Wednesday, April 7, 2021The Wharton Alumni Club of Southern California invites you to a panel discussion on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, from Noon to 1:00pm PDT on the topic of Sustainability and How the Business Sector Can Make an Impact. Our panel guests are Cessna Mac, WG19, Head of Portfolio Services at PowerPlant Ventures, and Alex Mitchell WG05, G’05, Senior Vice President at LACI (LA Cleantech Incubator).
We will discuss what businesses are doing to embrace sustainability and how they can make a more positive impact on the global or local environment, community, society, and economy.
The discussion will be moderated by Alissa Finerman, WG’98, Executive Coach and Vice President of Wharton SoCal Events. Click on EVENT DETAILS tab to learn more.
About the Panelists:
Cessna Mac, WG19
Cessna Mac is an investor and Head of Portfolio Services at Powerplant Ventures, an emerging-growth investment fund that supports world-changing, plant-centric companies focused on making a lasting, positive impact on the global food system. She serves as a board observer to support PPV portfolio companies and helps accelerate their growth through key strategic, talent-related, and operational initiatives. Prior to joining PPV, Cessna spent the majority of her professional career working in management consulting at EY-Parthenon in New York City. She has also served as a public school teacher with Teach For America in the Bay Area. Cessna holds an MBA from The Wharton School and an A.B. from Harvard University. She is passionate about building community through health and wellness, enjoys teaching and practicing yoga, and is a proud dog mom.
Alex Mitchell, WG05, G’05
Alex Mitchell is the Senior Vice President of Unlocking Innovation at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), where he oversees startup recruitment, startup programs, as well as financial services for founders including a $5M Impact Fund and a Debt Fund. LACI’s technical priorities cover zero emissions transportation, clean energy and circular economy.
He joined LACI from Groupe PSA in Paris where he was VP of Corporate Strategy, co-leading the company’s acquisition of Opel from General Motors and leading the company’s work on autonomous mobility. Previously, he headed the automotive automotive industry vertical at the World Economic Forum, with a focus on autonomous mobility. Alex has also served as VP of retail sales at an LA-based EV startup, Coda Automotive, and worked at Toyota Europe and at McKinsey.
Alex is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained an MBA from the Wharton School and an MA from the School of Arts and Sciences as Fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program. He also holds a BA from Stanford University. His rescue dog makes frequent guest appearances on his Zoom calls.