Owl Have You Know

Innovation Across Generations feat. Adrian Trömel ’18 & Klaus Trömel ’85

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Episode notes

For Adrian and Klaus Trömel, getting an MBA from Rice Business was a family affair. 

Klaus Trömel served as the secretary general of the European Investment Bank (EIB) until his retirement in March 2018. He began his career as an analyst at Hewlett-Packard’s European headquarters in Geneva before working as a trade and pre-export finance officer.

Adrian was named the assistant vice president for strategy and investments for Rice University’s Office of Innovation in August 2023. In this role, Adrian supports the design and integration of commercialization structures, resources and initiatives across the university to support early-stage inventors and entrepreneurs. 


The father and son duo join host Scott Gale ’19 to delve into their careers rooted in problem-solving, their decades-spanning relationship with Rice Business, personal anecdotes, and how an entrepreneurial mindset propelled them both forward. 

Episode Guide: 

00:42 Klaus’ Journey to Rice Business and Early Career

04:17 Klaus's Career at the European Investment Bank

12:28 Adrian’s Path to Rice Business

17:53 Adrian's Perspective on Entrepreneurship

25:00 Adrian's Role at Rice's Office of Innovation

29:46 Reflections on Adrian's Upbringing and Career Path

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.



Episode Quotes:


Entrepreneurship as a key to success

42:34 [Adrian Trömel]: Without having an understanding of entrepreneurship, I don't think you can necessarily be at the top of your game in that role, either. And so, finding a place where you can understand—in my case, at the time I thought I wanted to do commercialization—and whether that was big or small, I realize that field of study is entrepreneurship. Finding a place to study that entrepreneurship, to be able to decide whether you want to run an individual initiative, run multiple initiatives, or be able to evaluate those to be able to finance them is where I think finding a place to properly study entrepreneurship makes sense because you can apply those principles anywhere in life.

Entrepreneurship is the discipline of being taught

23:00: [Adrian Trömel] Entrepreneurship is being taught the discipline of evaluating risks, and it's the discipline of being taught to make holistic considerations


What challenges does the Office of Innovation face?

27:32: [Adrian Trömel] [In] starting a company, you don't just need classes, and you don't just need a lab. You need a bunch of other things: spaces to work, money to do things with, and the ability to find talent. These are the challenges we're working through at the Office of Innovation—figuring out how to fill those resource gaps, how to provide assets to our community. So, when the next PhD student comes up with a new way to generate green hydrogen, a new method to remove PFAS from water efficiently, a new approach to produce carbon nanotubes and turn them into a valuable product, or a new medical device, they're not going out and trying to figure everything out themselves again. They have everything in a centralized location; they know where to work, find mentorship, seek advice, and secure funding.



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