Better Than We Found It

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhuggins/]  Connect with Mark on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markliffmann/] 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 [https://www.gs2partnership.com/]

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhuggins/]  Connect with EJ on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/edpositivenergy/] 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 [https://www.gs2partnership.com/]

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhuggins/]  Connect with David on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-reasenberg/] 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 [https://www.gs2partnership.com/]

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhuggins/]  Connect with Olga on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-shevorenkova-8778721b/] 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 [https://www.gs2partnership.com/]

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhuggins/]  Connect with Irfan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/irfanbharde/] 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 [https://www.gs2partnership.com/]