– Power up. In the mid-2000s, Christina Lampe-Onnerud founded a lithium-ion battery company called Boston-Power. When it came time to look for a buyer, the Sweden-born chemist ended up with one option: sell to Chinese investors.

So in 2011, she did. “We could not scale in the U.S.,” she recalls in a conversation with Fortune CEO Alan Murray on the latest episode of the podcast Leadership Next. “Nobody wanted to do it.”

Today, Lampe-Onnerud is a leader of the Li-Bridge coalition, which aims to build a robust battery business in the U.S. (Alan calls Lampe-Onnerud “the Battery Queen.”) The geopolitics of battery production—China owns at least 70% of the market—have become a hot-button political issue, with U.S. lawmakers calling out national security risks of U.S. dependence on Chinese batteries.

Courtesy of Cadenza Innovation

Lampe-Onnerud’s path from China-backed startup founder to advocate for U.S. industry may imply some misgivings about her decision to sell, but the entrepreneur says it’s not that simple. “We don’t want to hear we are against China,” she says. “That’s borderline naive.” The average person is using China-made goods every day. “We shouldn’t be so black-and-white,” she said.

The United States’ leadership in the battery category depends on itself—not on what other countries are doing, she argues. “We are a leading nation. We can take ourselves down—we are not taken down,” she says.

Today, she’s the CEO of a new battery company called Cadenza Innovation. Her career path was influenced by her father, who worked in high-power transmission. As she’s encountered obstacles over the years, her family’s lessons have stuck with her. “I grew up knowing that you could do cool things if you cared a little more, if you fought a little harder,” she says.

Listen to the full interview on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe

The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Big 4 history. Janet Truncale will become the first woman to lead a Big 4 accounting firm in July after EY announced her as its new global CEO on Wednesday. Truncale started at EY 30 years ago as an intern and will have to repair divisions caused by EY's abandoned spin-off plan. Financial Times

- Trading up. More than 60% of 2022 bond transactions in the U.S. included at least one underwriting firm that was started by a woman or a person of color, more than double what it was 10 years ago. Companies like Verizon and Allstate Corp. are specifically hiring banks like Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley for their deals because of their history enlisting diverse underwriters. Bloomberg

- Pink slips. Citigroup’s long-awaited layoffs started yesterday as the first wave of employees were scrapped as part of CEO Jane Fraser’s grand restructuring efforts. Some managing directors, chiefs of staff, and lower-level employees are reportedly the first to go. The layoffs are expected to hit rank-and-file staff by February. CNBC

- Salary goals. The U.S. Women’s soccer team announced long-time Chelsea FC Women manager Emma Hayes as the team's new coach. She'll become the world's highest paid women’s soccer coach, earning a salary similar to that of U.S. men’s coach Gregg Berhalter, who's paid $1.6 million annually. Wall Street Journal

- Posting up. “Instagram moms” could be key to liberal victories in what is shaping up to be a tight 2024 election season. Groups like Motherhood for Good have already started campaigning on Instagram to sway suburban women, a coveted and consequential voter pool, towards Democratic candidates. The 19th

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Nike named Nicole Hubbard Graham as chief marketing officer. Schneider Electric appointed Heather Cykoskias senior vice president of industrial automation, U.S. & Canada. Key Private Bank appointed Catherine O'Malley to national head of Key Private Bank. RainFocus promoted Ashleigh Cook to chief marketing officer. HCI Equity Partners hired Brittany McDonald as chief of staff and vice president of communications. Oiselle announced Arielle Knutson as chief executive officer. Trust & Will named Dale Sperling as chief marketing officer. Forethought announced Bhusha Mehta as vice president of customer experience and success. 

ON MY RADAR

Why Gen X women get the worst of both worlds, according to a work-life balance expert who experienced ‘doing it all’ firsthand Fortune

Cathie Wood has a message for investors: You’re worried about the wrong thing Wall Street Journal

Sandra Hüller steps—cautiously—into the spotlight Vanity Fair

PARTING WORDS

"We’re conditioned to believe that in order to make financial decisions for ourselves, we have to wear a business suit and work on Wall Street, but it’s actually not that complicated or hard."

—Haley Sacks, whose informative and fresh take on financial planning as Mrs. Dow Jones has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.