Listen to 300+ interviews on philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship. Guests include Paul Polman, David Lynch, Siya Kolisi, Cherie Blair, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bob Moritz, David Miliband and Julia Gillard. Hosted by Alberto Lidji, Visiting Professor at Strathclyde Business School and ex-Global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation. Visit Lidji.org for more information.
Episodes
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Monday Aug 05, 2019
British Ambassador Designate to South Sudan, Chris Trott, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss conflict resolution, power sharing agreements, Ebola and working in the frontlines.
Chris talks about his career trajectory and the rewarding challenges of being posted to South Sudan, Afghanistan and other precarious settings. He explains why this is important to him and provides advice to others who may be drawn to similar postings while having to juggle family commitments. Chris is motivated by wanting to make a difference in a conflict environment.
He is quick to note that despite the challenges of being posted to South Sudan, these pale in comparison with the hardships the South Sudanese population has to endure.
Chris sheds light on the state of affairs in South Sudan and the region. He provides statistics on the death toll from the conflict, along with staggering numbers pertaining to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
He then proceeds to discuss the challenges of securing – and maintaining – power sharing agreements and the difficulties of bringing enemies to the negotiating table.
Chris notes that the statistics around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Sudan are horrifying. He talks of girls’ education and explains how a girl in South Sudan is more likely to die in child birth than complete secondary school. The country has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. This is but one element of the myriad of problems facing the country, from high rates of sexual violence in conflict to lack of adequate healthcare, malnutrition, the threat of Ebola and more.
Chris notes that “it’s really, really important that we focus on the Sustainable Development Goals, because they are a long way from achieving them here”.
Chris’ key takeaway: The international community has a hugely important and supportive role in trying to help address crises around the world – we need to find ways to offer that support in a way that empowers local partners, local governments and other key stakeholders.
Full episode notes, guest bios and useful links are available at Lidji.org - Please subscribe to the podcast if you enjoy it. Thank you!
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Founding Executive Director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, Kat Rosqueta, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social impact, strengthening democracy through philanthropy and knowledge sharing in philanthropy.
Kat speaks passionately about the power of philanthropy and notes that high impact philanthropy is not about how much you give but, rather, it’s about how you give.
She sheds light on her career trajectory and the origins of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy & Practice.
Her team at the Center is highly multi-disciplinary, which Kat notes is essential. You need the best thinking from diverse actors and disciplines to improve and change the world.
At the Center, they focus on different thematic areas. An interesting – and highly topical – area of research they’re currently pursuing looks at how philanthropy can strengthen democracy.
At the Center, they decide which thematic areas to focus on by determining whether there’s a high potential for social impact; whether they have the funding; whether they think they can quickly assemble a team that can generate answers quickly and well; and whether there is clear funder interest globally for such research.
She adds that it’s essential to have clarity of thought on what, exactly, is the social impact goal you’re trying to achieve; ensuring decisions are informed by the best available evidence out there (both academic and practical); embracing an attitude of learning, measuring and managing progress; and ensuring there is value for money.
The Center is keen to provide guidance on philanthropy to a wide audience and to ensure research can be accessed freely, across diverse platforms. They publish the ‘High Impact Giving Guide’, which provides tips, examples and useful resources for donors.
Moreover, the Center has partnerships with the likes of Fidelity Charitable – the largest Donor Advised Fund (DAF) – who mirror some of the Center’s guidance on giving, and also with Giving Compass, who add some of the Center’s guidance content on their own website.
Kat is clear that one can be a philanthropist without having to be a high-net-worth individual (HNWI). She lightheartedly distinguishes between ‘high input’ philanthropy where you do need a lot of money and ‘high impact’ philanthropy where it’s not about how much you give but, rather, how you give.
Kat also introduces the concept of a ‘social impact portfolio’, which is a useful way for individuals to balance out how much they may want to give philanthropically, or allocate towards impact investing or, indeed, spend by making sustainable purchasing decisions through conscious consumerism.
The conversation then moves into a policy exploration on philanthropy itself; its accountability (or lack thereof); its freedom to take on risk; its track record and ability to tackle social issues where for some reason neither government nor the business sector have mobilised.
An interesting point to keep in mind is that the pools of philanthropic funds available globally are still relatively small – despite all the media coverage on the topic. Kat notes that even the Gates Foundation’s endowment – the largest foundation out there – wouldn’t be able to pay for two years’ worth of public education in even one state alone, in the USA.
Kat’s key takeaway for listeners: now, more than ever, any individual can practice high impact philanthropy. High impact philanthropy is not about how much you give but, rather, it’s about how you give. If you’re unsure of where to start your philanthropic journey, you should simply just start and take the first step. Use the wealth of resources available at the Center and elsewhere that are publicly available and get excited about the impact you can make over a lifetime.
Full episode notes, guest bios and useful links are available at Lidji.org - Please subscribe to the podcast if you enjoy it. Thank you!
Saturday Jul 20, 2019
Saturday Jul 20, 2019
General Manager of PBS America in the UK, Richard Kingsbury, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss educational TV, impartial reporting and the value of public media.
PBS America (Public Broadcasting Service) was founded in 1969. There are more than 300 PBS channels in the US and 85% of their income comes direct from philanthropic donations; 15% comes from the government.
In the US, PBS has been voted the most trusted institution for 10 consecutive years running.
PBS is a non-profit organisation, with a strong focus on educational TV. In the UK, some of the more prominent programs are Nova (science), Frontline (current affairs) and the American Experience (history), alongside high-quality documentaries.
Viewers of PBS in the UK tend to be intellectually curious and have a desire to learn -- not just relax -- as they watch TV. Richard notes that PBS programming is dense with information and insight.
PBS also serves a cultural exchange function, bringing programming with a strong American flavour to British audiences, while broadcasting many British shows to American audiences in the US.
Richard notes that many British viewers generally formulate their view of the US from Hollywood and, therefore, part of the appeal of PBS in the UK is that it brings in-depth, real-life stories that give British audiences a much more rounded picture of what America is like.
The impartiality of PBS is something Richard underscores clearly and he notes that public media exposes all sides to the debate and, therefore, has a real value at a time when many individuals tend to have a disproportionate exposure to likeminded views.
The key takeaway for listeners: Richard drives home the message that there is real value in public media and we need to appreciate its role in allowing people to come to informed and rational decisions.
Full episode notes, guest bios and relevant links are available at Lidji.org - Please subscribe to the podcast if you enjoy it. Thank you!
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Chief Executive of the Scouts UK, Matt Hyde, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss inclusivity, growth and why Scouting transforms lives in 193 countries.
