how her upbringing in a family deeply tied to the energy industry shaped her path and how she’s now helping to define the future of compliance and security in the renewable sector.

We explore Kellie’s journey from the California ISO during the energy crisis, to pioneering compliance in solar and renewables, to leading teams at scale in a rapidly growing business. Along the way, she reflects on leadership lessons, the power of saying “yes,” the challenges of sustaining growth, and why battery storage gives her hope for the future of the grid.

Key Takeaways:

• Growing up with grid reliability at the dinner table and how it shaped Kellie’s perspective on energy.
• Lessons from the California energy crisis and why reliability is personal.
• Transitioning into renewables and creating compliance frameworks for first-of-their-kind projects.
• The power of saying “yes” and how it accelerates careers.
• Building resilient teams, spotting burnout, and leading with kindness.
• Why battery storage is the future of reliable renewable energy.
• The role of LinkedIn and personal brand in creating opportunities.
  
  

If you’re interested in leadership, grid reliability, or the future of renewables, this conversation is packed with insight.

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 2 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, Josh sits down with Chris Hodrick, CEO of Qcells USA Corp. Chris’s story is anything but typical. He spent over two decades as a U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer before leading $35 billion of construction projects at Amazon, taking the helm of a 9,000-strong renewables workforce at Blattner, and now leading Qcells’ mission to create a fully American-made solar supply chain.

In this conversation, Chris shares:

- Lessons on leadership from growing up in coal country and serving in the Navy
- How he translated military systems thinking into success at Amazon
- The pivotal career shift to renewable energy and solar construction
- Why building operating systems and empowering people is central to scaling
- His advice for veterans and professionals transitioning into clean energy
- His vision for Qcells USA and what it takes to deliver certainty in a volatile energy landscape

If you’re curious about leadership at scale, career transitions, or the future of America’s solar industry, this episode is full of insights.

Welcome to season 4, episode 1 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we’re joined by Jon Parrella, Founder and CEO of TerraFlow Energy. In just one year, TerraFlow has become the world’s largest flow battery company, tackling one of the biggest challenges of our time: powering the colossal energy needs of data centers with American-made, long-duration battery storage.

In this episode, Jon shares his entrepreneurial journey — from early ventures in energy and SaaS to founding TerraFlow Energy. We explore how his mindset, risk-taking approach, and ability to pivot have fueled rapid growth, and why flow batteries could be the breakthrough technology for the energy transition.

We also dive into:

• Lessons from building and exiting multiple companies
• Why long-duration storage is key to AI-driven data centers
• How to scale a startup from idea to gigafactories in under 18 months
• Leadership, hiring, and the importance of aligning interests
• Jon’s vision for leaving a lasting legacy in clean energy

If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, energy innovation, or building sustainable solutions at scale, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Welcome to season 3, episode 14 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we’re joined by James Stander, founder of Sustainable Advantage, an ESG and sustainability consultancy supporting over 700 clients including 40 private equity firms across multiple sectors.

James’s journey is anything but conventional. From a tough start at school to early entrepreneurial ventures, a career in accounting and M&A, and eventually building a facilities management business, his path has been defined by resilience and reinvention. A pivotal moment, losing a major tender on sustainability grounds pushed James to establish Sustainable Advantage in 2010. Today, the firm has nearly 100 consultants in the UK and Paris, and operates globally.

In this fast-paced conversation, we dive into:

• James’s entrepreneurial highs and lows, from losing everything at 19 to scaling businesses to multi-million turnover
  
  
  
• Why sustainability is more than a tick-box exercise, it’s a driver of business value
  
  
  
• How private equity firms and their portfolio companies are navigating ESG pressures
  
  
  
• The role of data, metrics, and technology in making sustainability actionable
  
  
  
• Leadership lessons on growth, people, and the future of ESG consulting
  
  
  

If you’re an ambitious leader interested in sustainability, entrepreneurship, or the intersection of profit and purpose, this episode is packed with insights.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 13 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

In this episode we’re joined by Harlin Singh, Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Citi Wealth. Harlin’s career path spans FX trading, microfinance, public policy, and now, guiding ultra-high-net-worth clients toward long-term, impact-driven wealth strategies.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Harlin pivoted from foreign exchange to sustainable finance
  
  
  
• The evolving role of private wealth in driving systems change
  
  
  
• Balancing philanthropy, investment, and operating businesses to maximize impact
  
  
  
• Turning complex topics like biodiversity and natural capital into investable strategies
  
  
  
• Why collaboration, not empire-building, is key to real sustainability
  
  
  

Whether you're managing wealth, designing strategy, or exploring ESG from any angle this episode offers practical and profound insights into the future of investing.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 12 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices.

Today, we’re joined by Nicola Stopps, founder of Simply Sustainable, a leading sustainability and ESG consultancy. Nicola’s story is one of entrepreneurial grit, having built her firm from the ground up with just £1,500 and six months to make it work.

In this episode, we dive into:

The challenges and rewards of building a business from scratch

• How to embed sustainability into corporate strategy
• The importance of company culture and how to build a team that thrives
• What it takes to secure private equity investment while maintaining your values
• Nicola shares valuable lessons from her journey—from her activist roots in Wales to becoming a trusted sustainability advisor to some of the world’s largest companies.

If you’re an entrepreneur, business leader, or sustainability professional, this episode is packed with insights to help you build with purpose.