- Programme studied: Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Year of Graduation: 2020
- LinkedIn profile
Kassandra currently works as a Senior Programme Manager at L Marks in their Open Innovation Team. Prior to this she worked at Save the Children, implementing and executing aid projects to areas of the world hit by natural disasters. Alongside her work she volunteers her time to mentor and advise social enterprises, currently working with Programa Empoderate in El Savador to improve their mental health and wellbeing offering to local communities.
Current job title and description of what this role entails:
I currently work as a Senior Programme Manager at L Marks where I am responsible for both the delivery and management within the Open Innovation Team. The programmes in my team focus on connecting startups to our corporate clients. We focus on helping our clients innovate holistically to ensure that we are aligned with their strategic goals.
Tell us about your career journey since graduating from LSE?
One of my main interests is innovation and how we can use it to solve problems and deliver value. In 2021 I joined Save the Children to work at the Start Fund, a rapid-release humanitarian fund that focused on sending aid to small-medium sized crises around the world in 72 hours. It also focused on providing aid in the anticipation of crises. While I was working at the start fund, I implemented a project that sent funding to Madagascar in anticipation of cyclones, aiming to reduce the impact of the cyclones on the affected communities. During this project, I shortened the process from 72 to three hours, ensuring that aid could be delivered ahead of the cyclones hitting.
After working at Save the Children, I wanted to continue working on innovation and learn more about how companies were using it. This led me to join L Marks, a leading corporate innovation specialist. At L Marks I run innovation programmes that help clients solve key problems and stay relevant, whether that’s by leveraging internal talent or connecting them to startups. I have worked with clients in different sectors including Finance, Logistics, and Consulting, among others.
In my free time, I also mentor and advise social enterprises. I currently work with a social enterprise in El Salvador called Programa Empoderate, which aims to promote mental health and wellbeing for local communities.
How has the programme you studied helped your career since you graduated?
The programme helped me understand ways in which we can apply innovation to solve problems and create value. The SIE programme teaches how you can promote social impact in a sustainable way and whilst most of the cases we worked on focused on creating social and environmental impact, the tools I learnt can be applied to any kind of industry or problem. By having a framework around innovation and entrepreneurship, it has helped my work be more purposeful and impactful.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
“Asking questions doesn’t make you incompetent”. Questions and curiosity are key to success. Sometimes at the beginning of our careers, we think that if we ask a question, it means we don’t know what we are doing, however this could not be further from the truth. Clear communication is as important in your professional life, as it is in your personal life, and asking questions will not only ensure you have clarity but also that your work is impactful. This is even more important when you are an entrepreneur or providing a service to a group of beneficiaries or other stakeholders. Asking questions means caring about the problem and ensuring you truly understand what is needed to create and deliver value.
What’s the greatest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
One of the challenges I’ve had to overcome is learning to adapt to new environments. I have lived in seven countries, and I have worked in small companies to large multinational corporates, from international charities to small non-profits. Whilst each of these experiences has helped shape my career into what it is today, the biggest lesson has been learning how to quickly adapt to new cultures, ways of working, and priorities. Learning to be flexible and adaptable has helped me not only grow professionally, but also move between industries to pursue my passions.
What are your hopes for the future?
One of the trends I am really excited about is social entrepreneurship becoming a way of delivering sustainable solutions to social and environmental problems. I work with startups in different industries and see a lot of companies that are trying to make a difference in the world. I have also been able to see first-hand the impact social enterprises have with their customers, especially the positive sustainable difference they have on local communities.
Share with us your fondest memory of the Department of Management.
The SIE programme has, as part of the curriculum, a trip where you’re able to practice what you learnt and directly engage with communities. My team travelled to Mukuru in Nairobi, Kenya, to work with microentrepreneurs. I remember walking around the Ruben Centre and learning about all the initiatives that they were doing to help people in Mukuru and I really appreciated the opportunity to be part of that.
If you would like to be our Alum of the Month or if you would like to nominate a Department of Management alumni, please email dom.alumni@lse.ac.uk.