Podcast
Purposeful profit at Cadiz with CEO Susan Kennedy
- In this episode of the Doing Good by Doing Better podcast, Margaret Rogers chats with Susan Kennedy, CEO of Cadiz.
About the episode
In this episode of the Doing Good by Doing Better podcast, Pariveda CEO Margaret Rogers sits down with Susan Kennedy, a leader at the intersection of water, energy, and public trust. Susan has served California at the highest levels of government, including Cabinet Secretary to Governor Gray Davis and Chief of Staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now leads water infrastructure work at Cadiz, focusing on expanding access in poor communities while balancing shareholder expectations. They explore how her leadership mantra of “be honest, do your best, don’t be greedy” became her leadership operating system, why she chose to partner with Native American tribes to advance water equity, and the personal million-dollar risk she took to save her company.
You’ll learn:
- Ways to turn values into daily decision rules when stakes are high
- How authentic partnerships with communities builds durable coalitions
- Leadership strategies for building trust after a setback
Episode outline
2:00 – Why partnering with Native American tribes energizes her work at Cadiz
3:40 – Career path to Sacramento leadership and into water and energy
7:20 – Sobriety and the origin of rigorous honesty as a leadership foundation
9:00 – The rule that runs her life: be honest, do your best, don’t be greedy
11:30 – Why trust is the real currency
16:20 – Facing spin, misinformation, and staying the course
19:20 – When the mission was tested
22:20 – Building coalitions for win-wins
26:30 – The water tech gap and why treatment matters now
31:20 –A business case for serving poor communities
33:20 – The million-dollar personal bet to save her company
35:50 – Redefining failure and the Schwarzenegger lesson
37:20 – Lightning round
39:30 – What gives her hope about water and sustainability
39:50 – Where to learn more and close
Episode links
About the guest
Susan Kennedy is a policymaker and entrepreneur who served as Chief of Staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cabinet Secretary to Governor Gray Davis, and Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission from 2003 to 2006, overseeing water utility regulation. She is Executive Chair of Cadiz Inc., a Los Angeles headquartered water solutions company with infrastructure in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Kern counties, and joined its board in March 2021. In her leadership role for two California Governors, Ms. Kennedy was responsible for negotiating some of the largest agreements among agricultural interests, environmentalists, rural and urban water users, including the $8 billion, 10-year restoration of the San Francisco Bay-Delta and early plans to restore the Salton Sea.
About the Doing Good by Doing Better podcast
Hosted by Margaret Rogers, CEO of Pariveda, the Doing Good by Doing Better podcast highlights founders, executives, and innovators who share hard lessons, bold ideas, and real strategies for purpose-driven growth.
Every conversation offers practical insights you can use to solve forward. In each episode you’ll meet leaders who prove that being impact-driven and achieving meaningful success are not mutually exclusive.
Follow Doing Good by Doing Better on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join us every other week as we keep learning how to do good by doing better.
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