It’s been just about one month since 150 women in power and infrastructure came together in Houston to talk about the future of power generation. From complex issues such as the politicization of the grid to uplifting stories about microgrids, battery storage and renewable energy investments, our panels and speakers did not disappoint.  Witnessing industry-leading, power-house females from across the country at leading utilities, investment firms and advisors in one room was just a cherry on top.

We can’t thank our attendees enough for being part of our first Power & Infrastructure Summit, providing us constant feedback, and in turn 100% of attendees told us they’d return and recommend the event to a friend.  

The event kicked off with “speed networking”, it’s like speed dating but 100x less awkward. It gives our attendees a chance to quickly connect before our programming begins and since everyone was a first-timer, there was no shortage of women to meet. 

Our carefully curated content explored topics across the board including Jane Sadowsky from Moelis & Company who eloquently and dynamically spoke to us about the politicization of the electric supply chain. Some of your other favorite topics were:

• Utility of the Future
• C-Suite Perspectives
• How M&A is Shaping The Power Market
• Four Trends in Power Sector

As a first-year event, and with every event, we take feedback very seriously as Kayo events are for you. In our efforts to continually improve, we ask every attendee how we can get better.

Some of your constructive feedback included:

• Make it longer
• Discuss how to retire old infrastructure
• Sessions on negotiating skills
• Split panels so people can attend more

If you didn’t have the opportunity to provide feedback, email krystian@kayoconferenceseries.com. 

During the two days we set aside time for “structured networking” where we posed questions to the group and they stuck their Post-It Note answers to the corresponding board. The answers that came back for each question deserve their own write up (stay tuned for those), but here is a quick summary of what our attendees said:

1. If you could go back to college and take one class, what would it be and why?

• • The arts
    Being creative or having a hobby can be good for the soul
  • The basics of finance and business
    Everyone should know how business works, no matter your career, plus women are shying away from math because they are intimidated or scared only to find out later that they love it
  • The soft skills
  • How to communicate, negotiate, and lead are not gifts we are born with (for the most part), they are learned skills and often overlooked in school

2.  How to get to a 100% carbon free future?

• 100% carbon free future; embrace innovation? Change!
• Advancements in energy storage (lower cost!)
• Make it not a social issue.  All individuals must be motivated for a reason for it to be a necessity
• Focus on all aspects of the chain; electric gen + transportation; get people to buy in
• Ensure govt. policies don’t dictate technology for solutions…set requirement/goals & allow for creativity!

3. How do you connect with others?

• • 1:1 coffees and Kayo events (of course!)
  • Introduce myself to new people, especially when it may not be a natural introduction and requires a very proactive approach
  • Over wine (good wine)
  • Networking through working out – spin class, squash, running…
  • Meeting in person for an activity! (sports, theatre, dinner, etc.)
  • Find shared passions. I am a foodie + love trying new restaurants
  • By sincerely complementing them! Everyone loves to be acknowledged

4.  What advice would you give to 11th grade girls?

Behind this question is an inspiring and evolving story, one that will make a lasting impression.  Some of the top answers were:

#1 Don’t follow the rules.
#2 Build each other up.
#3 Go outside your comfort zone

Read the full story and join the many women who shared their advice. We look forward to hearing from you. 

And if all that activity wasn’t enough, some of our attendees used their right brain to showcase their artistic skills on our feedback form and we couldn’t have loved it more.

If you weren’t able to make the summit, check out our photos and start planning for 2020 by getting on our list so you can be the first to know about topic curation, call for speakers, and registration.

What else would you like to know or share about the 2019 Kayo Women’s Power Summit? Leave your comments below.