Matt Hyde introduces listeners to the global Scout movement and to the Scouts in the UK. Scouting was set up in 1907 and today has approximately 50 million Scouts in 193 countries. The organisation aims to prepare young people, aged 6 to 25 (exact ages vary in different countries), with skills for life.
In the UK, there are 460,000 young people participating in the Scouts and 160,000 adult volunteers. Interestingly, there are currently 60,000 young people waiting to join the Scouts in the UK – this waiting list is due to a need for additional adult volunteers.
Matt sheds light on how to join the Scouts, what it entails and how it transforms lives. He gives listeners visibility into his own personal journey in the Scouts. He got into the Scouts as a young child, which set him on a leadership development path and, now, he finds himself as the Chief Executive of the Scouts in the UK.
Matt also provides insight into their corporate strategy. We hear how the Scouts in the UK are considering expanding their provision into the ‘Early Years’ for participants aged 4 and 5. Encouragingly, they have received funding to run 40 pilots from diverse funders.
For the next four years, the Scouts are looking to add another 50,000 participants, reach out to and engage with people living in deprived areas; inclusion is of vital importance and they want to ensure that Scouting in the UK represents modern British society on all fronts -- gender equality, LGBT+ issues, race, ethnicity and more.
When defining success for the next few years, Matt is focused on growth, inclusivity, ensuring that the Scouts are shaped by young people, and achieving substantive community impact.
Full episode notes, links and guest bios are available at Lidji.org -- Please subscribe to this podcast if you’ve enjoyed it. Thank you!
Monday Jul 08, 2019
Monday Jul 08, 2019
Grant Gordon, philanthropist and Founder of the Reekimlane Foundation, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss high-net-worth (HNW) family philanthropy and responsible stewardship of wealth.
Grant encourages global listeners who are interested in philanthropy to take the first step and connect with likeminded individuals who are attracted by philanthropy.
Grant founded the Reekimlane Foundation, which grants out approximately $1m annually. The foundation is a grant maker and also acts as a conduit for various other philanthropic endeavours launched by Grant.
Child poverty and community regeneration are two thematic areas close to Grant’s heart. Currently, he’s also exploring early childhood development as a potential area for more philanthropic engagement.
When asked about what prompted him to get into philanthropy, he notes that, for him, it’s about values. Grant grew up in an affluent family and he was brought up knowing that there are certain responsibilities associated with having wealth. Philanthropy came naturally to him.
For those individuals who are thinking about getting into philanthropy, but haven’t done so for one reason or another, he simply suggests one start by having a look around to see what issues resonate most so that what one really cares about is identified. He references the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a good starting point -- Goal No.1 is about tackling poverty.
Everyone is different and determining how much money and resources one should donate is a personal decision. In Grant’s case, there’s an ongoing family discussion on what it means to be a responsible citizen which, in turn, helps him and his family decide what works best for them.
There are two key insights Grant brings from his private sector experience: one is the importance of ‘mission’ and ensuring that all Trustees on your board are fully aligned; the other pertains to leadership, where one needs a CEO who’s not just passionate but also who has the skills and resilience to do the job.
Grant’s takeaway for listeners: as a philanthropist (or potential philanthropist) never regard yourself as being on your own. Go out and talk to others!
Full episode notes, links and guest bios are available at Lidji.org – Please subscribe to this podcast if you find enjoy listening to it. Thank you!
Sunday Jun 30, 2019
Sunday Jun 30, 2019
Club Director at Wimbledon's All England Lawn Tennis Club, Martin Guntrip, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the Wimbledon Foundation and the inner workings of the world's most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament.
The Wimbledon Foundation was founded in 2013, and the All England Lawn Tennis Club has been involved in charitable work for many years prior. One could say the Foundation was a way of formalising a philanthropic undercurrent that has been an important part of the Club’s ethos for many years.
Wimbledon wholeheartedly embraces gender equality and every aspect of the tournament is equal irrespective of gender. Interestingly, over 50% of those coming through the gates to watch the Championships in person are women. About 40,000 visitors per day come in to watch the Championships during the two weeks.
Martin speaks candidly about the inner workings of the world’s most prestigious Grand Slam tennis tournament – we hear how tennis stars’ entourages are getting larger, how ice baths are now a default feature and how the strict dress code is a key differentiator that’s unlikely to change any time soon.
There’s a constant drive to improve the Club and the Championships. We hear of the ‘Grand Slam Committee’, where representatives of all four Grand Slams engage with each other to exchange notes and improve how things are done. Indeed, Martin attends most Grand Slam tournaments every year.
Martin has been in the world of tennis for most of his life; having played in the Championships during the early 1980s. His passion for the sport, and for the Wimbledon Foundation’s philanthropic work, comes through loud and clear.
The Wimbledon Foundation is active locally, nationally and internationally. They have established fruitful partnerships with the likes of WaterAid and Magic Bus. Most of the funding comes from the Club, the Championships and from members.
Locally, through their ‘Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative’, they introduce approximately 14,000 children to the world of tennis annually – they work closely with primary schools in the boroughs of Wandsworth and Merton and make a point to support local causes – over 50% of their giving is local.
Sustainability has also become a key consideration. Last year, the Championships removed all plastic straws and this year their partner, Evian, is launching a 100% recycled water bottle.
Martin notes that the All England Lawn Tennis Club has 500 members and he jokes that the easy way to become a member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club is simply to win Wimbledon.
Interestingly, many people don’t know that the All England Lawn Tennis Club is active throughout the year, as are most regular tennis clubs – not just during the two weeks of the Championships – and players like Andy Murray can be seen practising there throughout the year. Martin notes that sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing playing tennis when you have Andy Murray hitting balls in an adjacent court!
The 'Key Takeaway' he shares with listeners: find out what’s unique about you or your organisation and find a way to give whatever is special about you to others. People are very appreciative when you do.
-- For full episode notes, guest bios and useful links, visit Lidji.org Please subscribe to this podcast if you enjoy it. Thank you!
Tuesday Jun 25, 2019
Tuesday Jun 25, 2019
CEO of the Smollan Group, David Smollan, joins Alberto Lidji to share his thoughts on managing a global workforce of 80,000 in a caring and sustainable manner.
Being a mindful employer is important. David wants large-scale employers to think about “how mindful are we about the sustainability of human capital, and how we treat people, and how we develop them?”
The Smollan Group employs 80,000 people in 50 countries. The firm was founded in South Africa back in 1931 and has grown from modest beginnings into a successful venture representing some of the world’s best-known brand owners. David joined the firm in the early 2000s and he spotted an opportunity to deliver services around the world – not just in South Africa.
