Where are they now? - Josh Lebarre
Life has a way of throwing curveballs when you least expect it.
After attaining my undergraduate degree in Supply Chain Operations and Business Management from California State University, Long Beach, I found myself working for Moog, Inc. in the Supply Chain department of the Aerospace division. During February 2013, I decided that I would be happy in this life I had built with my wife.
Around this time, as fate would have it, I was accepted into the Saturday MBA program, which would start in August 2013. I also found out that my wife was expecting our first child in November that same year. By June 2015, after what seemed like an eternity of living four lives―husband, father, employee, and student―I had finished my MBA journey and felt renewed hope about opportunities for my career path.
Shortly after completing my MBA, I left my position with Moog to pursue a venture in the emerging industry of renewable energy. My MBA courses included classes centered around sustainability, and I was fascinated by the opportunity to work in the renewable energy sector.
In 2015, I joined sonnen, Inc., a German startup company that was developing a residential energy storage system that utilizes a battery technology to provide “clean, affordable, and reliable energy for all.” After having launched near Munich five years prior, sonnen was just beginning to put down roots in the U.S. and I was excited to get involved in the expansion.
Within my first year at sonnen, I oversaw the relocation of U.S. operations from northern California (where sonnen had a contracted manufacturer producing its U.S. product line) to a new facility just outside Atlanta, Georgia. Once established in our new home, the sonnen team was able to design, produce, and ship quality product out of our own facility.
As the Director of Operations at sonnen, Inc., I am responsible for several departments, including: Materials Management, Inventory Control, Production, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Facilities. In 2019, I led sonnen’s U.S. implementation of SAP, an ERP system that allowed our teams to optimize operations across many departments, both locally and globally.
These days, I’m largely focused on monitoring the company’s Profit and Loss, managing day-to-day operations and capitalized expense spending, and tracking tactical initiatives based on the company’s overall strategic plan.
During my short time away from CSU Long Beach, I’ve used every tool given to me by my instructors and fellow students and benefited from their contributions throughout my journey post-graduation. The Saturday MBA program definitely challenged me, but the payoff has been far beyond the expectations I held when I started this journey. #GoBeach!
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