Cultivating International Business Savvy for a Career in Cleantech

In her first year at UCLA Anderson, MBA student Jillian Zhang (’25) was one of two conference directors in the Energy and Cleantech Association, leading her own panel, titled “The Role of Governments in Cleantech.” She also oversaw “families” within the Asian Management Student Association, facilitating closer connections among members. Now, in her second year, she has transitioned to executive vice president of the ECA and co-president of AMSA.

Zhang embraced Anderson’s international course options full tilt. In September, she traveled to Belgium and the Netherlands as part of Professor Henry Friedman’s Profit, Purpose and Policy: Lessons from Sustainable Businesses in the European Union elective and in December, she’ll travel to Peru with Sebastian Edwards’ class, Balancing Environmental Protection and Economic Growth. Global immersions are overseen every year by Anderson’s Center for Global Management. Since 2008, 90 courses have provided opportunities for students to visit 34 countries.

For a self-described introvert, Zhang is pretty constantly engaged in groups and causes. Her involvement in student leadership at Anderson is follow-through, as it happens, because she has cultivated such opportunities since college and throughout her career.

Zhang’s professional background is in the automotive industry, where she developed an interest in electric vehicles and clean energy technology. She didn’t start life on the West Coast, but she arrived with a purpose: “I wanted to stay in EV and adjacent industries, and California is one of the best places to work in the cleantech realm.” She chose Anderson to gain greater understanding of external and internal business skills, but also how to recruit and retain talent by creating an environment where diverse employees can thrive.

“I’m a first-generation college student, the youngest of three kids to Chinese immigrants who opened several Chinese restaurants in the Buffalo, New York, area,” says Zhang, whose parents encouraged her to excel academically. “I grew up absorbing every book I could lay my hands on, but I was the worst at math among my siblings. They both went on to study finance and accounting in college, while I chose to go into engineering after taking two physics classes in high school. I liked it because it was challenging but rewarding once I figured out how to solve the problem in front of me.”

Zhang studied mechanical engineering at Ohio State University and began her post-college career at Rockwell Automation, where she spent six years in positions that took her to Cleveland, Ohio, as well as San Jose and Los Angeles. Following some years building commercial, operational and technical skills, she supported enterprise auto and tire accounts — specifically, the company’s electric vehicle customers globally. She managed a multimillion-dollar EV-focused customer experience center, where she hosted tours for engineers and C-suite executives across industries. “I handled all technical, commercial and operational activities. I was a one-person team initially. If anything broke, I fixed it!”

Zhang has always involved herself in employee resource groups, volunteering for leadership roles to steer her company’s “cultural refresh” and represent colleagues in organizations like the Society of Women Engineers. She won a Member of the Year award from Cultures Connected, a group for field-based employees who identify as culturally diverse. “At the beginning of my professional journey, I started exploring my identity as a female Asian American engineer,” she says. “I took an interest in planning larger events for professional development. I forced myself to step outside my comfort zone whenever I felt too comfortable, so I could grow and learn.

“Identity and authenticity continue to play an extremely important role in my life, including my career,” says Zhang. But she is an ambassador for more than culture: She brings a message of international business savvy and the importance of sustainable practices in every industry. She opted in to the European global immersion because it “tied together so many of my interests — sustainability, cleantech, policy, globalization and business,” she says. “Europe is much further along in its sustainability journey than the U.S., partly because of the policies and regulations the EU has adopted in recent years. It’s almost a look into the future of our country. I’m interested in learning from Europe’s best practices as well as obstacles faced by companies operating in the EU, and using that as a framework when navigating the environment in the U.S. — what worked, what didn’t, how can we expect certain regulations to affect businesses and market conditions?”

Edwards has for many years led the immersion that will take Zhang to Peru, but for the first time it will include a major sustainability component focused on the country’s water, forestry and mining. “This also very much aligns with my interests, especially since the global energy transition and electrification are going to require a lot of resources, and Peru is rich in natural resources,” says Zhang. She expects Peru to contrast both Europe and the U.S. “I’m curious about how South American governments’ policies and regulations affect the decisions businesses make,” she says.

A 2023–24 participant in CGM’s mentorship program, Zhang matched with longtime CGM collaborator and 2023 visiting scholar Christine Loh, chief development strategist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and former Hong Kong legislator and undersecretary for the environment. “As a former politician in Hong Kong, Christine has the exact experience and knowledge that I wanted to learn about,” says Zhang. “I specifically wanted to explore the intersection of business with policy and regulation, and how that changes in different global regions. I also don’t personally know many Asian female role models doing things professionally that I want to be doing. I think representation makes a crucial difference, so that added a layer of appreciation. Christine helped me by asking questions that made me think about what I wanted to get out of my MBA experience, why I felt compelled to become involved in student leadership and the cleantech industry, and just about who I am in general.”

As involved as she is with CGM, Zhang is equally active in collaborations with Anderson’s Center for Impact. With the center’s help, she and other students affiliated with the Energy and Cleantech Association host guest speakers such as Paull Young, GitHub’s head of sustainability, and Microsoft sustainability partner Sara Neff, a frequent speaker at Anderson events. “I’m taking Climate Analytics and Strategy with Professor Magali Delmas,” says Zhang. Delmas is faculty director of the Center for Impact as well as the force behind Anderson’s Open for Good transparency index. “We have been talking in class about the climate reporting regulations and challenges. I absolutely agree that climate disclosures by corporations are necessary, but I hope even more that we can shift our resources to work on the climate solutions that will make an impact.”

As a direct result of exposure to the Anderson alumni network, Zhang landed a summer internship at power management company Eaton. She worked in product management within Eaton’s connected solutions organization, reporting to Anderson alumnus Brad Juhasz (B.S. ’90, ’97), whom she met on a Days on the Job excursion. “I learned so much, with a fantastic team, working over the summer on EV charging solutions and even expanding into the home electrification realm. I’m continuing with the team part-time during the school year.”

Having completed her “last first day of school ever” in fall 2024, Zhang, the introvert, is busy helping her fellow ECA officers to organize the 2025 Energy Innovation conference, themed Sustainable Cities. “Some of the topics we’re going to touch on are the circular economy, real estate and development, and sustainable transportation. Save the date February 14, 2025!”

Having made her way across the entire U.S. in her early career, Zhang is poised for a career that will take her — in fact or by virtue of a globally informed perspective — all over the world.

“It’s inevitable that we as business leaders will have to work with global teams and learn global dynamics,” she says on the eve of her Peruvian immersion. “It’s important to understand international political, economic and social environments as we make decisions. What are the implications of the business decisions we make? Who are they affecting? Most likely, way more people than we imagine.”