When the firm ventured into India, they noticed that in that market everything was being handled by manpower companies that provide labour to brand owners – these brokers simply charged a fee to brand owners and handled payroll. But, there was no consideration given to individuals' career progression, nor to their training, nor their development.
This was in stark contrast to how the Smollan Group had been operating in South Africa, where those individuals providing field services where actually employees, who were receiving training, who had a career trajectory – this was a different type of engagement and led to different performance.
One of the biggest concerns when employing 80,000 people is the need to think beyond wages and to think about employees’ welfare, their future, their career development and their career trajectory.
Treating people well and believing in people leads to increased staff engagement. We’ve all been in a relationship where someone made us feel engaged and we gave more; and we’ve also all been in a relationship where someone made us feel less engaged and we gave less. Think about how much more you’re willing to give people because of how they make us feel.
He expresses the view that the business of sustainability is a long-term game and that human capital results take time – you have to have patience. Financial results are a lag indicator for operating results, which are a lag indicator for human capital results. If you have the patience, the will and the heart then the results will be there.
On the topic of why he is so passionate about sustainability, David is candid: we all do things because we get pleasure from them. He intrinsically finds sustainability satisfying and it makes him feel good. He notes that: “it’s too small an achievement to build a commercially successful business, I think the real challenge is to build a business that is commercially successful, that is kind to the planet and is impactful on communities. That for me is the definition of great achievement”.
David’s key takeaway: for those listeners who have children, think about what the world will be like when these children have their own children; think about these little people who you really love and care about, and think about the challenges we have today with inequality and the environment – that should be enough inspiration for you to want to make meaningful change.
-- Full episode notes, guest bios and links are available at Lidji.org Please subscribe to this podcast if you’ve enjoyed it – thank you.
Monday Jun 17, 2019
Monday Jun 17, 2019
Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, Vikas Pota, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss the Global Teacher Prize, Ed-Tech and universal access to quality education.
Vikas is passionate about quality education, advocacy, education technology (Ed-Tech) and political engagement. The Varkey Foundation is the driving force behind the Global Teacher Prize, which awards $1 million every year to an outstanding teacher. They have made five annual awards thus far.
Moreover, the Varkey Foundation also convenes key stakeholders via their high-profile Global Education & Skills Forum in Dubai, where last year around 50 education ministers from around the world were in attendance.
The $1 million award was presented by the well-known actor, Hugh Jackman, and is aimed at inspiring and increasing the status of teachers in every country.
Advocacy is key and Vikas feels the philanthropy sector does a terrible job at communicating. As a sector he feels there’s a need to step up and ask how do we capture people’s imagination – “communication is critical to everything that we do”.
The Varkey Foundation is a global foundation, which has been around for approximately 10 years. They’ve gone from being a CSR arm of GEMS Education, to being a corporate foundation and, now, to being a family foundation.
Internationally, they engage with policymakers and key stakeholders on the ground. In Argentina, for instance, they have implemented a leadership and innovation program where nearly 6,000 school principals and directors have taken the course themselves – this is in partnership with five provinces in Argentina and Vikas notes it has been hugely successful.
When asked whether ‘workforce’ was one of the key problems, Vikas replied that in the UK for example there is a recruitment and retention crisis. Teachers don’t want to stay in the job. UN Sustainable Development Goal Number 4 focuses on the provision of a quality education for all – Vikas notes it requires the recruitment of an additional 69 million new teachers to deliver SDG4 globally.
While at Davos a few years back, Vikas had a discussion on whether teachers would be replaced by robots. Encouragingly, he notes the conclusion was that teachers’ jobs would not be replaced by robots – and that’s why it’s important to invest in capacity building for the teaching profession. However, Vikas recognises the tremendous potential of deploying education technology to improve outcomes.
In addition to being the Chairman of the Varkey Foundation, Vikas is also the CEO of Tmrw Digital, a for-profit vehicle aimed at education technology.
On the Ed-Tech front, he recognises that the challenges are significant. He believes we don’t really understand the true potential that technology has in transforming lives in classrooms.
While meeting Ed-Tech entrepreneurial start-ups and innovators every day to learn about productivity, personalisation etc, what he notes is: “the thing I found most interesting is how woeful the state of affairs is when it comes to ed-tech entrepreneurs, who actually treat ed-tech or the education sector just like they would treat the financial services sector, which is as a market place.” His message to them is for them always to speak in terms of learning outcomes.
He asks Ed-Tech entrepreneurs to show him the actual impact their solutions would have. When he poses this question, three quarters if not more of entrepreneurs just drop away and that is why he has been “sorely disappointed with the state of start-ups” in this space.
One of the key areas he feels requires our attention is political leadership: one of the challenges is in the way that schools and education systems procure products. Often the high cost of acquisition of a student is so high because one has to go from school to school individually, and that becomes challenging as a business model for Ed-Tech. He feels procurement shouldn’t be thought of simply as how many whiteboards are being purchased but, rather, those making the procurement decisions should think about how to procure the best numeracy apps, how best to bring in personalisation into the classroom. This more enlightened type of conversation is happening in Brazil, it is also happening in the UK but, unfortunately, it is not happening in much of the world.
On the topic of philanthropy, he views philanthropy “as courage capital”, to invest in areas where the public sector in particular will just not be able to. And by doing so he feels that philanthropy can strengthen the public sector – research, programming, knowledge-sharing etc.
He sees convening as being exactly the use of courage capital. Convening is very expensive and because it costs so much not many people do it, and they don’t do it well enough. That’s why the Varkey Foundation is keen to bring people together and getting them to talk about education. At the last Global Education & Skills Forum, they had nearly 50 education ministers from around the world, 100 philanthropic leaders from around the world, teachers, academics – bringing a multiple range of perspectives. This leads to conversations that drive the field forward. Importantly, they invite and host those representing the whole spectrum of views, from teachers’ unions to for-profit private education providers, and everything in between.
On the question whether private, for-profit education providers have a role to play: Vikas notes that over the years he has witnessed many ideological fault lines in education and, indeed, scepticism regarding the role of private, for-profit actors is one of them – one of many.
The answer lies on whether classroom outcomes are improved, whether kids end up doing better. If you keep this in mind then whether it’s private, public, not-for-profit, it really doesn’t matter, in his view. He observes that the conversation has matured over recent years and people do appreciate the private sector has a role to play.
On the topic of political engagement, Vikas provides interesting insight, noting that there are only a few countries in the world where the education minister they have actually wants to be the education minister; as opposed to using that position as a staging post for something bigger or actually exiting a government. He sees it usually as a job on the way up or the way down.
Because of this, they explored (and are exploring) the idea of having a Best Education Minister Prize. There is a need to show people what good education leadership looks like. He prompts any interested listeners to get in touch if this is something they’d like to explore.
