Imperial Business Podcast

Humans of Imperial #5: Tina Chen, Chief Tea Officer

Tina Chen is the Founder and CTO – that’s Chief Tea Officer – of HumaniTea, a socially conscious drinks company that specialises in plant-based and ethically sourced tea lattes. 

 

After studying for her MBA in 2018, Tina made a career change from IT to “just tea” and in this episode, we hear her story. From international trade missions to second degree burns, Tina’s journey as a Founder isn’t short of excitement! Hers is a story of passion, grit and resilience and Tina is a real example of what you can achieve if you take opportunities, use your network, and refuse to give up. 

Humans of Imperial #4: Dr Megha Bhola: Be true. Be yourself.

Dr Megha Bhola is an MSc International Health Management graduate who swapped the clinical world for the business world. We discuss Megha’s decision to make a change, how Imperial became a bridge between the clinical side of healthcare and the business side, and how being open to opportunities can lead you to places you would never expect. 

Now an Innovation Catalyst with health-tech start-up, SanusX, in Austria, Megha has achieved her goal and in this episode, she tells us how you can, too. 

Humans of Imperial #3: Sarvi Ahmadi: Everyone has a unique story if you’re interested

Sarvi Ahmada understands the value of stories and in this episode, we hear hers.  

 

From her 10 years’ experience in Product Management including her current role with Mastercard in Toronto, Canada, to the value of empathy in leadership and the challenges of balancing an MBA with full-time work, Sarvi is a shining example of a “hummingbird person”. Don’t know what that is? Then listen to Sarvi tell us herself! 

  

You can find Sarvi’s own podcast, Hummingbirds in Tech, on Apple and Spotify. 

 

Social Media Tags: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarvenaz-sarvi-ahmadi-mba-a691868/  

Instagram: sarvi_to 

Humans of Imperial #2: Morgan Mixon & Rima Suppan, Changing the world one poo at a time

Morgan Mixon and Rima Suppan are the Founders of next-generation nappy brand, Peachies, and in this episode they share their entrepreneurial journey. From meeting via the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Career Club at Imperial College Business School, the ecosystem that helped them get started, and the challenges of breaking into a competitive market, this episode is a real insight into launching a business with the aim of changing the world - in Morgan and Rima’s case - one poo at a time.  

Humans of Imperial #1: Lucas Gafarot, I didn’t even know what consulting was

Lucas Gafarot is a former professional footballer for FC Barcelona, training with the likes of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. Now a Senior Consultant with Simon-Kucher & Partners, Lucas shares his story, from not knowing what consulting was when he joined Imperial, to the challenges of arriving in a new country for the first time, and how the experiences and lessons he learned through football are still benefitting his life and career today.  

IB Green Minds #30: In conversation with David Sim

This week's episode of Green Minds podcast features David Sim, an architect, urbanist and urban expert. David is a Partner at Think Softer, and the author of the book Soft City. Previously, David worked 17 years at Gehl Architects, an urban strategy and design firm based in Copenhagen. The conversation with David is all about the intersection of the built environment, climate change and humans. Claudia interviews David about his journey towards architecture, his time at Gehl Architects and writing the book Soft City. David explains what a “soft city” means, how it is connected to climate change and how we can transform cities into more liveable places.  

This episode features: 

• What is a “soft city”?  
• The influence Lego had on David's journey 
• Soviet vs. American architecture and the in-between 
• What we can learn from the Nordic countries about city planning 
• The story of Jan Gehl of Gehl Architects who transformed urban spaces globally 
• How New York Times Square transformed to its current state 
• Encouraging walking by painting Broadway streets with red paint as a red carpet 
• Climate change adaptation and the human adaptation 
• Why isn't London more like Copenhagen or Amsterdam in terms of urbanism? 
• Pandemic of loneliness and the value of a sociable city

IB Green Minds #29: In conversation with Edward Dixon

This episode of the Green Minds podcast features Edward Dixon, Head of Responsible Investment for Aviva Investors’ Real Assets platform who leads the firm’s ESG and sustainability strategy across £50bn of real estate, infrastructure and nature-based solutions. This conversation starts with Ed sharing his journey from working as a carpenter who lost his job during the 2008 recession to managing a 50bn of real assets portfolio 21 years later, and how he stepped into sustainability. He then shares what ESG and responsible investment means for Aviva Investors, and why the climate change challenge requires a long-term perspective. This conversation also features: how to get a portfolio of real assets to net-zero, which regulations are most material for institutional real assets investors at the moment, why risk is key to undertsanding who can push the needle on climate change, and what it takes to become a senior manager in the sustainable finance world.  

IB Green Minds #28: In conversation with Nadia Humphreys

In today's Green Minds podcast episode, we hear from Nadia Humphreys, Head of Global Climate and Regulatory Solutions at Bloomberg. Claudia first explores Nadia's journey towards sustainable finance and becoming an expert in sustainable finance regulations. Nadia then shares her learnings from working on different regulations, such as the UK Taxonomy, EU Taxonomy, the TCFD, in different regions of the world, from the UK, the EU to Singapore. She also shares the challenges and opportunities in regulation and gives advice on how to break into a sustainable finance career.  

IB Green Minds #27: In conversation with Kavita Sinha

This week, Andreas speaks with Kavita Sinha, the Director of the Private Sector Facility at Green Climate Fund or GCF. In this episode, Kavita talks about GCF’s background, program and focus. You will hear about what GCF wants to accomplish, especially with the private sector partners in the emerging markets. Kavita also shares the unique country-led approach that GCF takes and the role of the accredited entities in their program. We also talk about career opportunities in GCF as well as in climate finance space.  

 

Contains original music by Kirk Zieser 

 

Additional information 

1. On GCF: https://www.greenclimate.fund/about 

 

1. GCF’s projects: https://www.greenclimate.fund/projects 

 

IB Green Minds #26: In conversation with David Vetter

This week's episode features Claudia's conversation with David Vetter, a climate writer with 15 years' experience in online and print media, currently working as a Senior Contributor for Forbes Sustainability. They talk about David's journey from studying archaeology towards working in journalism, his studies at Oxford and the current climate media landscape. David shares his point of view on the challenges of climate writing, staying critical while communicating the urgency of the situation as well as which animal he would interview if he had the opportunity.  

Resources mentioned in the podcast: 

https://www.twitter.com/davidrvetter 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/ 

The Greenland cold war climate story: 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2021/03/15/climate-alert-secret-cold-war-military-base-transmits-a-warning-to-the-world/