Hannah Harpole – 20 Under 40
Varsity Brands
28 | SMU
Hannah Harpole volunteers as a children’s advocate through Dallas CASA.
In this role, she helps children in Child Protective Services care access services and makes recommendations to help judges decide what is best for each child.
“I wanted to get involved in the community in a way where I could truly have a meaningful, positive influence on others,” Harpole said. “There’s no more impactful way I can contribute my time than to make a positive impact on a child’s life so that they don’t slip through the cracks of the CPS system.”
Harpole also serves on the Dallas CASA Young Professionals Council, and she co-chaired the 2024 rendition of its signature black-tie fundraiser, CASAblanca.
“We are primarily focused on raising awareness about opportunities to get involved with Dallas CASA and fundraising to help CASA in providing an advocate to every child in CPS care,” she said.
Harpole started her career at Bain & Company in management consulting, where she spent most of her time leading transformations for retail clients. After six years there, she stepped out of the consulting world and joined Varsity Brands, where she serves as the director of strategy and transformation and is “heavily involved in developing our growth strategy and leading strategic partnerships.”
Her “lightbulb moment” came during a summer internship in college when she watched her supervisors repeat the same things daily.
“It helped me realize that I didn’t want a career that delivered monotony; I craved variety and the opportunity to constantly learn new skills and be challenged,” Harpole said. “I ended up starting my career in consulting, and it delivered just that.”
What would you tell an 18-year-old you?
Be where your feet are. Enjoy the present moment because you’ll never get to be there again, and life can change in an instant.
What’s a fun fact someone wouldn’t know about you?
I recently hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim. It’s (about) 23 miles and almost 5,000 feet of elevation gain. While it was a doozy, it was amazing to meet so many fellow hikers along the way and enjoy a stunning sunrise and sunset over the cliffs.
What advice do you have for other young professionals?
You are going to spend a significant amount of your time at work. Spend your time on something that “lights a fire in your belly” and spend it working with good people. If you can solve for those two things, odds are you’ll be doing something that makes you happy.
What (or who) motivated you to get involved in the community?
I wanted to get involved in the community in a way where I could truly have a meaningful, positive influence on others. And there’s no more impactful way I can contribute my time than to make a positive impact on a child’s life so that they don’t slip through the cracks of the CPS system.
What was your first job and what did you learn from it?
My first job was a hostess at a local Italian restaurant. It was an amazing first job — I feel like I learned so much from it. It forced me to break out of my shell and be outgoing with customers and it taught me how hard the staff at restaurants work and to have patience with a server when things go wrong — it’s typically not their fault.
Where do you see yourself and/or your career 10 years from now?
I can’t say that I have it all figured out, but I also don’t want to have it all figured out either. I think it’s exciting to wake up every day and shape what you want your life to look like. Ten years from now, I’d like to look back on my life and believe that I wasn’t scared to follow my own path and figure out/do what makes me happy vs. following the crowd. I’m not exactly sure where all of those decisions will take me, but I’m excited to find out.
What is your favorite local restaurant or shop?
My favorite local restaurant in Dallas is Xaman Café — it’s a wonderful coffee/brunch spot in the mornings, and turns into a speakeasy in the evenings with authentic Mexican cuisine and fabulous cocktails.
What’s on your bucket list?
Currently, my bucket list primarily revolves around travel — I’d like to travel to 30 countries by my 30th birthday. A few experiences I’m most excited for: go hiking in the Norwegian fjordlands, see the northern lights in Finland, explore Japan and hike Mont Blanc in France.
What was your “lightbulb moment” that led you to your career?
As I was exploring career options in undergrad, a summer internship experience where I largely watched the people ahead of me repeating the same thing day in and day out. It helped me realize that I didn’t want a career that delivered monotony; I craved variety and the opportunity to constantly learn new skills and be challenged. I ended up starting my career in consulting and it delivered just that. I had the opportunity to help design the growth strategy for small, private equity owned companies but also got to work on complex operational challenges for some of the largest, most well-known consumer brands in the U.S. The learnings I take away from my days in consulting will most certainly help me throughout the entirety of my career.