Vikas’ key takeaway for those in the education policy, foundation and Ed-Tech space: in education, nothing starts or ends without teachers. So, make sure you actually consult teachers and involve them in the design. These are the sort of conversations that he has found to be the most fruitful and eye-opening.
-- Full episode notes are available at Lidji.org including useful links and guest bios. Please subscribe to this podcast if you find it useful and informative - Thank you!
Monday Jun 10, 2019
Monday Jun 10, 2019
Executive Director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Michael Feigelson, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss political engagement, diversity of leadership and support for Early Childhood Development.
Michael speaks passionately about engaging with global policymakers and diverse stakeholders in support of Early Childhood Development. We hear of Michael's early days as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, his non-profit work in Mexico and his subsequent rise to lead one of the world’s earliest and most effective advocates of Early Childhood Development -- the Bernard van Leer Foundation has been active in this field since the 1960s.
When asked about the tension between scalability and high quality in Early Childhood Development programs, he quickly points out that this tension isn’t confined to the world of Early Childhood Development exclusively; it is a general theme in life, in business, and in philanthropy.
Michael goes on to talk of their high scale work in Brazil, in conjunction with government and with the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation.
He is candid that along with scale there certainly are many quality issues being identified, but this should not prevent one from aiming to scale. Michael’s view is to go fast and go for scale, and work for quality in the meantime. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good – “the reality of scaling anything up is that it’s messy, and you’re going to have problems, and it’s going to fail in different parts.”
Michael notes that when driving forward programs at such scale and dealing with governments, you need to keep in mind that political contexts are fluid, and you need to get your program to a point -- in your window of opportunity -- where it’s irreversible and that means you need to get it big enough, so there’s a large enough number of people and constituents, from parents, to policymakers, to politicians who are invested in it. From “a political standpoint, pace matters, speed matters”.
Two tips from Michael if you’re looking to engage with governments:
(1) Government is a huge entity in any country with thousands of people. There’s a tendency to think about government as a sort of homogenous entity but like any institution of that size it’s not at all. It’s filled up with people, thousands of different types of people with different interests. In Michael’s experience there are always people inside government who deeply want to do something for babies and toddlers. And a lot of the work is just finding those people who are committed and passionate about Early Childhood Development -- it’s not about creating the leadership; it’s actually already there but just needs to be supported and augmented.
(2) Ensure there’s a diversity of leadership. You don’t want the program to be tied to a single political party; you wanted it to be tied to all of the political parties. You don’t want it to be just the national government; you want it to be the state an local government, too. You don’t just want it to be the public sector; you want it to be the private sector and civil society as well. So, you’re really trying to create a broad group of leaders who will all be advocating for Early Childhood Development in their own way.
As far as getting ministries to work with each other, Michael notes there is this insistence on having all the ministries talking to each other, and policies across all the sectors and somebody co-ordinating everything. Yes, once in a while this happens but more often than not, what he looks for is a good anchoring point to start with – either for a platform that already exists, or for a ministry that can act as the anchor, or for the top authority in the country to take the lead (ie the prime minister) and that’s the best way to get co-ordination.
The latter part of the conversation focuses on their Urban95 initiative, which aims to look at cities and urban planning from the vantage point of the height of a child – 95cm. If you could experience a city from 95cm, what would you change? Urban95 is active in more than 10 cities globally.
An interesting observation is that air quality came up as a key topic. About 93% of the world’s kids breathe air that is under the WHO standard today. And the exposure to polluted air doesn’t just have an impact on a child’s health today but also on their lung growth and brain function in the long-term. Moreover, the air is dirtier at 95cm (as opposed to an adult’s normal height); and to add to that babies and toddlers breathe about four times as frequently because they have shorter breaths than adults, so they’re taking in more dirty air than adults and they can’t filter it as well.
The key takeaway from Michael: Set goals that are far too big for you to reasonably achieve by yourself, because that’s what’s needed in the world and it forces you into a collaborative mode.
For additional links, guest bios and resources, visit Lidji.org -- please subscribe to this podcast and recommend it to others if you find it enjoyable. Thank you.
Monday Jun 03, 2019
Monday Jun 03, 2019
Founder and CEO of Ethical Angel, Alex Fahie, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social entrepreneurship and his platform connecting corporates and employees to good causes around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Alex is a social entrepreneur and regular listener of The Do One Better! Podcast.
He explains how Ethical Angel aims to create valuable experiences for individuals, and to mobilise the private sector and employees in ways to find challenges and causes that are trying to make the world a bit better. In the process, providing them with an easy conduit with ways to action them.
Ethical Angel is a young firm and recently went to market at the start of 2019. Their almost 20 clients are currently based mainly in the UK but, out of their 190 prospects, there’s a wide global footprint. Ethical Angel aims to serve a global client base.
They’ve raised approximately £230,000 from angel investors thus far. Alex talks candidly about the invaluable nature of his peer network in supporting him as he faces self-doubt and endures the emotional peaks and troughs.
The firm has attracted experienced and skilled individuals to their Advisory Board and as Ambassadors of the firm. Their Ambassador Board initially formed around Sir Stephen O’Brien, who was the Founder and first CEO of Business in the Community. Other Ambassadors include Lord Michael Hastings who is KPMG’s Global Head of Citizenship.
Alex isn’t shy in letting us know Ethical Angel was initially meant to be something quite different. The original idea was for it to be a fund for angel investors keen on ethical investing.
However, Alex noticed there was something much more valuable in trying to create a platform that brings the goodwill and resources of the private sector and tries to connect these with pressing social causes that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Ethical Angel platform creates individual experiences for companies and their employees. There is an appreciation that interests and skillsets are unique, and the platform reflects this. It not only serves to connect but, importantly, it also captures data – currently approximately 30 metrics – that help to inform individuals, managers and corporates alike; demographics, geography, areas of engagement, tangible reach and impact numbers.
Alex concedes that in order for success to be achieved, Ethical Angel’s business model needs to tick several boxes for clients. Indeed, the benefit to clients stretches beyond doing good and ticks boxes around corporate optics, the bottom line and human capital retention as well.
Alex notes that for him success is about affecting as many individuals as possible with valuable experiences that result in a highly positive social impact. He’d love to be in a position where he’s able to present Ethical Angel’s data on what global businesses have done through their people to make a real difference in the world.
For episode notes, Alex’s bio and relevant links, please visit Lidji.org Please subscribe to this podcast if you’ve enjoyed it – thank you.
Monday May 27, 2019
Monday May 27, 2019
Secretary General of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, John May, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss international growth, non-formal education and their 1.3 million global participants.
