{"id":1516,"date":"2018-04-25T07:43:01","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T11:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/?p=1516"},"modified":"2018-04-22T18:45:35","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T22:45:35","slug":"innovator-in-residence-donald-reed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/si-mba\/2018\/04\/25\/innovator-in-residence-donald-reed\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovator-in-Residence: Donald Reed"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was written by\u00a0Kevin Hoskins<\/a>\u00a0’18<\/em><\/p>\n

As part of the Innovator-in-Residence series, Donald Reed recently visited the 2018 cohort of The Sustainable Innovation MBA program. Reed is currently a managing director in PwC\u2019s (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) sustainable business solutions practice. Reed is also a member of The Sustainable Innovation MBA\u2019s Advisory Board.<\/p>\n

\"\"Reed got his start in advocacy and grassroots work in Michigan. He discussed the evolution of his thinking from an \u201cus versus them\u201d mentality (environmentalists versus business) to understanding business\u2019s role in society (and the part that sustainability-minded professionals can play).<\/p>\n

Reed then worked on economically-targeted investing focused on creating market-rate return investments that created housing opportunities for health care workers. He stressed to the cohort the need to \u201cnot be bound by what\u2019s already been done and what other people tell you is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to better understand the world of finance, Reed then went back to school, getting his MBA in finance from the Stern School at New York University. He subsequently went to work for the World Resources Institute, a think tank, where he felt he had found \u201chis people.\u201d That experience led Reed to ask questions of himself that he posed of the class: \u201chow do I see myself and how do I explain to others what I\u2019m interested in and the capabilities I bring to bear on that?\u201d<\/p>\n

“Don’t be bound by what\u2019s already been done and what other people tell you is possible.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reed is extremely well-read and stressed the importance of integrative thinking, tying these seemingly disparate frameworks that you learn throughout your life in a way that you can understand other people\u2019s perspectives and translate them to a new area. There may always be someone with deeper expertise on a topic than you, but it\u2019s important to understand enough of it that you can converse intelligently on the topic at hand.<\/p>\n

Reed also discussed his role as a consultant, becoming a trusted advisor to numerous large organizations. He described the challenges of consultants face: to understand enough to analyze the situation at hand, identify the key drivers and distill that down, but then engage your clients by listening and becoming trusted, in order to help the organizations change.<\/p>\n

His previous company, Sustainable Finance Ltd. was eventually acquired by PwC. In his current role, Reed and his team focus on what they call \u201cSustainability Strategy through Execution.\u201d\u00a0 They are currently focused on four main areas: cities of the future, social determinants of health, the future of reporting, and total impact and measurement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was written by\u00a0Kevin Hoskins\u00a0’18 As part of the Innovator-in-Residence series, Donald Reed recently visited the 2018 cohort of The Sustainable Innovation MBA program. Reed is currently a managing director in PwC\u2019s (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) sustainable business solutions practice. Reed is also a member of The Sustainable Innovation MBA\u2019s Advisory Board. Reed got his start in … <\/p>\n

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