Katia Chaban: Guiding Businesses to a Sustainable Future with ReThinkit Strategies

Katia Chaban is on a mission to create positive change in the business world. As Founder and CEO of ReThinkit Strategies, Katia helps companies integrate sustainability into their business models through innovation, collaboration, and circular economy principles. Katia’s path to becoming a sustainability champion has been an incremental one, shaped by her extensive background working with Fortune 500 companies across countries and sectors. Her storied career exemplifies inspirational leadership now dedicated to instilling sustainability awareness and action in the business world.  

A Purpose-Driven Shift  

For over two decades, Katia led business transformations for major corporations across the globe. Her career focused on aligning organizational competencies and technology to support evolving business strategies. During her doctoral studies, Katia discovered a new passion: sustainability. Researching sustainability exposed the significant environmental and social impacts of consumerism and capitalism. After earning her doctorate, Katia embarked on the next chapter of her career with a renewed sense of purpose.   

She set out to merge her business expertise with her commitment to driving positive change. Determined to champion sustainability in the corporate world, Katia declared this post-doctorate period must build on her strategy and transformation experience and leverage them to progress sustainability.  With her newly sparked passion for protecting the planet and decades of transformational leadership behind her, Katia was prepared to guide businesses on the sustainability journey ahead. Katia founded ReThinkit Strategies Inc.  

Bringing Sustainability into Focus    

At ReThinkit Strategies, Katia helps companies “rethink” their business processes drawing on her multiple sustainability certifications and circular economy principles like reuse, repurpose, and recycle. Her research explored circular economy strategies to address the 6 billion pounds of returned goods waste produced annually in the consumer goods industry, costing companies billions in profits. Key insights from circular economy experts included innovations in supply chain transparency, business model disruption, consumer behavior change, reverse logistics improvements, product redesign, and circular economy enablers like legislation, technology, and leadership.  

Katia takes an integrated approach that brings together people, technology, and strategy. Her methodology involves asking ‘what if’ questions to rethink business models, through a sustainability lens. She engages employees to understand sustainability goals and gain insights from their daily work experiences. Assessing the current technology footprint indicates how to adapt it for future needs. With people onboard and technology aligned, companies can innovate. ReThinkit Strategies meets businesses where they are, providing customized roadmaps to drive measurable progress on their sustainability journeys.  

Pragmatic Paths to Progress   

Katia helps companies set realistic sustainability objectives by focusing on material impacts. She considers factors like industry regulations, business capabilities, and stakeholder goals. For example, a real estate firm may prioritize energy efficiency upgrades that align with legal requirements rather than pursuing larger investments like overhauling buildings. Katia gathers data to quantify sustainability impact and mediates conversations with stakeholders to align on practical next steps. Her approach involves discovery, transparency, and collaboration.   

Empowering Future Leaders  

Mentorship is central to Katia’s leadership style. She approaches it like a “sustainability journey,” tailoring guidance to individuals through discovery and transparent collaboration. Katia notes, “My approach is to discover what is needed and be supportive throughout the process, for however long necessary.” This ethos has shaped her decades of mentoring and coaching experiences. She credits her greatest mentorship impact as “helping create and grow confidence”—building the trust to pursue dreams and overcome obstacles.  

Katia urges sustainability-focused professionals to “be bold.” She advises building networks to explore careers spanning business, government, and academia. “Be bold and join community groups to build practical experience,” Katia encourages. She prescribes staying educated, engaging in challenging viewpoints, and persisting despite setbacks. For Katia, mentorship is about empowerment—equipping others to combine passion and purpose. She exemplifies how guidance centered on confidence and action creates sustainability champions poised to lead change. Katia’s wisdom inspires future generations to blaze bold trails.  

Katia envisions achieving positive change through relentless innovation, education, collaboration, and action. She supports climate technology and sustainable IT, guides rethinking business practices, and raises awareness of environmental impacts. Katia is determined to progress sustainability across how we design, manufacture, and consume.