John May became a head teacher in the UK at the age of 28 and he is passionate about the value of non-formal education. He’s quick to note that what happens in the classroom is only half the story and believes the Award provides young people with many of the things employers are looking for: resilience, communication skills, the ability to plan and to commit to things. He explains how the Award recognises and celebrates young people’s achievements outside the classroom.
The Award is growing quickly. While it has a presence in virtually every Commonwealth country, some of its most robust growth is in eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics. It is also offered in the USA and most recently there was interest expressed from people wishing to set up the Award in Uzbekistan. John enthusiastically notes: “you just never know where we’re going to pop up next”.
When asked whether there’s a winning formula for successful international growth without jeopardizing standards, John replies that there is. The Award tries to use the disciplines of social franchise in order to grow and reach as many young people as possible. They’ve spent much time looking at what good governance in non-for-profits looks like on an international scale, and how to ensure a sustainable business operation.
They have a host of different tools to help management teams (national operators) in different countries build capacity and ensure quality. They appreciate that well-meaning but inexperienced management teams need support and they work with such teams to help them achieve realistic multi-year strategies that take into account the need to scale up beyond start-up mode.
They also started providing management training through a certificate of business administration and, interestingly, they are about to launch an MBA for those running the Award across the world who would benefit from enhanced management skills – unlike most traditional MBA programs, this one puts the running of non-for-profit organisations firmly at the centre of the course.
They’re also embracing technology to cater to various parts of the organisation. Their Online Record Book (ORB) is a bespoke software platform that helps participants track their progress. There’s also a sister app for Award leaders (those who work with young adult participants as they pursue the Award), and an off-the-shelf extranet solution available to all adults in the Award.
On the topic of employability, John notes that while employers want technical competence from ‘first jobbers’, the reality is that most of all they want someone who’s ready to enter the job market and understand what being employed is all about. Communication skills, empathy, sticking with something – grit, resilience – and an ability to operate comfortably intergenerationally are key.
On the intergenerational point, John notes that: “when you think about it, we spend the whole of a young person’s education putting them only in contact for most of the day with people of the same age as themselves, and then they come into the workplace and they’re expected to operate comfortably with somebody who may be the same age as their parent, and they’ve had no experience of doing that. Well, the Award through the volunteering that young people will do often does bring them into relationships with a wide range of ages and so I think that really, really helps.” Non-formal education helps young people learn how to communicate effectively in ways that are often lacking in formal education.
Interestingly, the Award is not just delivered in schools. Far from it. There’s a firm belief that it should be available wherever young people come together for whatever reason. And, we hear of how the Award is successful in correctional facilities and juvenile detention centres.
John notes that “some of our biggest successes over the last few years have been in facilities where young people have the least opportunity to undertake those sorts of activity, particularly correctional centres and juvenile detention centres. In South Africa, our work with the correctional services has been, I think, genuinely life changing for young people. I was listening this morning to a report from New Zealand on New Zealand Radio of young people in the correction centres in Christchurch receiving their Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. And, these young people being interviewed and saying this was the first time in their lives that they had felt in control of choice as to what they were going to do, and that they were developing skills and behaviours and attitudes that would lift them from crime. That’s pretty cool.”
When asked about his personal career path his answer was clear: he has had no career plan. John notes that: “all the time, as far as I’m concerned, my development as an educator and as a leader has been down to two things: the first would be another individual who has been kind enough to recognize in me some kind of quality that they felt could be developed; and my willingness to carpe diem – seize the day -- and make the leap that was being offered to me. And, I think you put both of those together and you end up with the opportunities that one can then take advantage of. Unfortunately, too many people plan their lives too carefully and miss the opportunities that are put out in front of them because they don’t quite fit the direction that they think that they have positioned themselves for.”
John’s key takeaway for listeners: ‘do the right thing’. In everything he does, he always asks himself what is the right thing to do.
Full episode notes, useful links and guest bios are available at Lidji.org - Please subscribe to this podcast if you enjoy the content. Thank you.
Sunday May 19, 2019
Sunday May 19, 2019
Director at Galileo Watermark, Kenny Harmel, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss sustainability in the airline industry, ocean plastics, the Waste Hierarchy and more.
Galileo Watermark is a sustainability-focused firm that supplies British Airways, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, Air New Zealand and other leading airlines with ‘aviation product’ – all the items one finds in an airplane cabin that are neither bolted on nor edible. They manufacture cutlery, blankets, cosmetic amenities and various other products – from economy to first class cabins – and focus their efforts on making these products more sustainable.
Kenny Harmel notes from the outset of the conversation that “sustainability is an obligation rather than a choice”.
Airlines are exploring how best to achieve affordable sustainability and we hear of innovation and successes, including Qantas Airways’ recent ‘zero waste’ flight – the first ever commercial flight to produce no landfill waste. None of the cutlery, textiles or other in-cabin amenities were sent to landfills or incinerated, as would normally have been the case.
The majority of plastic cutlery one finds onboard an economy airplane cabin will be a virgin plastic product, made from polystyrene or polypropylene, and because of existing contamination regulations it will be sent to landfill or it will be incinerated. A number of airlines are looking at alternative solutions, such as compostable cutlery, and some are investing in stainless steel alternatives – although the latter has weight implications that impact fuel consumption and require additional water for sanitation.
Compostable cutlery is a hot topic in the airline industry right now, with the potential to reduce greatly the industry’s impact on the environment. Kenny is quick to note, however, the misconception many people have when they think of compostable cutlery’s properties. Many imagine something akin to a banana skin, which you can simply toss out into your garden and watch it compost naturally.
However, this is not necessarily the case since there is a difference between items that are home compostable and those that are industrially compostable. Unless a compostable product is specifically labelled as home compostable, it is compostable only under the right conditions of temperature, moisture, oxygen and, in actual fact, if the material is not intercepted, collected and treated in the right way, it can be almost as harmful as regular plastic.
In a broader context, Kenny observes that we, as a society, have been driven by convenience and cost, and we haven’t been thinking about the implications of this choice.
He provides detailed figures on the state of affairs – figures that are alarming by most measures. International politics factors into the conversation as well, and we hear how China’s role as a destination country for plastic waste has changed radically since the end of 2017. Up until that time, about 50% of the world’s plastic waste was exported to China.
China’s more stringent regulations in relation to the sort of plastic waste that is allowed to be exported to the country means that other countries are now having to deal with this problem – many are simply not equipped to do so.
Unlike Germany and Switzerland who have sophisticated expertise and very high rates of efficiency in terms of recycling plastic. Many of today’s recipient countries have neither the infrastructure, expertise nor capabilities to recycle such material.
