CANCELLED – to be rescheduled.

Speaker – Stephen Bennett, JD,  The Demex Group, Co-Founder and Chief Climate Officer (hosted by G. Lackmann)

Seminar Title – Making a Career of Chaos: Navigating Risks and Rewards for the Earth’s Critical Condition. Please see your email for a Zoom link.

Abstract – Today’s undergraduate and graduate students will form a corps of professionals that heal the Earth, in more ways than one.

According to researchers at Yale, Millennials and Gen-Z’ers are coming to age amidst a steady stream of alarming news about climate change and ecological destruction.  A 10-country study by Britt Wray found a level of mental distress in young people that is linked to a sense of betrayal from governmental and societal leaders from previous generations. Wray issues a call to action for today’s students to become part of a mission that’s bigger than an individual pursuit. She believes that today’s distress can fuel positive change in the generation ahead.

Our speaker today has had the honor of assembling a team of professionals who have chosen to center their careers addressing the climate crisis. Many of them are in their early career and are actively developing contemporary risk management strategies. They issued their own call to action: “It’s the fight of our generation. We know that every background, education, and experience matters. Let’s get creative and get involved. The unique skills of every young professional are equally relevant taking on the challenge. Get involved by building your career.”

But how?

Today’s speaker will lead a discussion focused on the journey to build a career that engages real-issues and faces real-challenges to enhance our understanding and management of natural impacts on society and the economy.

Bio – Linking extreme weather and climate to economic impact has been the core of my professional journey for over 20-years. It’s been amazing to see the rapid coupling of science, technology, and business leadership focusing on climate risk just within the last 5 of those years. My career began by linking extreme weather and natural disasters to financial impact for some of the world’s most newsworthy companies where I focused on energy, agriculture, insurance, reinsurance, and company valuation. I went on to build and lead a team that developed software to identify climate risks to global supply chain operations. I’ve worked closely with companies such as Apple, Unilever, ABInBev, 7-Eleven, MillerCoors, Ross Stores, and many others. I’ve most recently worked with global leaders in the reinsurance and risk management space to mutually drive innovation for adapting finance and insurance for climate resilience programs. As the co-founder of two start-ups, I’ve had significant experience turning vision into action and catalyzing diverse groups to solve intricate problems.