2023 40 Under 40 Spotlight: Christopher Lazzaro, 2010

MIKE WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHY

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Then: Development leader, Associated Electric Cooperative Inc.
Now: Interim chief information officer, Associated Electric Cooperative Inc.

Since November, Christopher Lazzaro has been seeing Associated Electric Cooperative from a new perspective: that of interim chief information officer.

In 2022, AECI sent Lazzaro, 42, to a five-week intensive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I was trying to plug into a larger ecosystem and understand what work is being done there, what ideas are being wrestled with there, what technology is being produced there,” he says.

He adds he is excited about the concept of bridging places that have ideas and energy to build on, whether that is between academia and business or between startups and enterprises.

Lazzaro’s experience coaching startups through the Efactory is an example of bridging in action.

“I’m passionate about coaching people and organizations, with a focus on creating a culture where people can grow and thrive and feel a sense of ownership, mastery and empowerment,” he says.

Best advice to young professionals?
Never stop growing. Make it part of your brand early in your career, and keep it all the way through.