We hear how even in the UK, different regions and different councils have different levels of recycling ability where, consequently, there is an asymmetric ability to recycle different types of material. This challenge is aggravated by the fact that most consumers aren’t well informed on precisely what can and can’t be recycled.
Kenny sheds light on the “waste hierarchy” framework, aimed at helping organisations and individuals minimise waste. The hierarchy: (1) reduce, (2) reuse, (3) recycle, (4) reclaim.
On a global level, just 2% of the plastic we manufacture is recycled. There are variances on this figure across countries, whereby countries such as Germany and Switzerland are well into the double digits but other countries quite simply are not. Countries such as Indonesia and Thailand aim to recycle but they don’t have the expertise to recycle to the same levels; and even in the UK there isn’t an ability to recycle to the same level as Germany and Switzerland.
Touching on the topic of plastic waste in the world’s oceans, Kenny notes that “the situation is so bad now that if you take a net and you dip it into any part of the ocean in any part of the world you’ll find traces of plastic”.
In 2017, he co-founded and launched the OCN initiative, which aims to work with organisations around the world to collect plastic waste from the world’s beaches, coastal areas and waterways, so as to give it a second life or multiple lives. This requires not only dedicated volunteers across the planet but, also, an understanding of the chemical challenges posed by the diverse types of plastic waste in the oceans.
He explains how the ‘intrinsic viscosity’ (IV) levels of different types of plastic waste, constrain what one can and can’t do with it once retrieved from the ocean. The challenge is that if you go to the beach to collect plastic it’s not all going to be the same type of plastic. OCN aims to find a way to give a second life or multiple lives to all the plastic one collects, irrespective of the type or quality of material; irrespective of its intrinsic viscosity.
The conversation goes beyond plastic, and Kenny references a fact many people are unaware of: the textile and clothing industry is the second biggest polluter, right behind the oil industry. And, here again, the waste hierarchy is suggested for sensible guidance. Consumers should think carefully how they handle clothing they no longer wish to use. (i.e. don’t simply throw your old clothes in the garbage/rubbish).
Going back full circle, Kenny observes that “air travel is never going to diminish, it’s only going to grow as the global population grows and globalisation increases”. Keeping the scale of the challenge in mind, we are advised that it’s important not just to do things better but, rather, to do better things.
Kenny’s key takeaway: the key thing is to be mindful of the materials you interact with day on day. Try to eliminate or reduce use of these materials where possible and try to understand where these materials go. Don’t throw things away and completely forget about them. Think about the end-to-end lifecycle of these materials since that’s the only way we’re going to achieve substantial change.
For full episode notes, guest bios and useful links visit Lidji.org
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Tuesday May 14, 2019
Tuesday May 14, 2019
CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation, Phyllis Costanza, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss social finance, philanthropy, blockchain, innovation, the SDGs and more.
UBS Optimus was founded 19 years ago in Switzerland, and today it is overseeing about 175 projects in approximately 20 countries. The Foundation started off supporting children and now has broadened its portfolio to include a range of thematic areas, from slavery to health and innovative finance. In 2019, it expects to grant out $80m and next year is aiming for $100m.
Phyllis thinks this is only “scratching the surface”. She notes that UBS, the bank, has roughly $2.5 trillion assets under management, so “even if we could just get half a percentage point [deployed for philanthropy], that’s $12.5 billion”.
UBS Optimus does not have an endowment, nor does it wish to establish one; 100% of the money that is donated by clients is deployed for programs. Phyllis notes that UBS Optimus’ strategy has not been to grow an endowment. The money “does us no good sitting in a bank, which I know is anathema to how bankers think. Our goal is to get the money in and to get it out as quickly as possible.”
UBS is actively supporting philanthropists. A lot of high-net-worth individuals don’t know where to start their philanthropy work, and many who are already on the journey don’t feel satisfied.
UBS did a survey of its clients, which revealed that more than 90% of their large clients are giving philanthropically but fewer than 20% are satisfied they’re making an impact, which as Phyllis notes is pretty extraordinary.
She sees really interesting trends globally: 99% of UBS’s clients in Hong Kong want to give back to mainland China, consequently, UBS Optimus has become the largest international grantor into China, which “is a bit of a scary position to hold because giving in China is incredibly complicated". Their European clients primarily want to give into Africa and some to South East Asia, whilst out of their American clients, 96% of philanthropic giving stays in the US, where there’s an appetite to give domestically.
UBS appreciates the value of peer-to-peer interaction and tries to connect their clients through different platforms. They’ve developed the ‘Global Philanthropist Community’ – a network of clients who identify the key thematic areas they’re interested in supporting, such as early childhood development, the environment, culture – UBS then connects the dots. They convene key stakeholders at their annual UBS Philanthropy Forum and have insightful gatherings across the world, from Detroit to Shanghai.
An interesting observation is that many trillions of dollars have been committed to charity as a consequence of ultra high-net-worth individuals signing ‘The Giving Pledge’, however, many of these people don’t know how to deploy these funds in a meaningful philanthropic and impactful way. She’s convinced that many clients actually come to UBS because of the bank's strong philanthropy offering.
There is an increasing number of financial options available for philanthropists, from traditional charitable giving all the way to impact investing. Strategic philanthropy and social finance falling somewhere in between the two. Social finance still falls within the philanthropy category because you’re getting concessional returns, as opposed to market rate returns.
Phyllis is passionate as she talks of a “really cool instrument”… “a really interesting, innovative debt instrument” called the ‘Social Success Note’. In the podcast she explains how it came about and how it was structured to support an organization called Impact Water. In this instance, the Rockefeller Foundation was ‘the outcome funder’ who collaborated closely with UBS.
Collaboration is essential, and UBS Optimus’ whole strategy is based on collaboration. They rarely go at it alone. There is increased cross-sector collaboration and acknowledgement that you’re not going to reach your goals if you go at it alone. She specifically references the collaborative platform Co-Impact, “which is doing extraordinary work with people who have signed The Giving Pledge to bring them together to solve really systemic problems in countries.”
Phyllis was involved in launching the first Development Impact Bond (DIB). She explains how the DIB worked to support an organisation called Educate Girls. UBS was the investor and collaborated with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) to get this off the ground.
Impact measurement: randomised control trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard of evaluations. However, an RCT is expensive and extremely time consuming and you don’t need to run an RCT for everything. Therefore, UBS Optimus are exploring things that may not require RCTs while still ensuring strong evaluation. On the innovative front, they’re looking at how blockchain might be used to verify outcomes for DIBs – and Phyllis notes “the potential there is tremendous”. Smart contracts are also being explored. In essence, what they really want to do is scale this process and look at how one can reduce the time it takes to bring these things to market and reduce the transaction costs currently involved.
