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Climate change is one of the most important issues facing the world today. It is increasingly becoming a focus area for policy makers both at the state and national level. Leading investment companies are also beginning to pay close attention to this sector. Hosted by the Center for Social Innovation, this panel debate brings together industry experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs in this area.
The panelists begin the session by discussing how new economies like China and India are tackling climate change. Will the growing need for clean technologies in these densely populated countries shift resources or will it create more opportunities for social innovation in the U.S and elsewhere? Much of the discussion centers around China since some of the entrepreneurs in the panel have first-hand experience working with the Chinese government and businesses. The good news -- heightened concern and awareness about environmental issues in China and other emerging markets will give entrepreneurs numerous opportunities to innovate and build profitable partnerships across continents.
Next, the experts tackle a hard question -- should the entrepreneur lead with "impact" or "profitability" while pitching an idea to an investor? Many of the panelists agree that it is best to lead with numbers but as one member suggests, there might be ways to creatively integrate the two divergent ideas in order to give the company a competitive advantage and even increase its value. The group also discusses the role of the entrepreneur in educating the investor and making him an evangelist for the issue that the entrepreneur cares about.
In the Q&A session, the panelists address a number of important questions -- how to measure social impact, what are the main drivers affecting climate change and what is our own personal responsibility in ensuring a better future? Some of the answers might surprise you.
This is part 2 of a two-part session on Capital Change. You can listen to part 1 here.
Paul Fletcher is Senior Managing Partner at Actis where he is responsible for Actis’s business activities worldwide and plays an active role in its investment business. Paul joined CDC Capital Partners in 2000, prior to the creation of Actis in 2004, as Managing Director of Africa and Global Sector Groups. He became CEO of CDC in 2003. Before joining CDC, Paul was Head of Emerging Markets Strategic Planning for Citibank in London and, prior to that, General Manager for Citibank in East Africa based in Nairobi. Paul also spent eight years working as a Corporate Finance professional in New York, Tokyo and London. Paul is a director of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA).
Nic Frances is recognized for his passionate leadership in showing that Social Enterprise can lead the new global market agenda. Originally from the UK, Nic left a successful private sector career to found the Furniture Resource Center (FRC). Nic grew FRC from a public charity into a leading profit generating social enterprise. Nic moved to Australia, and from 1999-2004 headed the 40mm Brotherhood of St. Lawrence (BSL), one of Australia's leading welfare and social policy organizations. Nic left BSL to launch Easy Being Green in 2004. Easy Being Green has in 12 months saved its customers $30 million ($AUD) off their electricity bills, while reducing individual energy consumption sufficient to power a gas fired power plant. Nic holds an MBE from the British Government, and is a frequent international speaker on the convergence of business, personal ethics and social innovation. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 1996.
Divesh Makan is Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co. He has more than 10 years of experience in the financial and private equity industries. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Divesh was a senior manager at Accenture in the Financial Services area, before moving to the Private Equity area. As a founding member of the Information and Technology Strategy Practice, Divesh has worked in the London, Johannesburg, Amsterdam and Chicago Offices. Divesh serves on the committee of the Junior Achievement organization, and the Advisor's Council of the San Francisco Ballet. He received an M.B.A from the Wharton School and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Natal, South Africa.
Bryan L. Martel is Managing Partner at Environmental Capital Group. He is the Environmental Investment Advisor to CalPERS, in association with Pacific Corporate Group LLC. In this role, he is fostering strategic worldwide efforts to promote clean technology as an economically viable market opportunity. He is also the founder and former CEO of Mobius Technologies, a material science/clean-technology company. At Mobius Technologies, Bryan developed and industrialized a successful plastic recycling process that grew into a venture capital backed, growth-stage company with operations in the US, Europe, and Asia. Prior to starting Mobius Technologies, Bryan was an independent consultant for industrial-scale plastic recycling projects for the world’s largest plastics companies. He received his BS and MS in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and is a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer, State of California.
Robert Rubenstein is Founder and CEO of Brooklyn Bridge-TBLI Group, the Triple Bottom Line Investing Conference and the TBLI Academy. Brooklyn Bridge makes connections for companies and individuals from the old to the new economy, by utilizing their extensive global network with a focus in finance. Robert has been active in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the past 20 years. During this time he has worked mainly in publishing, creating 5 different magazines. He has been influential in getting CSR into the mainstream of business strategy, by focusing on finance and personnel issues. As a teacher at the Rotterdam School of Management, he teaches a course on Sustainable Finance, to further raise awareness of future business leaders. He is also one of the leading international speakers on the subject of CSR and Sustainable Finance, and has been recently asked to join the prestigious Washington Speakers Bureau.
Toni Symonds currently serves as a senior policy advisor to the California Legislature. Until December 2005, Ms. Symonds served as the California State Deputy Controller for investments and corporate governance. As Deputy Controller, she acted as the California State Controller's representative to the California State Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS). Ms. Symonds has held a variety of senior-level public policy positions in Washington, D.C. and California during her 20-year career in government, including appointments during the administrations of President Bill Clinton and California Governor Gray Davis. In addition to her role with the California Legislature, Ms. Symonds serves on the Executive Board of the California Biomass Collaborative, dedicated to furthering the use of biomass to meet the world’s energy and product needs.
Dan Whaley is Founder and CEO of Climos, a new San Francisco based company which will commercialize an oceanographic technique to stimulate large phytoplankton blooms in the ocean as a way to reduce atmospheric CO2. In 1994, Dan built the web site for Waiters On Wheels' online ordering system, which had the distinction of handling perhaps the first e-commerce transactions ever made over the web. In the fall of that year he co-founded the Internet Travel Network (ITN)—later renamed GetThere.com. Dan led GetThere.com to an IPO in 1999, and its eventual sale in 2000 to The Sabre Group for $770 million, which remains the largest all-cash deal for an Internet company. In 1996, Dan was recognized by Business Travel News as one of the industry's "Top 25 Most Influential Executives". He has received numerous other awards and has spoken and served in a variety of capacities within the Internet and travel industries.
Amber Nystrom (moderator) is Founder and President of Social Fusion, a leading incubator supporting positive impact businesses and SMEs in emerging markets. She is a proven entrepreneur with over fifteen years experience launching and directing businesses and multi-stakeholder social change initiatives in the U.S. and internationally. She has raised over 150m in financing towards this end, founded three businesses and consulted to 100s more. She has worked in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Amber is a frequent speaker in these areas at Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, and international venues. She serves as a member of the Advisory Board for Tallberg Foundation and TBLI; consults to the World Bank, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, and Actis.
Resources:
Companies represented at the panel discussion
Venture companies focused on clean technologies
This program is from our Stanford Discussions series.
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