#281 Irina Filippova: Courage Is the Career Plan
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What is the story behind Irina Filippova's career journey?
This episode tells the story of a self-starter who never settles, who is constantly in search of change, who combines curiosity and courage with a profound sense of integrity, now becoming a force for change. Irina Filipov, the COO and co-founder of an energy transition company backed by BlackRock. We met more than 20 years ago at Yale. We are MBA classmates. Right from the start, her clear and persuasive way of speaking really caught my attention. It's not just that she is a well-trained diplomat, fluent in five languages. She possesses a clarity of thought and the ability to communicate her ideas with strong conviction. You will surely sense this conviction throughout our conversation. Irina was born into a family led by a nuclear scientist in Russia. Yet her interests led her elsewhere, in particular to international relations and eventually a diplomat career in the States. Her journey didn't stop there. She wanted to pursue a business career, so she went to Yale and transitioned into the energy sector with BP in London.
But the corporate world couldn't contain her ambition for law. Irina transitioned from a comfortable corporate position during the credit crisis to spearhead new ventures, at some point becoming a change leadership consultant for CEOs and senior leaders. Then a few years back during COVID, she and her team were setting up a new venture. As we speak today, they are crafting a new paradigm in the energy sector. The mission is to disrupt the transportation industry in the States with innovative energy solutions. Towards the end of our conversation, Irina will share invaluable advice for the younger generation who are passionate about creating global change for the greater good. Here comes Irina Filipov.
Thanks for having me, Vince. It's a pleasure. I grew up in Moscow, as you know. My father was a nuclear scientist, so he was in energy. But I was not. I was interested in languages. And when the time came to choose a career, I truly wanted a career that would expose me to different cultures and the way the world works. worked as it were. So I chose a career in diplomacy, which was a very tall task for, first of all, a female. Typically, career in diplomacy would be reserved to men. But I did succeed in entering the very exclusive Moscow State Institute for International Relations, and I was studying international law. when I had the opportunity to travel to the United States and see how, if you will, human rights practices worked in reality. And this is where my big journey began, as it were. So the career evolved. I went actually on to work for a UN think tank and peace and conflict resolution. I did that for about five years. And while it was a very, very interesting time,
How did Irina transition from diplomacy to the energy sector?
in world politics, being a young person living in New York City, surrounded by kind of all the mystery of international relations, I was looking for something more challenging and potentially even more substantive as I was thinking about my future. So I decided to apply to a business school and of course a business school like Yale, a school of management, stands out, certainly stood out for me because of their mission and the focus on leadership for business and society. And that helped me articulate where I saw myself heading as an adult, as a mature professional. I truly wanted to make a difference for society, for global society, as it were. But I also was interested in the mechanic of the business in terms of solving problems
some of the challenges that we're facing, not only the mechanism of politics that I was exposed to before. So that's how the journey started as it were. That's when we met at Yale. And when I was enrolled as an MBA student, I did not necessarily have a very clear idea of a path. If you recall, there were tracks, a finance track, a consulting track, a marketing track, a nonprofit track.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the story behind Irina Filippova's career journey?
0:39–4:21
2
How did Irina transition from diplomacy to the energy sector?
4:21–7:29
3
What lessons did Irina learn from leading change at BP?
7:29–11:53
4
What defines courageous leadership according to Irina?
11:53–17:04
5
How does Irina view the role of integrity in leadership?
17:04–20:31
6
What is Irina's approach to change in leadership and management?
20:31–40:59
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Chief Change Officer™: Ensemble
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