This year’s International Women’s Day theme, Accelerate Action, is a reminder that we can’t slow down when it comes to breaking barriers and challenging biases. That’s why we have introduced our newest Energy series: Current Women. As a recruiter in Clean Energy, Jasmine Crane has seen how many women struggle to find role models who inspire them to pursue leadership and engineering roles. They often wonder if there’s a clear path forward. The truth is, there is—but we need to shine a brighter light on it. Current Women celebrates, amplifies and connects the voices of women in clean energy.

 

 

In an industry where women hold just 14% of leadership roles, it’s clear we need to do more to highlight the incredible women already leading, innovating, and driving change. Through Current Women, we aim to share interviews and features with female leaders, explore gender diversity in Clean Energy and create a space for peer nominations and recognition. In this episode, we interview Meryl Mallery, Executive Vice President at XL Batteries.

XL Batteries is on a mission to create safe, low-cost and reliable grid-scale batteries that will enable the transition of the grid from fossil fuels to renewable sources. The company aims to build a global company with a product that can meet any energy storage need.

 

Thank you for joining us as part of this series, Meryl. You’ve always been drawn to high-impact mission-critical roles. What drives you in these spaces?

The first man landed on the moon when I was just a small girl, and the thought of going where no one has gone before and doing things no one has done before was inspiring, and helped me search for those kinds of roles.

I was lucky. My first engineering job came by reference and I had the opportunity to work on strategic missile defence systems being designed in the 1980s. That job in liquid and gas propulsion systems established the background that I needed to work on the Space Shuttle program and the shuttle main engine.

My experience with liquid propellants got noticed by a recruiter who was hiring for a job with Ensign-Bickford. At Ensign Bickford, I worked on the first aerospace projects for the company designing and developing explosive components for the Atlas V Launch Vehicle. I then worked on multiple high impact projects including James Webb Space Telescope, and SLS rocket and Orion crew module for the planned mission to Mars which was sponsored by NASA.  I also have always had an interest in the environment and figuring out ways to reduce pollution. I went to graduate school for my Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering and my thesis focused on air pollution control. Interestingly enough, its wasn’t until later in my career that I entered a role where I could impact carbon dioxide reduction. I worked at Plug Power on fuel cell products and electrolyser systems which both replace our reliance on fossil fuels that generate carbon dioxide.

 

How did your transition into long-duration energy storage come about, and what excites you most about this field?

My transition came about through network connections. Our world is dying day by day and we need clean energy to help reduce carbon emissions and prevent further increases in temperatures that are leading to more severe storms, drought conditions and fires. Long Duration Energy Storage is needed to support the transition of our economy to green energy and will provide the energy storage needed to support the intermittent energy creation provided by industries such as solar and wind.

At XL Batteries, we are working on a new battery chemistry that is pH neutral, stable over the long term and is cost effective. This makes the technology that we are working on an ideal solution for >10 hours of energy storage for high power storage applications. So, the technology, its potential, and the XL Battery leadership team inspired me to join this field.  I am loving every minute of it!

 

Looking back on your career, what pivotal moments shaped your leadership style?

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Defense hired a new CEO, Tom Perlitz, and he put initiatives in place to focus on talent development within the company. He recommended that I attend the Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development (PLD). It was a 6 month intense program that focused on all the elements of business school (marketing, finance, accounting, leadership, legal, HR, etc..) without requiring a full 2 year commitment to get an MBA. This program was pivotal in my career and gave me the tools needed to be an Engineering Vice President. I had a BS degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering, but I had not yet pursued a business degree. The business degree opened up my world and my understanding of all the areas outside of engineering that I needed to understand to grow in my leadership capabilities: finance, accounting, marketing, sales, ethics, law, etc…

 

current women interview promotion evp xl batteries

 

You mentioned that you first had the idea for the Women’s Impact Network over a decade ago but felt the timing wasn’t right. What changed in the industry that made now the right time?

Leadership changed at the top of my company, EBAD.  The new leadership valued diversity in the workforce.  The leadership understood the positive impact that diversity has on improving the bottom line. Diversity in experience, and in thought processes brings about more creative problem solving. Also, DEI initiatives were becoming popular across many industries. I had brought up starting a women’s group 10+ years earlier to my HR VP (who was also a woman) and she said that it was not a good time, and it would not have been accepted, and I ultimately agreed. Aerospace was still a very much male-dominated field at the time and diversity in the workplace was not yet a popular topic.  Now I am saddened to see that DEI is being discouraged at our higher levels of government, and fear that the strides that DEI have achieved will be rolled backwards.

 

From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges women still face in clean energy and engineering today?

Women having the leadership support to be chosen for tier 1 management roles. Without that first step, there is no chance of getting women into senior leadership roles.

Women need to find networks and mentors to support them in their career. When I was early in my career there was a lack of women that could be mentors to me.  I was fortunate and had support from some other key people that supported and believed in me. I also had people that challenged me and brought difficulties to situations that toughened me up. All of those experiences have made me who I am today.

Women having the individual courage, strength and endurance to go after more challenging roles, and the confidence to apply to roles when they are not yet fully qualified. It is easy to lose self-confidence. It takes a lot of courage to believe in yourself, and I will be the first to admit that I did lose my self-confidence at times and wanted to give up – It is not easy.

 

What advice would you give to women aspiring to leadership roles in energy and engineering?

“Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone” – Take risks. 

You need to take risks to move forward. Believe me when I say that this is a muscle that you need to build.  You gain more confidence the more you do it. Start small, challenge yourself to initiate a conversation with someone you do not know. Those incidental conversations often lead to learnings, making new friends, a contact…..

Be true to yourself – know yourself, know what is important to you, and advocate for it. I can give plenty of examples that have shaped me as a person because I stood up for what I believed in.

Network – Network – Network. I learned this much later in life and wished I had been aware much earlier in my career. This is a crucially important lesson, one that I learned from Harvard Business school, and one I had to work at. Your network will help you in your career and in life. Envision what you want and figure out what kind of network you want and need to create to support you in your goals. 

 

Is there a piece of advice or a mindset shift that’s been particularly valuable in your career?

A positive thought – always look at the glass half full and portray that positive attitude to those around you. Think about it….do you enjoy being around people that bring you down or people that lift you up? At the end of the day, discuss with your friend or significant other what went right that day instead of focusing always on what went wrong.

Don’t let others define you – be confident in yourself and your ability. I learned that later in life. I went through some difficulties in my career being a woman where I did lose confidence at times but I learned to overcome it.

Always be kind and respectful to those around you, from the CEO to the janitor.

I would like to talk about mentoring as well. I would like to leave my door open to anyone that would like to have a career conversation or that needs help with a situation at work.    I have mentored numerous women in my career and made some really close friendships in the process. 

 

 

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