Better Than We Found It

Hosted by GS2 Partnership

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

At GS2, we believe in leaving the world better than we found it. Our purpose is to connect individuals who share this belief and strive to make a positive impact. We are excited to introduce our new podcast, Better Than We Found It, where we engage with purpose-focused executive leaders and aspiring future leaders to explore the concepts of sustainability and improving the world for future generations.

Listen to episodes

54 recent

August 11, 2026Episode 81 hr 12 min

The Executive Handoff In Clean Energy with Peter Toomey and Jeremy Wodakow

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 8 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices. This episode is a little different, we're joined by two executive leaders from the same organisation. Peter Toomey, Chief Development Officer, and Jeremy Wodakow, Chief Commercial Officer of Cypress Creek Energy, one of the most high-profile renewable energy businesses in the United States. Between them, their teams make up roughly three-quarters of the company. Their backgrounds couldn't be more different. Peter came up through renewable energy credits and project development (and once commercially ran the largest fossil fuel plant in New York City), while Jeremy spent his early career structuring complex commodities on the trading floors of Goldman Sachs and Axpo. Yet they now sit fifteen feet apart, running a powerhouse together. In this episode, we explore: How two very different career paths, finance and development converge to run one organisation Leading technical teams when you're not the subject-matter expert The unvarnished reality of the handoff between project development and operations Building culture, psychological safety and accountability across a geographically scattered team Why the energy market's seismic shift toward AI and data centres is rewriting what customers actually need Whether you're stepping into your first executive seat, leading people who know more than you do, or trying to keep an entrepreneurial spirit alive inside a scaling business, this conversation is full of practical, hard-won insight. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Peter on LinkedIn Connect with Jeremy 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

July 14, 2026Episode 758 min

From Investment Banking to Impact: The Solstice Story with Sandhya Murali

Welcome to Season 5, 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 Sandhya Murali, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Perch Energy, the largest community solar subscriber acquisition and management platform in the United States. Sandhya's career began in investment banking at Barclays in New York and London before she pivoted to clean energy, earning her MBA and Sustainability Certificate at MIT Sloan. It was there she caught the startup bug and co-founded Solstice, spending nearly a decade building it from a five-person nonprofit into a nationally recognised community solar platform. Following a strategic acquisition by Mitsui and a subsequent merger with Perch Energy and Arcadia, Sandhya now helps lead an organisation managing three gigawatts of projects across 16 US community solar markets. In this episode, we explore the full arc of that journey from co-founder dynamics and hiring for character over credentials, to navigating multiple acquisitions and the complex leadership challenge of merging three companies into one unified culture. Sandhya also shares her honest perspective on why mission and financial sustainability aren't a trade-off, and what the future holds for community solar in a shifting political and economic landscape. If you're a founder, leader, or anyone navigating the intersection of purpose and commercial growth, this episode is packed with practical insight. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Sandhya 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

June 30, 2026Episode 61 hr 7 min

Culture Shock to Cleantech: Building ElectricFish with Anurag Kamal

Welcome to Season 5, 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 Anurag Kamal, CEO and co-founder of ElectricFish, a San Carlos-based startup solving the grid bottleneck that's holding back EV charging infrastructure. A mechanical engineer by training, Anurag spent the early part of his career working on heavy-duty powertrains at Eicher Motors (a Volvo subsidiary in India) before moving to the US to research lithium-ion batteries at Michigan Tech. He went on to work at BMW's Silicon Valley office before founding ElectricFish at a climate hackathon in 2019. In this episode, we explore Anurag's journey across continents and corporate cultures, from India to Detroit to the Bay Area, and how those experiences shaped his leadership philosophy. We dig into the reality of building a company with co-founders you met at a weekend hackathon, why the electrical grid is being "torn apart" by EVs and renewables, and what it takes for a technical engineer to evolve into a commercial storyteller who can rally investors, customers and talent around a mission that could reshape how electricity moves for the next hundred years. If you're a founder, engineer stepping into leadership, or anyone curious about the future of energy infrastructure, this episode is packed with insight. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Anurag 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

