Linnea Texin, BBA ’09: Doing Good Business For Better Outcomes
Linnea Texin, BBA ’09, has spent her career at the intersection of business strategy and societal impact. She currently leads corporate responsibility at biopharmaceutical company Regeneron. At the heart of her work is a simple belief: responsible practices are a win-win — they build business resiliency and create a more sustainable world.
Discovering a passion for ESG
Even as an undergraduate student, Texin always knew she wanted a career where her work made a difference in the world. Her decision to pursue a Bachelor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business leaned into that goal.
When Texin considered where her skill set would have the most impact, the business world just made sense. She recognized business as a powerful way to create meaningful change on a large scale. While she didn’t start her career knowing she specifically wanted to work in ESG, her path from Michigan Ross helped her discover that passion.
After graduating from the BBA Program, Texin initially pursued a career in consulting for higher education institutions. Connections with the Michigan Ross alumni network helped her refine her goals and discover new paths that she hadn’t yet considered.
“The most valuable thing you get out of going to a great business school, I think, is the network. The Michigan Ross alumni network helped me get to where I am today in my career — connecting me to job opportunities, providing career advice, and introducing me to new friends and mentors,” Texin said. “Being around incredibly smart, supportive people, you do learn and grow from them. Of course, you learn so much in classes, but the people around you also really make a difference.”
It was through a fellow Ross alum that Texin got her start in the realm of ESG. Curious about an alum’s role in corporate responsibility consulting, Texin reached out via email and wound up not only meeting up with them but also landing a role at their company.
From there, she found a passion for corporate responsibility that grew over the years. That eventually led her to her current role as the executive director of corporate responsibility at Regeneron, where she started in 2018 as an associate director.
“The reason why I joined Regeneron was that the culture is really focused on ethics and integrity,” Texin said. “In corporate responsibility, we look at the intersection of what’s good for the business and what’s good for society. I like that here, the leadership already believes in the importance of “doing well by doing good.” In fact, it’s our corporate philosophy! It’s baked into our mission because Regeneron is focused on inventing new medicines for serious diseases. The purpose of the company is to be responsible.”
Turning a Ross foundation into global impact
Since her pivot into corporate responsibility, Texin has been a key player on many important projects that benefit her team members and Regeneron’s patients around the world.
Her work has helped establish responsible business practices across the company, contributed to investments in STEM education, and helped ensure access to the first U.S.-approved treatment for Ebola in low- and middle-income countries.
“I’m most proud of the work we did ensuring that there would continue to be access to our medicine during recent Ebola outbreaks,” Texin said. “That was just an example of something that was the right thing to do, the company believed in it, and we brought people together and were able to make it happen.”
Texin draws on her experience in ESG and consulting, as well as her Michigan Ross education, to continue creating positive outcomes for her colleagues and the communities her company serves. One of the key ingredients in finding a role that is both personally rewarding and impactful, she says, is staying ‘scrappy’ and being ready to seize opportunities as they come.
“When I graduated from business school, it was the middle of a recession. I felt prepared even in that difficult environment because I learned really practical skills that could translate into different roles,” Texin said. “You don’t always have to know where you want to end up to be successful and fulfilled. Every step you take will move you toward the next thing. It’s all about how you can build that foundation.”
Building a better future
As the business world continues to change, Texin says her best advice for current students and recent alums interested in careers similar to hers is to embrace the Michigan Ross and larger U-M network.
“Always lean into your network. Build those relationships. Whether it’s the U-M alumni network or even just reaching out to groups of people who are interested in like-minded things can make a big difference in helping you find opportunities that interest you,” Texin said. “You should also remember to invest in yourself. When I was at the consulting firm, we had time between projects when you were ‘on the bench’ so to speak. Use that time to better yourself and learn everything you can.”
As for her own goals for the next few years, Texin says her aspirations remain rooted in her desire to make positive change.
“I read a really interesting book by a former colleague, Richard Hardyment, that argued the overall purpose of a company should be to increase well-being. That can be through the money you pay people that allows them to live better lives, the products you create to improve their lives, or the medicines you develop to cure diseases or increase longevity,” Texin explained.
“And, that thinking applies to the individual, too. No matter what you do for work, you should make sure you’re increasing your well-being through it. At the end of the day, you should feel like you’re living a better life because of what you’re doing. That’s what I’ve been thinking about, in terms of where I want to be and what I want to accomplish.”
