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Brian Caouette
CEO @ OnFrontiers
Brian Caouette is the Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of OnFrontiers, a company he co-founded in 2014.1 OnFrontiers is an on-demand expertise platform that leverages workforce knowledge to enhance organizational performance and revenue growth.3
Caouette's professional background includes:
- Volunteer for the Peace Corps (2000)1
- Research Analyst at Marketing & Planning Systems (2003-2004)1
- Associate Consultant at Charles River Associates (2004-2005)1
- Cofounder & CEO of Farmbuilders (2005-2009)1
- Founding Executive of Incubated Startup (Seamless Health) at Accretive (2009-2013)1
His educational background includes:
- MPA from Harvard Kennedy School in International Development and Economics1
- BA from Northwestern University in Mathematical Methods (MMSS) and Political Science1
At OnFrontiers, Caouette focuses on team building, product vision, external partnerships, and customer relationships.1 The company serves various sectors, including government agencies and consulting firms, by providing access to a network of experts for diverse needs such as market research and operational efficiency.
Caouette is also an Echoing Green Fellow, recognized for his work in reducing poverty and transforming Liberia's rural communities by providing smallholder tree crop farmers with management services and access to long-term investment capital.2
Highlights
Great overview of the work OnFrontiers is doing to support businesses in Ukraine accessing international markets.
How do you set up your organization or team if your work, by its very nature, is subject to tremendous and frequent change, not quarter by quarter, but week-by-week, day-by-day or even hour-by-hour? What if your work is executed around the globe in some of the most highly risk and sensitive areas?
In tech startups we talk about the need to be agile and embrace uncertainty, but we are certainly not the only sector that must do this by design. Humanitarian work is another great example.
Last week I spoke with Eric Lundgren, VP of Global Operations at Blumont, Inc., a humanitarian and assistance provider. I’ve known Eric for several years and respect his work and outlook on the sector. In our interview, Eric spoke candidly about how the sector works and how stakeholders in the humanitarian ecosystem meet the requirements of rapid change.
Some of his responses aligned with my priors but others surprised me. I wasn't surprised to learn about silos in the sector. As I’ve written previously, silos are everywhere and generally arise through natural v. sinister processes. Eric said in humanitarian work they arise from a "good place" but nonetheless create obstacles; he described significant fissures between stabilization and assistance worlds, as well as across the many sector clusters involved (e.g. water, sanitation, health, education…).
Another part that didn’t surprise me was how challenging yet impactful breaking down these silos can be on outcomes. Eric shared the story of a conversation Blumont facilitated on innovative rent subsidies that worked well with Colombian refugees - this concept generated considerable interest from teams managing displaced persons returnee programs in northest Syria who had no prior knowledge of this particular approach. Eric is trying to scale up these types of connections so they may occur more and more - first by making this easy to do using Blumont's existing tools.
The part I found somewhat surprising related to the importance Eric placed on soft skills - in particular communication skills - in breaking down silos. I would have expected the “unlock” for Blumont would be a specialized management structure or way of sharing information internally. But for Eric, the key was building a culture that celebrates humility and learning. But this makes complete sense from the perspective that “ If you're one of the world's leading technical experts in something, it's hard to remember that other perspectives are still valuable for you to listen to.” More openness and humility -> greater learning and adaptability -> better humanitarian outcomes.
Thank you so much Eric for sharing your experience with me. Huge respect for all that you, Blumont colleagues, and others through this sector do to help people around the world facing crises get back on their feet!
#HumanitarianAid #Leadership #Adaptability #Teamwork #Blumont #OnFrontiers
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Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
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