Does Switching Career From Non-Profit to Big Business Always Mean Turning to the Dark Side? - Disrupt Your Career
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Disrupt Your Career – February 2021
Does Switching Career
From Non-Profit to Big
By Antoine Tirard and Claire Harbour
Business Always Mean
Turning to the Dark Side?
How three purpose-driven professionals who started their career in
cause-related organizations and migrated to “the other side” continue
to do good.
By Antoine Tirard and Claire Harbour
When we set out to write this article, we were some sort of selling out, a kind of compromise, or
interested in looking at the mirror reflection of pact with the devil, à la Dorian Gray. What we
an article we wrote years ago about executives discovered leads to the highly diverse stories that
leaving the world of profit, and moving into follow, and some illuminating conclusions on the
purpose-driven roles. Even within the scope of nature of the chiaroscuro of the world of work.
that article, we came across those who had
made the reverse transition previously, and Tanja – The multi-talented provocative
some of our subjects made that move later. So, Serbian journalist who enlightened the oil
we began with the hypothesis, somewhat and gas, media and tech sectors
naïvely and possibly judgmentally, that the At the age of 15, Tanja wrote a letter to herself
transition in the opposite direction involved and sealed it in an envelope for the next ten
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Disrupt Your Career – February 2021
years. Inside, she expressed the dream of Name
becoming a journalist who wrote travelogues Tanja Tatomirovic
and novels. However, her actual version of Most recent ‘profit’ role
journalism was being beaten over the head by Head of PR,
the police during student protests, during the Communications &
autocratic regime of Slobodan Milosevic in her Philanthropies,
native Serbia. The physical scar is still with her, Multi-Country Cluster
at Microsoft
as are the myriad actions and reactions around
justice and rights for all. Previous ‘purpose’ roles
PR advisor, spokesperson and USAID
Tanja’s quest had been obvious from early
coordinator, Supreme Commercial Court of
childhood. A multi-talented individual with the the Republic of Serbia
energy to apply to whatever was “right”, she did Author of a book on fascist radio propaganda
karate at six “to fight bullies and protect the Journalist, "Demokratija" daily news
weak”, and typed petitions of all kinds to Nationality
demand her own and others’ rights. This all Serbian
gave her the hunger for extensive studies, in
Education
Law, International Relations and Business, as PhD, Management of Culture and Media
well as photography and more. MSc, Communications
With a healthy skepticism about “big BA, International Relations and Diplomacy
business”, as well as for much of the politics
surrounding her, Tanja embarked on her initial
career as a journalist, against the background of even the murkiest of activities through vision,
civil war, atrocities, and school friends conviction and determination, Tanja then chose
disappearing, whether voluntarily and overseas to spend substantial periods with a mission to
or not. The high point was having an article conquer and enlighten the petrochemicals and
published on the front page of one of the few media sectors. Here, she honed her skills and
opposition-led newspapers in the country, initiatives in corporate communications and
criticizing the corrupt police system. This led to social responsibility. She was working in some of
her being heavily interrogated and forced to the “darkest” industries known, but opened up to
leave this cherished job. the public, and increased accountability via
From here, she continued her lofty ambitions communication. She also established a
while working in Serbian schools, on digitali- foundation, which still does important work for
zation projects. This led to a post as the right society and the environment. At this stage, it was
hand to the Minister of Finance. Having heard becoming more and more clear that the purpose
that “other earning opportunities were was in the opportunities that profit-driven
significant”, she left a few days later, disillu- organizations have, namely resources.
sioned once more. “Regardless of whether that is money,
More studies and deeper exploration led to a knowledge or technology; even small steps,
role in a potentially extremely “dark” place, but consistently taken, can take us far enough.”
