Her Story
About Agathe
I've been in the solar industry since 2014, and I currently serve as the Director of Business Development for Pegasus Solar, a solar racking solution company. Before entering solar, I spent 7 years in the food industry, but I needed a change and wanted to pivot into an industry that was more technical driven with more opportunities for growth. A French contact from my network introduced me to a French startup company that was doing trackers and launching a subsidiary in the US. I joined them and started from scratch, learning about solar, and then it took off. I was back in sales, met a lot of people, grew my network, and eventually decided to specialize in racking. My key responsibility is to develop the market by finding new customers who would like to purchase from us, as well as maintaining all the customers we have won over the years. There's not really a typical day because I travel a lot to different cities and states. I go to conferences, meet with clients, and attend events, which makes the job fun because it's never really the same every day. What I'm most proud of is finding a company where I fit culturally. Our CEO, Kai Stephan, is just a great leader. He always looks out for the team and tries to find the best thing for all of us. he really drives innovation and is always open to new ideas.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Agathe
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to believe in yourself - the sky is the limit, and you can do whatever you put yourself into. But also, when you start something, just finish up. Don't be discouraged, because along the way, there's going to be a lot of barriers and a lot of people telling you that you're not going to make it, that it's going to be impossible or tough. I think for me, nothing is easy, so just go for it and don't discourage yourself. And recently, a really good advice that my leader gave me is to slow down. You don't have to answer an email today. Sometimes it's good to take the time to think it through. You can answer within 24 hours, tomorrow, or even in two days. I think we live in a very fast-paced environment right now, and it's good to just slow down.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
In my industry, just be resilient. It's not only about it being a male-dominated area, because I think now it's opening more and more to women, especially on the engineering side. But solar is a very hard industry mentally to be with, because it's changing constantly. Depending on the state you're living in, there are different laws that come almost every month. And depending on who is the president, it's going to change too. So I think resiliency is key. Be aware that things are going to change, so you have to be open to change.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
To me, the most challenging right now is really the political climate. There is no consistency in our industry. One day there is a tariff, the other day the tariff is down 10%, then it's plus 20%, then it's plus 50%. So it's really very hard to drive a business where you have very volatile political climate.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Trust, reliability, and teamwork are most important to me. I like that the company I work with is trusting me with my work and my responsibilities, and that they know I'm reliable. If they ask me for help with something, they know they can count on me. If my teammates are asking something outside of my job, they know I can help. This comes through in my family life too. When I go on trips, my kids are with the nanny, and I ask them, can I trust you for behaving properly? Can I trust you for being gentle and kind? So this is very important for me.
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