Jamie Garrett, Business Development and Strategy Manager for ENGIE
Jamie Garrett is a Business Development and Strategy Manager for ENGIE, in their San Diego, California office. ENGIE is a renewable energy company offering solutions for customers mostly in the public sector, such as public school districts, cities, investor-owned utilities, and libraries.
Working on Farms and Food Sustainability
Prior to achieving her advanced degree, a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on environmental sustainability at the University of California San Diego, Jamie had a strong affinity to the food industry. By volunteering at local farms and farmer’s markets, and helping farmers plant and harvest food, she came to understand the importance of supply chain logistics.
While volunteering for World Wide Opportunity, Jamie worked on a California organic farm and also lived in Costa Rica for a couple of months where she learned what resources farmers needed to effectively grow their crops. Her interest in food sustainability is not a far reach from her career in renewable energy. “I learned a whole new way of living that was simpler and I’ve been able to carry a lot of the principles I learned forward through my career, like permaculture and biodynamic farming.”
Being a Business Developer
Jamie’s first position after graduating with her Master’s degree in 2015 was a position at Opterra, where she was a Water-Energy Nexus Strategist. “I was in charge of researching water technology solutions and financing solutions and integrating those into our public sector energy programs. The goal was to find ways to help customers save water, and how water savings were associated with energy savings.”
When ENGIE bought out Opterra, Jamie’s position developed into a more strategic position. The rewards for a business developer are great but so are the challenges. Her biggest challenge as a business developer has been navigating political waters in order to align parties’ varied interests in investing in long term projects. Many stakeholders need to be advised and consulted. In order to build successful projects, Jamie must understand the renewable energy market, connect with the right people who make decisions for those entities, and keep up to date with policies and regulations in order to provide and propose effective energy solutions. And though juggling those aspects are challenging, it is also rewarding.
With the global pandemic, Jamie’s work travel has significantly reduced. Currently, she works from home but she misses face-to-face networking with people because one of the best parts of her job is leading a team and being a direct link to the customer. She continues to be active in her organizations and wants to continue to be engaged, which is necessary for her field and position. ]
Women in the Renewable Energy Sector
With women accounting for less than six percent of the CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, and only slightly better in smaller companies, ENGIE has a female CEO and a female general manager. Though Jamie’s direct supervisor is male, she has always felt supported in her work and during her recent maternity leave. ENGIE also has a resource group for its employees called “Women in Networking”, where the employees meet and provide mentorship and insights to one another. Perhaps it’s the benefit of being fairly new to the workforce but Jamie has not experienced any challenges of being a woman in the field, which is an encouraging sign for recent graduates and women who are seeking positions in the renewable energy industry.
For those who want to enter into business development, Jamie suggests classes or seminars in project finance and project management are helpful. Because renewable energy projects take many years to develop, construct, and operate, understanding the entire project from start to finish would be valuable in providing timely and helpful information to customers and the team.
To keep up to date on the industry, Jamie networks, reads industry articles, and listens to industry podcasts. Jamie is on the Board of San Diego Energy Network - Cleantech San Diego. The organization provides newsletters and events where attendees learn about statewide and federal regulations and policies as well as new technologies and start-ups.
The Importance of Mentors
Jamie’s first mentor was a professor at UCSD. He pushed her out of her comfort zone to apply for a leadership position in a fellowship in Israel. His belief in her led her to do things she didn’t think herself capable of doing. “I was stretched beyond my perceived limits and came out a lot stronger and more confident on the other side. I now have a different mentor who helps me when I am at a crossroads, big or small. She also helps me find balance between work and being a new mom since she is a mother of three and has had this experience longer than I have,” Jamie says. One day she hopes to be a mentor to other women in their careers and support them as she has been supported in her own career.
What the Future Holds
In the next five years, Jamie would be happy to still be at ENGIE with a role in management. She also wants to grow her family, continue work-life balance, and still make an impact in her field and in her job.