The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2023 Pinnacle Awards were announced Sept. 25, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person Nov. 16.
Next is Prachi Sukhatankar, vice president of climate and infrastructure at Booz Allen Hamilton, and finalist in the Climate Change Executive of the Year, Public Company category. Here, she talks about her primary focus areas going forward and shares career advice.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the future of the nation?
With impacts of extreme weather events on the rise, Government agencies are looking for increasingly proactive measures towards building a climate resilient nation. The private sector is mobilizing solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation through ambitious goals and innovation.
Our Booz Allen team is accelerating the pathways to climate resilience through the right application of science and technology–translating advanced climate science and purposefully embedding that intelligence into operational use. We are modernizing the climate data value chain, developing solutions that increase access and democratization of climate data & products, and improving collaboration across agency/sector silos.
We are doing this by combining our mission understanding with the power of advanced technologies (AI/ML, sensor integration, cloud optimization, digital twin) through rapid discovery, prototyping and activating our partner ecosystem. We are promoting cross-sector convening and dialogue on variety of important topics.
By unleashing the collective ingenuity of Booz Allen and our partners, we will deliver solutions within areas like climate intelligence, smart transportation infrastructure and advanced energy tech innovation. We will create environments with a level of scale and agility so that agencies, private sector, academia, citizen scientists and the public will be able to play a role in accelerating meaningful climate action.
What’s your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
First and foremost, I would say–do not blindly follow anybody’s footsteps! Find out what your core passions and innate strengths are; let those be your guiding light and you will never have any regrets. If you are a leader, then build teams and create an environment where others can fully apply their strengths and thrive by realizing their aspirations.
If you work on climate mission or any other mission that is central to the human experience and needs, it will give you a long-lasting satisfaction. We, humans, are wired to find meaning and joy through connection and service after all.
Balance you passion with poise and objectivity. Balance your strategy with timely execution. As you become stewards of advancing these missions, the world will demand a sharper perseverance, creativity, and communication from you. If you embrace a growth mindset and activate your network to take on these new challenges, there will be no boundaries to unfolding your collective potential!