How Stine Hedegaard Became the Director of Global Engagement at Pangaia - A lesson on pivoting from academia to industry

In this weeks 'How I Became...' I spoke to Stine Hedegaard , the current Director of Engagement at PANGAIA . Stine a former colleague of mine is a very experienced leader in the industry, from the interview alone I learned so many new things and it was truly inspiring. This is a great read for anyone looking to pivot into industry from academia, or looking to pivot into academia from industry!

Q: Stine, earlier this year, you became the Director of Global Engagement at Pangaia. Please tell me what exactly this role entails.

A: My role at Pangaia is an external facing role initiating collaboration with a variety of stakeholders and participating in and contributing to global events to ensure Pangaia takes part in driving industry transformation. It entails a fair bit of research, stakeholder collaboration, strategising and communication.

Q: You started your career by working in industry and then moved into academia. How did you pivot from academia back into the industry?

A: Although very different sectors, the skills and competencies acquired in industry and academia are similar. It’s about teamwork and collaboration; it's about leading teams, it’s about communication, putting a persuasive presentation together that catches your audience, about research and keeping abreast of what’s happening in your field. So, for me, the transition wasn’t too difficult. My advice for transitioning between sectors would be to look at what skills are required to do the job you are doing and how it translates into skills needed in another sector and context (e.g., If you teach, you are likely to be a very good communicator, and most organisations would appreciate such a skill)

It’s interesting how in some countries, like the US, it's fairly common to move between academia and industry, in others not at all. I think that’s a shame because you learn so much working in different sectors, contexts and from different perspectives, especially if you work in the field of sustainability and impact. Sustainability is approached very differently in industry vs academia vs non-profits and understanding these different approaches just adds to a holistic view of the field and makes you better at collaborating across the different sectors because you understand where other people are coming from

Q: What advice would you give someone currently active in industry but considering pivoting to pursue a career in academia. What should they be aware of?

A: Going from industry to academia in most instances, require you to obtain academic qualifications. Still, you can offer to guest lecture at universities where they teach a course relevant to your background. The best route into academia is to do a PhD program as most universities require a PhD for an academic career. It’s hard work doing a PhD but very rewarding personally and professionally!

If you have an influence on how your organisation interact with external stakeholders, this is another opportunity to collaborate with academic institutions; many will happily join forces through their knowledge exchange initiatives on student – company collaborations or by engaging in research projects. Such projects are beneficial for all parties as they entail knowledge sharing between industry and academia and I highly recommend companies to seek out these collaborations.

Q: I truly believe that embedding sustainability within the fashion curriculum is essential. You have had first-hand experience teaching sustainability to students. You taught sustainable management at the London College of Fashion. Can you break down what this consisted of? What were the modules? Was it theory-based or practical?

A: I agree, sustainability is an essential component of fashion education and should be part and parcel of everything taught as it relates to all aspects of fashion. My role at LCF was a subject leader in sustainable management so the majority of my teaching was focused on sustainability in a management context, and I very much enjoyed it!

I have taught a unit looking at strategy, disruption, and innovation in the fashion industry, so focusing on any new ‘trends’ (don’t like that word but lack a better one!) emerging in the industry. This could be anything from diversity and inclusion, emerging technologies to blockchain enabling traceability and transparency. I also taught sustainability strategy focusing on the different aspects you need to be familiar with in order to work in this particular field of sustainability.?

My teaching included a lot of theory, but always related to a practical context, so presenting theories on a particular topic and then relating it to practice. For the fashion industry I find this rather important; you must be able to translate theory into practice.

In addition to my lecturing responsibilities, I have also been supervising postgrad and PhD students whose topic is sustainability related. I enjoy this aspect of academia particularly as it’s so rewarding seeing students gain expert knowledge on a narrow topic within sustainability and help them achieve their best potential. Plus, I learn a lot from the research carried out by dissertation students; it’s a great source of information!

Q: I want to take a step back and explore your educational background. Earlier in your career, you were a PhD researcher for H&M. How did you land this opportunity? Did you see any results and changes embedded in the company?

A: I was employed as Development Director at Danish Fashion Institute (which is now known as Global Fashion Agenda), and the former head of sustainability at H&M was part of an advisory board we had set up regarding a sustainability initiative (that eventually led to Copenhagen Fashion Summit). We had many interesting conversations about implementing sustainability initiatives in a large organisation like H&M which then led to me proposing a PhD research project. Back then, Denmark had a PhD program called an industrial PhD where companies could onboard a PhD fellow whose project was focused on a challenge in the company, so the company was the case study for my research. H&M agreed to it, and I started working for them carrying out my research as one normally does as a PhD fellow and then presenting results to the exec team. I loved working for H&M; they were very receptive to the research and recommendations I proposed, and I learned a great deal from working there. The challenges and opportunities for implementing sustainability actions varies greatly from being an SME to being an MNE and obtaining experiences from both start-ups and large companies provides you with a good understanding of the field of sustainability.

Q: What opportunities are there for anyone looking to work within sustainability apart from becoming a designer?

A: Most of the people I know working in the field of sustainability, such as the sustainability departments of brands, sustainability consultancies, and non-profits don’t have a design background. They have a wide variety of academic backgrounds ranging from engineering, management studies to art history. I’m a psychologist who then did my PhD in organisation and management! There are a couple of opportunities for studying a MSc in sustainability today so you can specialise in the field, but the varying backgrounds of people in the field are equally important, as it allows for a multitude of perspectives and, thus much richer discussions. Regardless of your background, I think it is very important to engage with academic research in the field. The different theories on sustainability, CSR, Triple Bottom Line, Circular Economy, Ethics etc. are very important to have knowledge about. You then need to couple this with practical knowledge. Sustainability is both theory and a toolbox – knowledge about both is key.

What advice would you give to anyone who specifically wants to build a career as a sustainability consultant?

A: You should find out how your educational and work background fits with a specific area of the field. Sustainability consultants often specialise in a specific area, e.g., strategy, communication, supply chain, environmental issues, carbon, LCAs, ethics etc. Let’s say you have a marketing background, this would give you a really good opportunity to work with sustainability marketing and comms.

I also recommend you sign up to some courses on sustainability if you are still at university. If not, there are loads of courses available on Coursera and FutureLearn as well as exec education at universities. I also recommend you start reading academic journal articles on the topic, books as well as white paper reports. Sustainability reports that companies put on their website are also really good sources of information about what is going on in the industry.

Q: Can you share 3 recommended resources that you swear by?

A: I don’t have specific books to recommend but I would recommend everyone wanting to work in sustainability to search for academic journal articles on a particular area of sustainability they are interested in and look for white papers in general. I receive a lot of newsletters as well, that keep me up to date, both on general news as well as sustainability news, such as Quartz daily brief, the Guardian, New York Times, BoF daily digest, Vogue Business. GreenBiz, CSR Wire, Sustainable Brands, Triple Pundit, Corporate Knights… a lot of newsletters!

I hope this weeks newsletter was insightful!