Sustainability is woven within every aspect of our lives and there is nothing that it doesn鈥檛 touch. Leeds alumni are using business skills to solve real world problems: energy distribution, poverty, and environmental issues.
For skeptics who view all business people as self-serving, I hope the stories we are sharing in our Portfolio magazine would help reshape that perception. We wanted our fall magazine to showcase our alumni and corporate partners who have made it their business to help the needy, benefit the community, address climate change, or in general contribute to the greater good.
Some we profiled were definitely off of the beaten path and some would argue, without a compass, map or GPS device. Indeed, they are willing to reconsider and to change traditional business models to achieve their goals. And with change comes risk. With G. Chris Andersen that meant early investing in alternative energy; our Peace Corps folks lived it by going abroad; and Jeffrey Kukesh went on to form oFlows paperless products organization with former coworkers. Sure, you might fail. But true entrepreneurs and agents of positive change go on to seek and discover the next opportunity.
In addition, it鈥檚 not enough to have good ideas. You鈥檝e got to have the business skills to deliver them to people who need and want these sustainable solutions in their daily lives. Joe Pettus saw opportunity to save the company money and to create wind energy to fuel Safeway鈥檚 gas stations. Matt Campagnoli wants energy efficiency for existing buildings and future pipelines of wind and solar energy, so he is helping to craft legislation for the New Energy Economy in Colorado.
We hope these stories illustrate that you can use business skills to solve real world problems: energy distribution, poverty, and environmental issues. Also, we hope to convey that sustainability is woven within every aspect of our lives and there is nothing that it doesn鈥檛 touch. We offer this current edition as proof that business skills and acumen can improve society and lives. It is also a testament to the Leeds vision of Always be Entrepreneurial: Challenge. Create. Act.