Tanja’s work heading a team of PR profess- It was the idea of having vast resources with
sionals in the court system of Serbia raised which to do more good that led to Tanja join
transparency significantly, and they were Microsoft eight years ago, after further work in
awarded an international prize for their efforts. the oil and gas sector, as well as media. Her
She had brought light to the obscurity. She was desire to learn and adapt constantly is endless,
beginning to understand that interests of good and it seems to be this that allows her to
and bad could meet at interesting crossroads, continue to be doing “good” while creating value
and that there was a potential for more light for her employers, however “bad” they may be.
going forward. At Microsoft, roles of increasing seniority and
Having discovered it was possible to improve geographical scope have kept her engaged. She is
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Disrupt Your Career – February 2021
often tired, but never jaded. As she says, “the Name
feeling of doing something just for money is not Derek Yach
pleasant at all, but then you take money from Most recent ‘profit’ role
the for-profit and donate it to purpose driven SVP Global Health
parts, and the feeling is completely Robin- and Agriculture Policy
Hoodish!” at PepsiCo
Her consummate skill as a communicator is Previous ‘purpose’ roles
trusted and valued in her organization, but Director, Global Health,
even now, she struggles with a desire to be The Rockefeller Foundation
Executive Director, World Health
direct and not particularly subtle when it comes
Organization
to convictions and principles. She admits that Group Executive, South African Medical
learning to be a diplomat has been hard, and Research Council
she is still occasionally accused of “being too
Nationality
much of a journalist”. She guesses that “I am South African
asking questions that not everyone is ready to
Education
answer”, and continues to eschew the role of
BSc Hons and Master of Public Health (MPH),
“corporate person” as much as possible. Epidemiology
Tanja recognizes that her journalist friends MBChB, Medicine
find it difficult to see how she navigates the
path of working for one of the biggest
companies in the world, and being purpose- household in South Africa during the Apartheid
driven. But she knows her moral compass, and era. His privilege caused him to question why
“sleeps well at night”. Her work is extremely suffering, whether physical, social, or other, was
demanding but she measures her success by so unfairly distributed, and his decision was to
whether she has “achieved one positive thing a choose a profession where he could have an
week, whether teaching someone something, impact. Sure enough, in addition to anatomy,
improving a small business function, or helping diagnosis and patient care, Derek got active,
an organization achieve more”. even militant.
Would she go back? She misses her days as a Early on, his mentor pulled him aside, and,
journalist, but is also extremely lucid about the suggesting Derek was not cut out to be a great
state of journalism today, and is not sure she clinician, told him she had recommended him to
would thrive in that environment. She a friend, an epidemiologist. Off he went to work
contemplates the unlikely possibility that she on the frontier of research into how health was
could write her own texts and thoughts affected by class, ethnicity and education, in this
completely uncensored, concluding that she deeply divided society. As the end of apartheid
would enjoy it, but must face the reality of emerged, more research work could be done, the
needing to learn her own self-censorship. previous academic boycott of South African
With the ongoing dream of bringing more medics lifted, and the international horizon
people together, more often, and creating more opened up to Derek. He was researching into
agreement, Tanja offers the following advice to HIV, tuberculosis and had already become
aspiring Robin Hoods: “Make the starry sky interested in how to reduce the effects of
together, and light your way. A lone star can smoking on the world population.
never give enough light, and so it usually just At this time, the WHO made Derek their first
burns out on its own”. South African medic in thirty years, and he
Derek – The South African doctor who did gladly joined an existing program called “Health
a stint in corporate America to advance for All”. Soon enough, under an exceptional
global health Director General, Gro Harlem Brundtland, he
Derek’s initial choice to study medicine sprang got involved in “Pathfinder Projects”, most
from having grown up in an open-minded notably on smoking. As a result of a federative
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Disrupt Your Career – February 2021
approach, and a great deal of negotiation
internationally, the world’s first treaty for Charles – The UN Chief who Narrowly
health was adopted and one tangible example Avoided Switching to the Dark Side
of progress was that the group achieved smoke-
free sports stadia across over 180 countries, Name: Charles Petrie
and heralded the end of smoking in sport.
