On the business of energy: Jean M. LaVecchia ’81 MBA Rewrites the rules to the triple bottom line
(10/7/2009) - Addressing a crowd of nearly 200 at the University of Connecticut’s Graduate Business Learning Center in Downtown Hartford, Jean M. LaVecchia, Vice President of Human Resources at Northeast Utilities, has a tough task before her – building the morale of over one hundred 1st and 2nd year MBA students nervously wondering if their gamble will pay off. Some have uprooted their families from other countries for the chance to build their skills and network and provide a better life for their families. Others left their jobs with the hope that an MBA degree will allow them to move up the corporate totem pole. And yet others, feeling much like the other 15.1 million energetic unemployed in the United States, undertook an MBA program to ensure that their skills would not be rendered stale when the economy picks back up.
For anyone listening to LaVecchia, life can be mysterious and hopeful. From math to human resources, man-hole covers to energy grids, Millstone to ethics reform it’s been LaVecchia leading the charge, bringing about changes in industry and education that affect not only how we live and learn but how we interact with each other and the environment.
Graduating in 1973 summa cum laude from Connecticut College with a degree in mathematics, Lavecchia began her career in the bell system as an economic engineer for Southern New England Telephone. Her managers stressed the importance of education, providing opportunities for internal and external development. So, when she had the opportunity to enroll in UConn’s full-time MBA Program in 1980, she jumped at the chance.
“Earning an MBA degree demonstrates your own commitment to learning & investment in your own career” notes LaVecchia who graduated from the UConn MBA Program in 1981 and resumed her career at SNET. She later left her 24-year career at SNET to accept an opportunity at People’s Bank in 1998 – becoming Executive Vice President of Corporate Services directing the bank's strategic planning and overseeing its human resources functions. LaVecchia left People’s Bank in 1999 to join Northeast Utilities – reeling after the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant crises. Memorialized on the cover of TIME magazine – the media castigated Northeast Utilities – challenging them to upgrade their safety initiatives and punish those managers who chose retaliation against employees reporting safety violations
“We [Northeast Utilities] learned the hard way; and many companies and leaders are still learning the hard way…”offers LaVecchia who now serves as Vice President of Human Resources and the organization’s Chief Ethics Officer. “Ethics and leadership build the heart of the company – and human resources fills a necessary role in informing and educating employees. But it takes great leaders to ensure a pervasive culture of ethics – and great leaders are role models who always do the right thing.
Motivated by the spirit of service, LaVecchia has been the chief promoter of doing the right thing – and promoting “doing the right thing” as a core corporate value. It’s this corporate tenet that undergirds Northeast Utilities’ efforts in thinking more broadly of how issues and opportunities must be evaluated. “We need to know that when we move, we’re moving in the right direction; and it benefits everybody” offers LaVecchia who now evaluates opportunities on the basis of their economic, environmental and social impacts.
Of course, infusing a culture with innovation can be a bit “like turning the Queen Mary” admits LaVecchia. “These days are much more exciting as this industry is on the leading edge of change; but we’ve met the innovation challenge head-on. We found that we had to infuse new talent into the organization and hire those who have more strategic planning skills and know how to react quickly. We needed people who have experienced the pace of change.
To meet the innovation challenge, Northeast Utilities has turned to LaVecchia’s alma-mater – the University of Connecticut – to help in educating current and future employees. “There is a triple whammy happening in the business world today: baby-boomers are retiring quickly, there is a worker shortage, and there is a large skill gap… Work must be done to educate the workforce of the future. We need strategic thinkers, and those with financial knowledge” notes LaVecchia who has extended Northeast Utilities’ partnership with the UConn School of Business through sponsorship of the “mini-MBA” and heavy recruitment. The “mini-MBA” allows employees to take four courses, tailored to business & industry, while working full-time. Being in the electric & gas business, the Northeast Utilities/UConn School of Business “mini-MBA” focuses on finance, operations, organization, and strategy.
And the partnership does not end there. “UConn is our premier school. We recruit heavily at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In fact, over 400 Northeast Utilities employees are UConn graduates and this past summer, we hosted 120 interns” offers LaVecchia who also notes that an MBA degree is critical now more than ever.
UConn’s MBA Program boasts a robust curriculum that incorporates experiential learning, so students now have the advantage of working in cross-curriculum-based teams. “To the extent you can work in teams, learn from each other and faculty, test-assumptions and models, probe for better information, better understand the interdependent role of regulation and government, network, and build your team and communication skills - it will be very helpful to you in your careers… ”
In offering advice to students, LaVecchia adds “Consider, more broadly, what you want to do – and as you go through the MBA Program, explore other fields… And, as one of my management professors told me, do not seek a career or positions because you want to be it – seek it because you want to do it. ‘Being’ is one thing, but finding your passion is ever more important. ”
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