Paul Posoli ’95 MBA

How does one go from spending over 20 years in energy trading to becoming president of a high school for students of limited economic resources? Paul Posoli ’95 MBA credits his Kellogg experience for the leadership skills that prepared him to take on this unexpected pivot — when one phone call changed the course of his life. What started as a major leap turned out to be a natural progression in Posoli’s leadership journey and the catalyst for founding an education non-profit, CareerSpring.

After earning his BBA at the University of Miami as well as his CPA, Posoli started his career at Coopers & Lybrand in their audit practice. However, he knew he did not want to pursue a career in public accounting. Instead, he had his sights set on leadership — ideally for large public companies — and knew an MBA would help him achieve that goal.

And where better to learn about leadership than the Kellogg School of Management? While Posoli’s focus at the time was finding a top business school with the best value, what he did not anticipate was the lifelong support network he would receive at Kellogg.

“I honestly expected the experience to be more transactional,” Posoli recalls. “What I realized pretty quickly, I was surprised at the relationships I formed with students and faculty.”

Posoli remembers being impressed with the faculty expertise, the variety of thoughts and experiences in the classroom and the quality of the network and friends he made during his time as a student at Kellogg. Posoli also credits his empathetic approach to leadership and much of his desire to give back and make meaningful change in the world to his experiences with Kellogg.

Posoli knows that the alumni community plays an important role in making sure that the transformative Kellogg experience continues for future generations to come. As annual Kellogg Leadership Circle (KLC) donors, Posoli and his wife are part of a community of committed donors who continue to fuel what is possible at Kellogg. Their philanthropy is driven by a desire to support education and enable students of all backgrounds to attend Kellogg.

“I know that the leaders that are coming out of Kellogg are going to continue to build the economy and make the world a better place,” says Posoli. “That’s why we give each year.”

Much like today’s students at Kellogg, lessons he learned both in class and from his peers played an important role in Posoli’s approach to leadership. “In many ways,” he says, “Kellogg reinforced the importance of being part of a team, being open to insights and different opinions and having a more global lens.”

This international perspective served Posoli well in his career post-Kellogg — especially in his most recent energy role at JP Morgan where he became the global head of the energy trading business. Living in Houston and traveling back and forth each week to New York City, it was during his time at JP Morgan that Posoli received the fateful call that changed his life.

“My wife called me,” says Posoli. “I was on the trade floor, and she said, ‘Are you sitting down? Father Martinez thinks you should be the next president of Cristo Rey Jesuit.’”

Father Martinez, the founding president of Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston, had been diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer and needed to find his successor. Posoli had been an avid volunteer at Christo Rey Jesuit, but stepping in as president would require a major career shift.

Although the news was a surprise, as it turns out, Posoli was uniquely qualified to take on the role of president. Having faced a lot of volatility early in his energy career at Enron, Calpine, and Bear Stearns, Posoli knew that the first thing he needed to do as president was to build trust in his community. Carrying with him the lessons on leadership and relationship-building from Kellogg and key skills of resilience and quick decision-making from his career in energy trading, in his role as president, Posoli learned the importance of taking the time to listen to all the concerns of his constituents to understand the larger story.

What Posoli thought would be a six-month stint as interim president turned out to be the next five years of his career — an experience that he says, “fundamentally changed the way I viewed the world.”

Similar to his motivation for giving back to Kellogg each year, Posoli connected with the school’s vision of supporting students who would otherwise not be able to afford a private, college-prep education. However, he also started to notice a concerning trend in workforce development. Many of his low-income or first-generation students went on to college and made it through to graduation, only to end up in jobs that did not require a college degree or utilize their full capabilities.

As president of the school, a Kellogg alumnus and someone who found success in business, alumni would often call Posoli asking for advice or introductions in his network. And that is when the idea for CareerSpring was born. Understanding the power that the global Kellogg network played in his life, Posoli was intrigued by the idea of building a network of like-minded people who were willing to talk to students and help them find meaningful employment.

“These students worked 22 years to get to this point, and it takes me 15 minutes to send some texts and emails, which gets a student on a path to full employment versus underemployment.” Posoli described. “And that is a great use of my time.”

CareerSpring recently celebrated its 5-year anniversary, and Posoli’s plans for the future only continue to grow. “Our vision is that every first-gen low-income student in America will find meaningful, high-quality employment,” he notes. Posoli is grateful for the support he has received from his fellow Kellogg alumni as he continues to build CareerSpring. “The Kellogg community really rallied around the CareerSpring mission.”

Posoli’s parting wisdom to current Kellogg students navigating their own career paths is two-fold. First, embrace your failures. Looking back, Posoli knows that his failures made him a stronger leader to handle greater challenges later in his career journey.

And second, find ways to give back to your community. “As Kellogg alumni, we’re blessed with an excellent education, professional networks and incredible work experiences.” Posoli also notes, “You don’t need to leave your career like I did to give back!”

Through his own experience and his mission with CareerSpring, Posoli knows that it does not take much to make a meaningful impact. Sometimes, one phone call is enough to change someone’s life.