Nationality: French / British
After a change of Director General, Derek
found he disliked the bureaucratic constraints Education: BA, International
of the UN world, and spent a short period at Affairs and Art History, MBA
Yale, where he discovered the value that can be Inspiration: Childhood stories
created by working “with the bad guys” in the heard from his grandmother and her friends about
WW2, camps, resistance and “who had had a good
food and pharmaceutical industries, rather war and who had not”.
than pitching the science against them. Here,
Early career: International banking and consulting
his engagement with the Oxford Health
Alliance led to the creation of a private-public Shift to Purpose: invitation to join the UN while on a
partnership committed to gradual change “for consulting project in Sudan
the better”, including Novo Nordisk, Time spent in Purpose: 20 years+, across Africa,
McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Nestlé and others. His Middle East and Asia
clarity about the path of progress to tackle the Primary Purpose: humanitarian assistance, conflict
neglect of chronic diseases and their risks was resolution and innovative, context-driven peace
creation and maintenance, added to an unusual
increasing, and he felt more and more
willingness to speak up
comfortable straddling ideological bridges,
convinced that he was always doing “more good Catalyst: attempting to get the UN, the guarantor of
the Convention on Genocide, to investigate one of
by preventing”. their own, accused of having participated in the
At that point, PepsiCo approached Derek and Rwanda genocide. This ultimately led to his
asked him to come and head a new set of resignation from the UN
initiatives aimed at accelerating portfolio How he almost flipped to the other side:
transformation for health. The lure was to The founder of Bancroft Global, Michael Stock, an
create more sugar-free drinks, reduced-salt and heir of the Loeb banking dynasty, embarked on a
long and pressured seduction process to attract
fatty snacks, produce more healthy foods, and
Charles, including private planes and rides in Rolls
to change consumer behavior toward favoring Royces. Charles was interested in the opportunity to
such things. CEO Indra Nooyi was all for the join the private security firm but only if they would
idea of bringing public health policy debate “embrace who they really were (‘i.e. private security
contractors who are seen to engage in and support
inside and using it to create viable products. some of the dirtiest work on the planet, whether
Many in public health began to accuse Derek of political or industrial’)”. He wanted to invest fully in
going far over on the dark side. He rationalizes the Montreux process, and take a lead in creating a
code of conduct for the industry. The debate went
the move, and the nearly six years he spent in
on for a year, but ultimately no common ground was
PepsiCo, supporting removal of palm oil from found. “The UN label would have been deeply
the group’s products in Mexico, and a collective useful for them, and that was what they were
6 trillion calories from the diet of Americans, interested in buying. But I could not see the benefit
to me if I could not get them to engage in the
alongside other giants, as engaging the improvement of their true industry”. Today, Charles
commercial sector to do better, incrementally. continues to battle for justice from a base in Africa.
When the time came for Derek to leave
PepsiCo, feeling he had gained enough insurance companies for mutual profit, there
momentum for progress, he joined a company, were some genuinely positive outcomes of the
the Vitality Group, where the aim was to tools on increasing life expectancy clearly backed
incentivize people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. up by evidence-based reports and papers.
Although the company had its own, quite The momentous “final episode” resulted from
clearly lucrative agenda, engaging with an article Derek wrote for The Spectator on
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Disrupt Your Career – February 2021
tobacco “harm reduction” which turned out to Name
be the most downloaded article ever for the Jean-Marc Liling
publication. It attracted the attention of the Most recent ‘profit’ role
CEO of Philip Morris International (PMI), who, Analyst at Crescendo
after a stealthy approach, invited Derek to form Venture Partners
a separate, objective, but funded by PMI, Previous ‘purpose’ roles
foundation “Smoke Free World”. Despite Consultant, JDC
Derek’s repeated assertion that funds are Executive Director, CIMI
firewalled, and there is no direct influence (Center for International Migration and
Integration)
possible, as defined by the requirements of US
Protection Officer, UNHCR
law, he has attracted a great deal of media and Legal Advisor, Government of Israel
lobby attention. He is now banned from WHO
Nationality
conferences globally and decried by the
French / Israeli
majority of those who saw him as a positive
medical authority years back, when he was Education
LLM, Public Law
campaigning “on the other side”. Yet, he is
Bachelor's degree, Law
convinced that tackling adult mortality rates by Bachelor's degree, Public Administration
substitution of classic tobacco products with e- (‘Sciences Po’)
cigarettes and other harm reduction
innovations will have a far faster and better
outcome than only educating children not to unofficially in touch with those who believe, like
start smoking or vaping. His calculations him, that good science will eventually prevail. He
suggest that scaling up harm reduction will has been driven by an innate willingness to
save 3-4 million lives per year for the next three challenge the status quo, a huge dose of
decades. This is what allows him to feel mostly persuasion and negotiation skills and an
impervious to the criticism. incredibly thick skin. One feels that wherever he
We asked Derek what advice he would give goes, his enthusiasm to do good will never go
someone young starting out in a career to away, however faintly drawn the boundaries
‘change the world.’ “Do the research, know might be in every direction.
