In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI and former CEO of Nextdoor.

Sarah shares her impressive career journey from engineering in Northern Ireland, to McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and various leadership roles, notably CEO of Nextdoor and CFO at OpenAI.

Sarah offers insights into switching roles within the C-Suite, the challenges women face in tech, and the importance of networking, curiosity, and owning one's power. She discusses her transition back to a CFO role, her views on organizational culture, and practical advice for building effective teams.

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

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The power of curiosity and connections in tech

06:19: So I went to this conference. It was two days back to back, and I came back to work, and the VP said, “Where have you been?” Like, we were a bit worried about you. And I was like, “Oh, I was at this conference.” And I walked around this conference, and it was super nerdy. Like, you know, it's the nerds of the nerds. But I was there with my Goldman Sachs business card, and I would just stop at every booth and talk about what someone's technology was and who they were. And that has paid dividends so long in my career. Number one, it got me into the one space that wasn't cracking when the bubble really burst bad. It got me a pathway over into equity research, which actually became the much longer part of my Goldman career. These people that I met at that stage, many of them were young engineers, have become very senior in the technology industry over time. And it was just such a good learning moment for me. Not just that network is important, but curiosity is important. The people who don't look like you or seem like you can actually become incredibly important, interesting, and useful in your career path.

How is Sarah aligning impact with opportunity?

14:32: First and foremost, I think it's really about aligning where you can have the most impact, right? The whole, if you're going to change the world, start by giving something big a push. To me, that meant OAI or OpenAI right now at this moment in time. I think it is in the crucible of how much AI is going to change the world. And in particular, the mission statement of OpenAI around building technology that will benefit all of humanity was incredibly important to me. Like, we're not just advancing AI, we're actually shaping the future of how society will interact with intelligence itself. And so there's not many places in the world, it might be an N of 1 where I think you can go do that. So, you have to sometimes just recognize that. The role doesn't matter, the title doesn't matter, because the role itself puts you right in that moment.

Sarah's perspective on aligning personal impact with broader change

03:23: I always want to put myself where I feel like I can have maximum impact, but importantly, the thing I'm impacting will have maximum impact. There's a quote that's always stuck with me: "If you want to cause change in the world, give something big a push." And so I often try to put myself in that place.

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by James da Costa, co-founder of Fingo Africa, and also author of the book Fintech Wars: Tech Titans, Complex Crypto and the Future of Money.

James relays his journey growing up in Sheffield, England, and studying economics. From working at McKinsey, to founding a digital banking startup in Kenya and finally joining Andreessen Horowitz as a partner.

James emphasizes the importance of boldness, continual learning, reaching out to influential figures, and the significance of generosity in networking. His story is an inspiring testament to young professionals and entrepreneurs.

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

Lessons from FinTech wars

10:31: [Jeffrey Pfeffer] So what did you learn from your research on FinTech wars? And then I'm going to ask you, what did you learn from starting the bank?

10:56:[James da Costa] I think one of the most interesting things that I saw is, number one: very often, I think the very best founders are at their best in crisis. They love it when they're thrown the most difficult challenge. I came back from David [Vélez] from Nubank again. He's at his best when the central bank is about to tell him that he's going to get shut down or that he's running out of money because he's then able to galvanize himself and every single person around him to take on that challenge. Reid Huffman compares it to great startup operators being like doctors or emergency care workers. They're used to being in these high-stress environments. And so it was amazing to see how calm and how articulate many of these people were faced with. They respond with massive action, but they often break up the stimulus to the response.

How James landed a partnership at a prestigious VC firm straight out of business school

05:07: For me, in my career, I've always followed my energy and interests. And so, on the one hand, that's meant that I've had a career that involves supporting corporates build startups in the UK and abroad. It then kind of jumps to building a digital bank myself in East Africa. And now I'm over here in the Bay Area. And so, at first look, you might kind of not see these things. But over time, I built a real knowledge and excitement for a particular industry, which was FinTech and financial services, and had the chance to just meet many, many entrepreneurs in that space and learn a lot about the space. And I think that, combined with actually being an entrepreneur myself and then, at Stanford, spending a lot of time convening other entrepreneurs around Stanford, inviting successful entrepreneurs to come back and talk to people, it meant that I was sort of in the right place at the right time, as they were looking for a new investing partner to join that team.

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In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Christine Hung, VP of Client Solutions at Flatiron Health.

Christine shares her experiences as an Asian immigrant from Taiwan with an exemplary career in data science and analytics. Christine’s journey includes overcoming job discrimination and still coming out on top at prestigious companies like Apple, the New York Times, and Spotify, as well as her current role at Flatiron Health.

Jeffrey and Christine discuss the importance of visibility, networking, asking for what you want, and overcoming self-doubt. This episode provides valuable insights not just for Asian Americans or immigrants, but for anyone facing similar challenges in the workplace.

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

The advice that empowered Christine to lead with confidence

08:36: So instead of waiting to see what this person was going to do, at your encouragement, Jeff, I went to my boss, or our common boss, and said, "Hey, this just happened; it was out of the blue, but here's why I think I should continue to lead this department." My boss was very receptive, and the whole shenanigan just went away. What you did for me there, Jeff, is remind me of the value that I was bringing to the table as a leader and really pushed me to defend what I have built and what I deserve. [09:23] And with that, Jeff, I am forever grateful. And every time I run into situations like this—[09:42]I always ask myself, "What would Jeff advise me to do?" And the answer is always very obvious.

How overcoming fear of rejection helped Christine get to where she is today

19:50: I think from my experience, the hardest part was getting out of my head, right? 'Cause I think we're all just afraid of rejection, right? And I remember the night before I was going to ask Carolyn [CEO of Flatiron Health] for this opportunity, I was role-playing with my husband, right? And I was like, "Oh my God, what is this going to do?" And basically, he said to me, "Christine, what's the worst thing that's going to happen? The worst thing that's going to happen is that she says no, and you go back to your current job." I think this is something that really took me a long time to learn. I think even at this stage, 20 years out of college, I still need to catch myself when I do that. And that's why I think having taken your lesson, or having your book, your podcast, has been such a great reminder of what I need to do to really achieve my goals

Success requires more than just performance

13:30: From my experience, performance is table stakes. You need to do so much more than just performing to be successful. You need to have the right boss. You need to be hired at the right time. You need to make sure that the right people with the right power are aware of your impact. And you need to have allies and sponsors in the organization. You also need to be in the right place at the right time in order to progress.

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