We’re headed across the pond: join the Wharton Social Impact Initiative for a discussion on impact investing trends, innovations, and strategies in London on April 1, 2015.
At our latest event in the Capital for Social Impact Series, Senior Director of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, Jacob Gray will lead a conversation with impact investing experts Suzanne Biegel and Nick O’Donohoe on the latest market trends in impact investing.
This rapidly growing sector provides individuals, corporations, and institutions with more tools and opportunities to expand the positive impact of their investment and philanthropic dollars while still seeking appropriate financial returns. These “impact investments” are financing diverse efforts – from education technology, sustainable agriculture and financial services to innovations in healthcare and affordable housing.
In this exclusive event, speakers will delve in to industry- and sector-specific innovations and investments, and how individuals and organizations can implement and assess impact investing strategies in their own work. Students from the MBA-led Wharton Social Venture Fund will also present a case study from a recent deal, and delve into their investment process.
The Capital for Social Impact Series is a premier resource for Wharton and Penn alumni to explore the topic of impact investing and to engage with experts in the field — though we welcome members of the public to attend as well.
- When: Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 6:00-9:00 p.m. BST
- Where: RSA House – 8 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6EZ
- Cost: Free to attend, though space is limited. Registration is required.
Register now to save your space.
About the Speakers
Suzanne Biegel (W’84, C’84) is founder of Catalyst At Large Ltd. With more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, social impact angel and venture investor, philanthropist, board member, and hands-on operational manager, she founded the Clearly Social Angels network in the UK for ClearlySo and serves as a senior adviser there. She runs a consultancy focused on impact investing with a women and girls lens. She is also the Investment Director for SPRING, a venture accelerator focused on companies that improve the lives of adolescent girls in East Africa. She serves on the global advisory council for the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, and is a Wharton and Penn alumnae. Suzanne serves on the board of Confluence Philanthropy in the US, a network of foundations moving their capital into mission related investing, and founded and runs Women in Social Finance, in London. She is a fellow at the Aspen Institute. She speaks and writes frequently on the topic of impact investing. Suzanne has been based primarily in London for the past five years.
Nick O’Donohoe (WG’81) is Chief Executive Officer of Big Society Capital. BSC was established in 2012 by the UK Government as the world’s first social investment wholesaler. It is capitalised with £600m from dormant bank accounts and from the four largest UK Banks. Before helping to set up Big Society Capital, Nick was at JP Morgan, latterly as Global Head of Research. He was a member of the Management Committee of the Investment Bank and the Executive Committee of JP Morgan Chase, as well as the senior sponsor for JP Morgan’s Social Finance Unit. Nick co-authored “Impact Investments: An Emerging Asset Class”, published by JP Morgan and the Rockefeller Foundation in November 2010. Prior to JP Morgan he worked at Goldman Sachs. He is a board member of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), Chairman of the WEF Social Innovation Council, Chairman of the G8 UK Social Investment Advisory Group and a member of the Investment Committee of the Women’s World Banking Microfinance Fund (ISIS). He has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA in Mathematical Economics and Statistics from Trinity College, Dublin.
Jacob Gray is the Senior Director for the Wharton Social Impact Initiative. Gray leads the impact investing initiatives at WSII, drawing from more than 12 years of experience in impact investing and social enterprise. He is the lead staff and member of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Wharton Social Venture Fund, a student-led impact investment fund. He managed Wharton’s role in FastFWD, an innovative collaboration that won $1 million from the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge in 2013. Gray is no stranger to social enterprise in Philadelphia: he is a co-founder and General Partner of Murex Investments, an impact VC fund managing funds for financial institutions and high net-worth individuals. He is also a co-founder of GoodCompany Group, an incubator for high-growth social enterprises, and IC Philly, the first regional chapter of Investor’s Circle, one of the largest and oldest national networks of angel investors and professional venture capitalists. He serves on the Board of AWE, a high-growth education technology company, and previously served as Treasurer and Interim CEO of Service Works, a social enterprise serving hard to employ Philadelphians. He earned his B.A. from Brown University, and joined the WSII team in July 2012.
Wharton Social Venture Fund (WSVF) is a student-led organization housed under the Wharton Social Impact Initiative. The WSVF supports and promotes early stage companies that create positive social or environmental impact and prepares students to become leaders in the impact investment community. Members of the WSVF also have the exclusive opportunity to be interns at Locust Walk Impact Partners, an impact investment firm that invests in early and expansion-stage companies with venture-grade growth potential and intentional, measurable social impact. The firm operates through a unique collaboration between the Wharton Social Venture Fund and OurCrowd. Locust Walk Impact Partners focusses on doing great deals, Our Crowd brings capital, and the Wharton Social Venture Fund provides world class talent.