more than the others, and explore things far
beyond your specialized subject.” And Jean-Marc – A serendipitous path from
“understand delayed gratification – it takes a public service and humanitarian
long time!”. organizations to venture capital
How has Derek managed this incredible Jean-Marc grew up in a liberal but socially
journey to the “dark side”? By sticking with his engaged expatriate environment. The son and
convictions and not taking the criticism too grandson of Jewish “survivors”, he felt indebted
personally, however painful. He recalls being from the very outset. Dinner-time conversations,
lambasted on a radio interview in the UK: “If whether in Geneva, Paris or Brussels, were
your company is serious about reducing sugar, focused on human rights, women’s rights and
why not just eliminate Pepsi Cola totally?” more. His first incursion into personal growth,
However, with his typical sharp wit, he was able freedom and new horizons came at 16, when he
to riposte: “Well, that would make life asked to attend boarding school in Israel.
wonderful for Coke, wouldn’t it?” He has University studies at “Sciences-Po’” in Paris
consistently looked for the best vehicle deepened his sense of civic responsibility.
available to carry him along with his mission However, the pull of Israel was ever present. He
and acknowledges that there will always be decided to backpack for a year, then entered a
naysayers on all sides. While publicly he is yeshiva, or religious seminary, for another long
more rejected than supported by many in period. Study of Law in Israel was a pragmatic
public health, he has found ways to remain next step, which would open doors in his new
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“I am the privileged connector between the wealthy and the field,
creating both the means and the meaning. My overall mix of
activities is what keeps me from being too extreme.”
home. But unlike his classmates who were economic migrants and refugees. He stayed with
swanning off to fancy law firms, Jean-Marc The Joint, and kept up his work on reduced hours,
opted for a role at the Ministry of Justice and at continuing to contribute to the cause he so deeply
the Prime Minister’s Office, where he found an believed in. When things became politically too
opportunity to influence human rights, welfare unpleasant at the refugee organization, he had a
and diaspora issues. fortuitous lunch with a donor to The Joint who
A change of political context led to a short was delighted to discover that Jean-Marc was
period of unemployment, but Jean-Marc had considering leaving: “he wanted to set up a
sent his CV earlier to the UNHCR. By good venture capital fund in Israel, and hire me into it”.
fortune, he found himself a week later working “But why would you even be interested in hiring
as legal advisor in the world of refugees. “It was me?”, reacted Jean-Marc. The response was
a really good fit, though serendipitous” he gratifying at several levels: The donor trusted him,
recalls. Jean-Marc did not much appreciate the could see his potential as an interface between
environment of the UN, and learnt as much investors across the world and the fund, and he
about “how not to do things” as anything else, felt that he “owed” Jean-Marc for having opened
but he fell in love with the cause, “seeing the door to the potential of investing in Israel.
people’s despair as well as their hopes”. He left Over the next few months, the offer from the
the UN after a few years, and did some venture fund rolled around in Jean-Marc’s mind.
volunteer work in NGO’s. As he met his “smart, good ‘mensch’ future
The next move was rather a surprise and colleagues”, and negotiated terms, such as
revelation to Jean-Marc. He was approached by working only four days per week, and having the
the JDC, known as “The Joint”, to do scope to look out impact investment deals in
fundraising work, supporting the mission of addition to the pure profit-focused ventures
this global-leading Jewish humanitarian already on the books, he could see that this might
organization. While the causes embraced by the resemble a move to the “dark side”, as some of his
organization resonated strongly with Jean- friends were accusing him. However, he realized
Marc, he was flummoxed as to how he could be that what he would be doing at Crescendo would
of use “as I did not know the first thing about not, in the end, be so very different. He had
finance!” Fortunately, the recruitment team developed and loved the privilege of being the
was able to allay his fears and place value on his agent who brings meaning to the donor. And the
transferable skills, such as having a vast array difference between a donor and an investor was
of languages, being highly networked, and not so very great.
