About Derek

Hi - My name is Derek and I am very excited to work together! :) I enjoy coaching and even before Leland has been an informal mentor to many of my current and past colleagues for many years. I like seeing eyes light up when a piece of my advice or tips and tricks land and makes sense with my mentees. A little bit about me: - I was born and raised in Santiago, Chile, and went to an international school there - I moved up to California to study Chemical Engineering at Stanford University for both my undergrad and my master's. My focus was on Climate-tech (mostly on the energy generation, storage, and efficiency side) and I am really interested in the intersection of renewables and social impact. I read what my admission officers said about me to confirm that the story I wanted to convey resonated with them - I realized that the technical skills that I learned over those years were incomparable; however, I felt like my soft skills were lacking. I joined Bain & Company as a management consultant to improve upon these skills (e.g., how to be 80/20 and laser-focused on what is important, answer-first and hypothesis-driven, frameworks and strategic thinking, and a great teammate as someone who is fun to work with). I worked as part of the recruiting team and am very familiar with the process and what management consulting firms are looking for: 1) worked in the networking sessions and diversity sessions, 2) coffee chats, 3) resume reviews (both as initial reader and grader and final approver to go to the next round), and 4) behavioral and case interviews. - Finally, I joined BioLite, an energy social enterprise, with a mission to empower people and protect the planet through access to renewable energy. I worked with Nairobi, Kenya for 6 months and now serve as our CEO's Chief of Staff and VP of Strategy & Corporate Development. I was impressed by how much the technical and non-technical skillset that I received at Stanford and Bain really made me a strong contributor to an impactful startup. - In my free time, I love scuba diving, playing basketball or soccer, ballroom dancing, brewing, camping, and traveling. https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekewald/