Catherine Cates (MBA 1983) & Bill Nussey (MBA 1996)

Steve Kirschner (MBA 1986), Bill Nussey (MBA 1996), & John Yates (event host)

Nussey presenting to HBS alumni

Nussey and Kirschner

Catherine Cates (MBA 1983) & Bill Nussey (MBA 1996)

Steve Kirschner (MBA 1986), Bill Nussey (MBA 1996), & John Yates (event host)

Nussey presenting to HBS alumni

Nussey and Kirschner

The HBS Club of Atlanta’s Entrepreneurship Special Interest Group (eSIG) honored clean-energy entrepreneur Bill Nussey (MBA 1996) with the Legends award at its January 27 gathering held at the law offices of Morris, Manning & Martin in Atlanta.

“We created this award this to recognize a Georgia entrepreneur who has done something significant in their field and made an impact along the way,” says the event’s organizer and moderator Steve Kirschner (MBA 1986). “The plaque is an acknowledgement of their work and a thank-you for enlightening our group.”

Nussey was the first honoree and featured speaker in the Legends series, which will include a wide range of entrepreneurs who are “moving the needle” in their industries, giving back to society, and having a broader impact on the world.

“It was super flattering to be selected,” says Nussey, whose companies have created thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in value over his career. He cofounded a software company in high school and another, Da Vinci Systems, in college. Upon graduation, he worked as a venture capitalist for Greylock. In 1998, he left to run a portfolio company, iXL, which went public and grew to almost $500 million in revenue. After iXL, he joined Silverpop as its CEO, seeing it grow to nearly $100 million, becoming a global leader in cloud-based marketing. In 2014, IBM acquired the company and made it the foundation of the IBM Marketing Cloud.

While exploring what was next, Nussey wrote a book. Your Mountain is Waiting: Practical Advice For Forging A Mission In Life, came together as he shifted his attention and talents toward clean energy. In 2018, he cofounded Solar Inventions at Georgia Tech’s ATDC incubator, with a mission to commercialize a set of scientific breakthroughs for improving silicon photovoltaics. Through his Freeing Energy Project, Nussey is writing a book to help people outside the industry understand the economic opportunity in the transition to clean energy. The project also includes a podcast, a blog, and a TED talk.

In his Legends breakfast talk, which he called “From Software to Solar,” Nussey explained why he would “seemingly throw away a successful career” for clean energy.

“I said I wanted to go after businesses doing ambitious things,” he says. “Right now in the world, a billion people have no electricity. But the cost of clean energy is falling. My mission is to drive broad awareness to the business side of solar energy.”

He adds that solar is a real alternative to fossil fuels, and will be the biggest disruption to the least-changed industry energy in 100 years. “When I made the decision, I wasn’t able to articulate why, except to say I knew it was a fascinating opportunity. Some folks thought I was nuts. But my goal is not to check out. I want to do stuff, to swing and miss, and swing and miss, and swing and miss again, and then figure it out.”

That boldness is what makes Nussey a Legend, says Kirschner. “Bill can do anything he wants, but he has elected to do something that will benefit all of mankind if his efforts succeed.”

Drena Kusari (MBA 2008) shares insights with Scottsdale-area HBS alumni

More than a dozen HBS alumni in the Scottsdale area convened at the Mountain Shadows Resort to hear about the business of ridesharing from Drena Kusari (MBA 2008), General Manager for the Southwest Region of Lyft Corporation.

Kusari was the featured speaker for the HBS Club of Arizona’s Monthly Networking Night, which was organized by event chair and board member Keith Wong (AMP 187, 2014).

“Drena gave us a snapshot of the rideshare space, including the challenges and opportunities, as well as what’s coming next,” says Wong. “She gave us a deeper understanding of what the company faces regarding labor, driver policies and driver issues, and a hint at new niche businesses that Lyft is currently exploring. It was pretty interesting, and we had a very lively discussion afterwards. I think everyone enjoyed the evening.”

Kusari talks about Lyft

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