imbued with a deep passion for the Jewish When he started at Crescendo, Jean-Marc was
cause. He accepted and became accomplished dumbstruck by the contrast between the sleek co-
in engaging people, one individual, family or working space full of glass walls, fine art and
foundation at a time, enthusing about the beautiful people, and his previous offices in run-
possibilities afforded by giving to the down, often temporary or makeshift
organization. accommodation. His initial wobble was “wait a
The freedom to explore people and minute, I love being in the field, listening to
investment strategy across the world opened people’s stories and discovering how to help
Jean-Marc’s eyes to other possibilities, them”. But he soon discovered that he had a
including going into impact investing. His special role to play in the new firm: that of access
attention was partially diverted for a couple of to “the field”, as well as that of conscience or
years while he led an organization assisting heart. He is already bringing impact opportunities
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to the group, and keeping up his NGO work
Nine Tips for Making the Move
alongside.
from Light to Dark(er)
One of his mentors describes Jean-Marc as an
ideological realist, or a realist dreamer. His 1. Be clear about your true purpose and personal
versatility affords him a wide range of values before making the move
opportunities. “I am the privileged connector 2. See the move as one that allows you to explore
new ways of doing good
between the wealthy and the field, creating
3. Appreciate that resources -- money, knowledge
both the means and the meaning. My overall or technology -- are the key to greater impact
mix of activities is what keeps me from being
4. Be ready to negotiate your terms and defend
too extreme.” Jean-Marc never experiences his your boundaries
work on “this side” as a dichotomy, remem- 5. Know your transferable competencies and
bering constantly that the attentive ear is skillsets, so that you can reveal novel ways of
using them and bring value
valuable in every context he straddles. “You
need both roots and wings. I know I can really 6. Get ready to have your ego and personal
identity tested
be the junction between heaven and earth,
7. Stay true to your moral compass and maintain
flying, just like a dancer.” your ethical boundaries
Jean-Marc’s advice to anyone wanting to fly 8. Don’t hesitate to keep a broad mix of activities
between these two entities? “Do anything and to keep yourself from being too extreme
everything when you are starting out. Enrich 9. Spot the links and connections between the
your horizons and thinking. You can see great light and the dark and be ready to walk openly
into them
or terrible leadership in the smallest of
restaurants as well as in glass skyscrapers.” He
adds how important it is to focus on and we received a lot of pushback from some
discover what inspires you, reminding that professionals whom we asked to be interviewed,
sometimes the less direct path to where we who were possibly less proud of their current
thought we wanted to go is the one we are activity, compared to the ideal with which they
actually supposed to be on. “When you walk set out on their careers. What is certain from
around the world with a sense of curiosity and our stories here is that, where there is a will
an open heart, the world answers you.” there is a way, and it is quite possible to weave a
positive path through industries and sectors
Bringing light to the darkness that are perceived to be “bad”, without
So, is there, indeed, a true dark side? As we compromising one’s values. Indeed, it is strong
searched, within and around the stories of our convictions and values that predominate here,
subjects, we struggled to find anything that was along with creativity as to the method required
totally devoid of light. Of course, we are aware to bring light to the darkness.
that we did not interview leaders of exploitative
Antoine Tirard is a talent management advisor and the
cotton production companies in Xinjiang or of founder of NexTalent. He is the former head of talent
blood diamond mines in Africa, who probably management of Novartis and LVMH. Claire Harbour is a
did not set out to do good at any stage in their global talent expert, focused on coaching and consulting
across borders, and stirring up disruption!
career paths. It is also worth mentioning that
7 | www.disrupt-your-career.com | 2021You can also read