June 16, 2026Episode 51 hr 7 min

Sustainability Through Abundance: Why Consuming Less Has Failed

Welcome to Season 5, 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 Marco Terruzzin, Chief Revenue Officer at Energy Vault. Marco's career spans mechanical engineering, a PhD in energy economics, carbon credit trading in China under the Kyoto Protocol, and scaling Energy Vault from five employees to a publicly listed modern independent power producer. In this episode, we explore how Marco navigated the tension between engineering ambition and commercial reality, from validating a gravity-based energy storage technology to pivoting the company's entire value proposition when market assumptions didn't hold. We discuss why the energy transition needs to be framed around prosperity and abundance rather than scarcity and reduction, how AI data centres could undo 20 years of grid decarbonisation within 24 months, and why Marco believes the economics will ultimately pull the industry back toward renewables. We also get into Marco's leadership philosophy including his unconventional hiring test, why he values dialogue over interviews, and the guiding principles that have kept Energy Vault's commercial team aligned through rapid growth and strategic pivots. If you're interested in energy storage, the intersection of AI and clean energy, or building high-performance teams in fast-moving industries, this episode delivers. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Marco 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

June 2, 2026Episode 41 hr 7 min

The Secret to Scaling "Five-Star Service" in Clean Energy with Mark Liffmann

Welcome to Season 5, 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 Mark Liffmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Omnidian the company that created an entirely new category in the solar industry known as performance assurance. Mark's career is a masterclass in reading the market before anyone else: after starting as a corporate attorney at Harvard Law, he jumped into solar in 2002 long before the clean tech boom and helped build SunPower's residential business from zero to half a billion dollars in five years. In this episode, we explore how a chance sales call revealed that America's biggest solar companies were managing hundreds of thousands of systems on spreadsheets and how that "aha moment" led Mark and his two co-founders to build Omnidian from a $600,000 angel round into a company guaranteeing 1.5 gigawatts of distributed energy assets. We also dig into the painful reality of raising pre-seed capital while still in your day job, the Bill Walsh management lesson that Mark calls the most important he ever learned, and how Omnidian has built an award-winning remote-first culture with less than 10% annual attrition including eight consecutive years as a Top 100 workplace in Washington State. Whether you're a founder navigating early-stage fundraising, a leader building culture at scale, or someone fascinated by the infrastructure quietly powering the energy transition, this episode is packed with hard-won insight. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Mark 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

May 20, 2026Episode 31 hr 13 min

From Media Tech to Microgrids: Win or Learn, Never Lose with Ed Wise

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 3 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices. Today we're joined by EJ Wise, CEO and founder of Positive Energy an EV charging infrastructure company at the forefront of America's electrification movement. EJ's story is one of the most compelling career pivots you'll hear: seven successful exits in media technology, from building fantasy football at CBS Sports to working at Will Ferrell's Funny or Die, before a chance investment and a birthday party conversation changed everything. Now leading what could become the largest EV charging contract award in US history, EJ brings a sales leader's clarity, an entrepreneur's hunger, and a refreshingly honest take on what it takes to build something that actually matters. In this episode, we explore: How EJ made the leap from media technology to the energy sector and why not knowing the industry turned out to be his biggest advantage The Romeo Power story: angel investor turned Chief Revenue Officer, working alongside SpaceX and Tesla alumni to commercialise battery technology Why EJ pivoted to found Positive Energy and the vision for the US's most reliable public EV charging network The technology roadmap: ultra-fast charging, wireless inductive charging, and autonomous vehicle charging infrastructure His non-negotiable hiring principle and why good character always beats great credentials What it really means to leave the world better than you found it: climate, team legacy, and the power of accountability Whether you're navigating your own career pivot, building a team, or following the future of clean energy this episode is packed with straight-talking insight and more than a few brilliant stories along the way. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with EJ 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

May 14, 2026Episode 155 min

From Electrician to CCO: What One Career Says About the Future of American Solar with David Reasenberg