As we delve into the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Phyllis talks enthusiastically about their recently launched ‘TogetherBand’ campaign, in collaboration with BottleTop and the UN Foundation – a campaign aimed at raising awareness of each of the 17 SDGs. The campaign was launched in April 2019 and will last 17 months – each moth focusing on a different goal of the SDGs.
Phyllis is optimistic while realising there’s still much work to be done in the run-up to the 2030 deadline of the SDGs. Yes, we have to do a lot to achieve the Goals but the direction of travel is good. We’re seeing a reduction in the mortality rates of children under five years of age, poverty rates are going down, child marriage rates are going down; but we still have a lot to do. She thinks that when we look back in 2030, we’ll be proud of what we’ve achieved.
Not all SDG thematic areas are moving in the right direction, however. Phyllis is currently focusing on SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and notes that, still, women spend about three times as many hours as men in unpaid domestic and care work – unfortunately, “we don’t seem to be making a dent in that”.
The key takeaway Phyllis shared with global listeners: “challenge everything, that would be my message, especially in philanthropy. And really push. If something doesn’t look right, if something doesn’t seem right, you think you can do more; challenge it!”
Please subscribe to this podcast. For full episode notes, guest bios and useful links, visit Lidji.org
Monday May 06, 2019
Monday May 06, 2019
CEO of the Sutton Trust, James Turner, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss their work in improving social mobility and tackling inequality in the UK.
The Sutton Trust was founded in 1997 and is focused on improving education, social mobility and fighting inequality. They have a wide portfolio of research and program activity, focused on children from their very early years all the way up to young adults in university, workplace and access to the professions.
The Sutton Trust differs from many others by combining research and policy advocacy work alongside practical programmatic work. These two aspects build on each other and help inform and establish credibility. The Sutton Trust reach circa 6,000 people each year, and through policy and working with government they have a much bigger impact beyond that.
They’re particularly interested in social mobility on the high end; looking at who are the future leaders in society and who are taking the top jobs, the most prestigious and influential jobs. This is because the people in these strata of society have such an impact on society that it really matters that they are representative of society at large, as opposed to representing the wealthy and affluent.
It’s important not only to support research into these policy areas but also to put effort into ensuring this research gets strong coverage in the media, since this helps get policymakers interested and engaged. The Sutton Trust have never been afraid to ruffle feathers or be controversial or provocative when necessary.
When James got into this space, the term ‘social mobility’ was very much a technical term, used almost exclusively within academia. It is only more recently, since the early 2000s, that it has entered mainstream discourse and, now, it has really become much more prevalent and visible in government strategy documents and press releases – even to the point where it now almost suffers from being used too much.
Intergenerational mobility and transfer of poverty: James notes there is a broadly embraced view that social mobility in the UK is not as high as it should be and it’s not as high as in other countries. Education is a key driver for this and what one’s parents do, how much they earn, what occupation they have, unfortunately, has a big bearing on what their children go on to do.
James notes there’s a bit of an arms race in social mobility. Education is such a currency that, understandably, well off parents do all they can to give their young people an advantage, so it’s getting harder for the state to compensate against that.
The Sutton Trust has been charting the rise of paid-for private tuition. How much your parents earn dictates a lot what school you go to; on top of this you have a burgeoning private tuition market, which further accentuates this advantage; and now you see this in tertiary education as well – where more and more students are getting degrees – so it’s now about ‘have you obtained a master’s degree, have you obtained a PhD, have you done an internship?’ So, the barriers are increasing.
Besides the educational attainment angle, the Sutton Trust has a strong interest in the aspirational and guidance piece so that young people are informed on all the career choices and educational opportunities at their disposal.
The advice and guidance teachers give is crucial. Many young people don’t submit applications to some of the top universities because of misperceptions, or because some teachers may not advise their students to apply to some of these top universities for fears they may not fit in – fears which are often unfounded.
Part of the challenge is in getting students to submit an application in the first place. James observes that many of the students from disadvantaged backgrounds who end up going to top universities tend to do just as well as their peers and thrive in those environments.
Yes, it can be overwhelming to go to Oxford University or Cambridge University if you’ve come from an inner-city state school, so part of the work is on preparing such students for the experience. Also, universities are now much more aware of this and they do try to support such students when they are at university. Things are changing and moving in the right direction.
Early childhood matters and education inequality sets in early: research shows that by age 4, children from disadvantaged families are almost a year behind their peers. There are gaps in development, in vocabulary and other factors. And, once children enter the system, these gaps often tend to widen rather than close. The importance of trying to intervene early is crucial. There are various ways to address this and the Sutton Trust is looking at parental engagement as a key factor. What happens at home -- not just in the classroom -- is highly consequential. The quality of the education itself, not just the fact that young people are in school, is also vitally important.
The Sutton Trust are looking for partnerships and supporters. They are a very outward looking international charity looking to exchange notes with interested parties and organisations across the globe. There is much insight that can be shared. They’ve had a longstanding collaboration with the Carnegie Foundation in the US, for instance.
The Sutton Trust have learned a lot from the US experience. They’ve also worked with foundations in Australia and Canada as well; they’re always looking at what’s beyond the British Isles and what they should be learning from other countries.
James' key takeaway for listeners: he notes that quite often we focus on the negative; on the low social mobility, on the high inequality. But what the Sutton Trust has shown is that change is possible and there are many, many examples of young people who have done incredible things.
For full episode notes, guest bios, links and more, visit Lidji.org
Monday Apr 29, 2019
Monday Apr 29, 2019
We explore how ELMA manages its investment portfolio, embraces partnerships and transforms the landscape in the areas in which it operates. ELMA is a low profile organisation but its philanthropy is right up there with household names in this space. They have a strong collaborative spirit and Tom is unequivocal that partnership is key to success.
Much of ELMA was built by successful business entrepreneurs, so they embrace a financial and investment management approach that very much adheres to private sector standards.
Tom argues that one needs to assess potential grantees in a holistic way, analysing beyond program activity and giving due consideration to core functions such as operations, accounting, and command and control processes.
At ELMA they do everything from funding very small community organisations to very large, multi-year, multi-million-dollar grants that seek to engender some kind of systems change at a national or multi-country level. ELMA is perfectly able to make grants along the lines of peer institutions (e.g. Gates, MacArthur, Skoll) and also perfectly happy to make small grants where the situation calls for these.
They are heavily involved in Africa and it is interesting to hear Tom speak with great passion about the South African Constitution and how that country’s state of affairs and wellbeing impacts the broader continent and context.
