Empowering the Global Shift to a Sustainable Future: Ian Kline ’91 Protects the Natural World

The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise celebrates Ian Kline ’91, president and CEO of the Cadmus Group.

From an early age, Ian Kline ’91 has aspired to make the world a better place for generations to come. As president and CEO of the Cadmus Group, he helps companies and organizations worldwide with climate goals, natural resource protection, public health, crisis planning and response, and a myriad other critical challenges. Kline is one of the 20 for 20 Notable Alumni honored in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise (CSGE) at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

While Kline was an undergraduate, Cornell introduced him to the idea that the coming together of disparate capabilities, expertise, and backgrounds drives the greatest innovation and impact for social good. He learned that Cornell’s motto of “… any person … any study” isn’t simply an academic ideal, but a call to marshal all that is available to us to address the world’s problems. This idea has shaped his career.

Learn more about Kline in this Q&A

An Environmental Leader for Future Generations

Q. What drives your commitment and focus in environmental and/or social impact? What impact do you want to have in the world?

Kline: I was inspired from an early age to protect the natural world and drive social impact. My parents were teachers who dedicated their lives to giving children the tools to achieve their dreams and improve the world around them. They exposed me to the beauty and sanctity of nature, helping me understand how interconnected and interdependent human society and nature truly are. Having children sharpened my commitment, further crystallizing our responsibility to act as responsible stewards for the benefit of future generations.

I hope to empower others to collaborate and leverage their passions to create good and achieve shared goals. At Cadmus, I’m facilitating the incredibly impactful work that my colleagues are doing around the globe. I’m also proud to be chairman of the nonprofit The Nature Generation, where we work to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. And at home, my wife and I try to inspire our children as our parents inspired us.

Q. What role do you see business schools and universities playing in advancing sustainability initiatives, and how can alumni contribute to this effort?

Kline: The work being done at Cornell—by the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and by the Atkinson Center for Sustainability and others—offers a model for how universities and business schools can advance sustainability initiatives. Serving as both catalyst and convener, these programs directly facilitate cutting-edge exploration of ideas and solutions by faculty and students while also driving critical collaboration by bringing together experts from across and outside the university community to share perspectives and spark new ideas. Universities and business schools are incubators of innovation; at their best, they magnify the impact of that innovation by ensuring it is applied to its best effect out in the world.

Alumni can play a vital role by serving not only as advocates and supporters, but also as active participants. Alumni can make critical connections between academia and other organizations and opportunities. They can offer valuable outside perspectives on the impact of innovations and inform future directions to address real-world needs.

Emphasizing Collaboration and Diversity

Q. Describe the biggest challenge you encountered as you built your career in sustainability and how you overcame it.

Kline: The biggest challenge has been to ensure that Cadmus consistently executes on our commitment to broad collaboration and shared success as we grow in size and scope. We must bring together people from different disciplines, domains, and backgrounds to work together to address issues such as climate resiliency, clean and safe water, green energy, public health, and sustainable transportation. To meet the size and complexity of these sustainability challenges, we have increased the size and complexity of the firm. Working together was easier when we were 75 employees serving five clients, but we are now over 1,000 colleagues serving several hundred clients in more than three dozen countries. To ensure a continued focus on transformative collaboration and shared success, we have put mechanisms in place that foster collaboration, implemented systems that help people identify and connect with one another, and placed a strong emphasis on our shared values and mission. This is an ever-evolving challenge, just like the sustainability challenges we are helping to address.

Q. Can you share any insights or lessons from your experiences that may inspire current students who want to be sustainability leaders?

Kline: The most important lesson I have learned in my professional life is that teams are strongest—and outcomes are most impactful—when we embrace diverse expertise, capabilities, perspectives, and experiences. When we approach our work with a commitment to collaboration and a focus on shared success, we are able to take on the highly complex, dynamic, and interconnected issues like climate and sustainability. My advice to students would be to work hard to surround yourselves with smart and committed people who bring different skills and perspectives than you. And, most importantly, be open to those new ideas and perspectives and allow them to influence your own. Having the courage of your convictions is important on issues like these, but being open to evolution and growth as you learn from others is just as important.

Learn more about CSGEs 20 for 20 Notable Alumni.