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 2 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices. Today we're joined by David Reasenberg, Chief Commercial Officer at Heliene, one of North America's premium solar module manufacturers. David's path to the C-suite is unlike almost any other you'll hear from painting trash cans as part of a school recycling programme in junior high, to becoming a licensed electrician, to installing solar on icy rooftops in Vermont, to founding his own e-commerce solar business, before building a career defined by rare tenure, loyalty, and relentless accountability across some of the industry's most respected organisations. In this episode, we explore: How David's early environmental roots in 1990s California quietly shaped the career that followed The power of "compound judgment" and why staying in a role longer than most gives you an edge no job-hopper can buy How Heliene became one of the first US manufacturers to ship modules with full domestic content, and what that means for customers navigating today's policy landscape Why "responsiveness is a lost art" and the deceptively simple habits that separate great salespeople from average ones David's approach to hiring, referencing, and building high-performance commercial teams The role of AI in sales and why discipline will always beat cleverness Whether you're in sales, renewable energy, or building a career with purpose, this episode is packed with hard-won lessons from someone who's done the work at every level of the industry. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with David 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

May 5, 2026Episode 11 hr 5 min

From Balance Sheet to Boardroom: The CFO to CEO Evolution with Olga Shevorenkova

Welcome to Season 5, 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 Olga Shevorenkova, CEO of Loop Global, a top-five EV charging network in the United States. Olga's career path is remarkable: from a degree in Applied Mathematics in Moscow, through investment banking in clean tech across Europe and New York, to joining the EV space as CFO and helping take a company public through a SPAC during COVID raising close to $600 million in the process. Now she's taken the CEO seat at Loop Global, applying her financial rigour and obsession with talent to build a lean, high-performing team in an industry where many competitors are going bust. In this episode, we explore: How a mathematician from Moscow found her way into clean tech investment banking The realities of switching from advisor to operator and what nobody tells you about that jump Taking a company public through a SPAC in four months, in the middle of a global pandemic Moving from CFO to CEO: the skills that transfer, and the weight that doesn't How Olga restructured Loop Global from the ground up replacing most of the team within 12 months Why talent, not process, is always the first thing to fix The EV industry's most overlooked problem: reliability over innovation What it will take to become a top-three EV charging provider in the US If you're a finance professional curious about making the leap into an operating role, a CFO considering the step up, or a leader navigating a restructure, this episode is packed with real, hard-won insight. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Olga 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

December 9, 20251 hr 7 min

From Engineer to Storyteller: A Leadership Masterclass with Irfan Bharde

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 8 of Better Than We Found It, the go-to podcast for sustainable leadership and purpose-driven business practices. Today's guest is a leader who proves that the most powerful skill in the technical world isn't engineering, it's storytelling. Irfan Bharde is the SVP and Chief Commercial Officer at NovaSource Power, one of the world's largest O&M service providers for solar and storage assets. His journey is a masterclass in cross-industry leadership, with a career spanning traditional power at GE, industrial automation at Honeywell, and robotics and AI at Domatic. Irfan was brought into NovaSource as part of a new leadership team with a clear mission: to transform the company and bring a mature, process-driven playbook to the rapidly growing renewables industry. In this episode, we explore: - The multicultural advantage how speaking multiple languages and understanding different cultures shapes leadership effectiveness - His pivotal career transformation from engineer to executive storyteller working directly with a CEO - The outsider's advantage of bringing lessons from software, robotics, and traditional power into the solar industry - Why the best leaders listen more and speak less and how to make that shift - Navigating the current challenges in renewables and building resilient business models - His vision for total asset optimization and the future of sustainable energy - The role of AI in education and personalized learning - What it means to leave a legacy by empowering the next generation If you're in energy, sustainability, or any technical field looking to scale your leadership impact, this episode is packed with actionable insights. Connect with Josh on LinkedIn Connect with Irfan 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

November 18, 20251 hr 6 min

Simple as Sunshine: A CEO's Playbook for Disrupting the Energy Market with Michael Chanin

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 Connect with Michael 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