He believes partnership and collaboration are invaluable. However, he cautions that collaboration doesn’t come naturally for everyone; nor does everyone necessarily know how to approach collaboration, and the administrative, managerial and logistical complexities it entails.
Part of the challenge in coming together is often a lack of experience in harmonising reporting systems; harmonising one’s own grant-award agreements, and there being little or no experience in defining key measures of success in a collaborative setting with other funders. Most foundations’ experience is typically derived from addressing these issues on a one-to-one basis with their implementors.
We hear from Tom how there is no single right or wrong way to approach collaboration. In some collaborative platforms there’s an arrangement whereby everybody roughly agrees that initiative “X” will be funded/supported but each backer will do it in their own specific way, with one of the partners stepping forward and taking on the role of co-ordinator in a semi-official way.
In other instances, though, a third-party collaborative platform may be involved (Tom references Co-Impact, for instance) whereby there is a dedicated fund manager allocating financial resources. The question for some who may be considering this approach, however, is whether funding partners feel comfortable delegating autonomy on how to deploy capital to a third party.
Tom encourages family offices and sophisticated business stakeholders to think creatively about how they provide their support. He notes that the quantum of capital is there; that is not the challenge. What’s not always present, though, is a way of deploying funds efficiently and effectively at the right time, at the right place.
He notes there is a need for family offices to deploy their business acumen and expertise in business management, financial management, partnership management, project management, business development management etc etc – this is precisely the stuff that the philanthropy field is often lacking. It has the money and it has somebody who knows how to treat a child, but it doesn’t always have managerial expertise.
Even though many family offices have a high degree of sophistication in these areas, what often happens is that they leave all of this expertise at the door opting, instead, simply to sign a cheque. What they should be doing, though, is brining all of these other skills to their philanthropy.
When asked what he thinks global listeners should take away from this podcast episode, Tom replies: “the power of one”. Do not get hung up by the scope and scale of the challenges that exist, or the magnitude of the inequities that define our world. No matter how big the problem is that relates to your interest area, believe that you can create a momentum that really engenders significant systems change . You just have to believe in the possible. Engage and you will be satisfied with the impact you achieve.
Full episode notes, links and Tom's bio available at Lidji.org
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Monday Apr 22, 2019
CEO of 100 Women in Finance, Amanda Pullinger, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about their invaluable peer network, educational initiatives and philanthropy.
In this episode, Amanda provides insight into the work of 100 Women in Finance and shares her thoughts and observations on the need to inspire young women and to improve the numbers of women who hold senior positions in the finance industry – particularly in investment roles.
Founded in 2001 (originally known as 100 Women in Hedge Funds), it is a global network of professionals in the finance and alternative investment industries working together to empower women at every stage of their careers. They have a focus on peer engagement, philanthropy and educational initiatives.
The organisation enjoys royal patronage from Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge, who first became patron of 100 Women UK Philanthropic Initiatives in 2009, and from The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry who also became patrons in 2012.
More than $50 million have been raised by 100 Women in Finance events in support of philanthropy.
A key focus is 100 Women in Finance’s Next Generation initiative. Amanda notes that the percentage of women who are fund managers hasn’t really shifted for the past 20 years. There are many reasons for this but she realised there was a need to overcome some of the myths about the finance industry and some of the negative press the industry has received. Indeed, while some criticisms about the industry are well founded, much of the negativity is overstated and isn’t actually accurate.
An approach of 100 Women in Finance is to showcase successful women in the finance industry and, through the use of role models, get into schools, universities and business schools, so the next generation of young women can see that there are some fantastic opportunities in the industry.
Demystifying what the finance industry does is a critical factor for the next generation – the reality is very different from what one sees in films such as the Wolf of Wall Street. There is a need to change how young women perceive the finance industry and to make them aware they can actually make a positive impact by working in finance.
Irrespective of gender, attracting millennials to the finance industry requires much more than simply underscoring how intellectually interesting or lucrative this field can be. The next generation want to know they’re making a difference to everyday men and women, and underscoring the increasing prevalence and importance of impact investing, ESG-integrated investing and sustainable investing is important in this new context.
When asked how the inclusivity landscape has changed over the last five years, Amanda provided a very telling anecdote: this year she was invited to attend 8 events in London related to International Women’s Day (she was a speaker at 4 of them) and “it felt this year like it was International Women’s Day on steroids”.
Amanda feels we’re talking about the issues more but she’s not sure that we are actually doing as much as we can to provide solutions to the issues.
A lot of what’s happened over the last 5 years is that there have been the headlines and there have been the statistics and the focus on the data, but what’s interesting is that with all the studies that have come out saying that diverse teams produce better results – across industries and across sectors – the numbers still haven’t really changed.
She worries that people are going to get bored, thinking here we go again with the unconscious bias training; and her worry is that people will tire of the talk. Consequently, Amanda’s focus has been on finding solutions and exploring how to activate these solutions so the numbers really do change.
Full episode notes and additional resources are available at Lidji.org
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
Sunday Apr 14, 2019
Ex-McKinsey & Company Global Director of Sustainability and Social Impact, Dorothée D'Herde, joins Alberto Lidji to talk about the business case for acting sustainably, new value pools and key trends.
Dorothée was at McKinsey for almost a decade and whether you’re a corporate CEO, a well-meaning consumer or simply trying to understand the latest thinking in this space, you’ll find this episode highly informative.
Dorothée gives listeners a succinct and powerful definition of sustainability, which simply put is about ensuring there’s “enough, for all, forever”.
Much of the conversation can be boiled down to meat, plastics and money. Diets are changing, awareness of key issues is more pronounced, and we’re about to experience the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth – the next generation of investors are aligning investments and sustainability much more robustly than before.
What do you think of the ostensible tensions in sustainability adherence between the developed and developing world? Well, Dorothée is quick to point out she dislikes the ‘us’ vs ‘them’ mindset – we are all in this together. We all need to take action; hope alone is insufficient.
She notes that at McKinsey, much attention was paid to the ways in which CEOs can derive value from sustainability: looking at key areas such as safeguarding your license to operate; cutting your costs by using less water, less energy; and finding new ‘value pools’.
There is a strong business case for being sustainable, and this is highly encouraging.
Dorothée references the Better Business, Better World report where business opportunities and new value pools derived from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are identified to the tune of $12 trillion. Opportunities are wide-ranging, from food & agriculture and cities, to energy & materials, and health & wellbeing.
What should you do if you want your business to align with best practice in sustainability? Where do you start and who do you go to? There’s no single answer but by listening to this episode you’ll have a better idea of what your next step should look like.
Full episode notes and additional resources are available at Lidji.org
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
CEO of ActionAid UK, Girish Menon, joins Alberto Lidji on “International Women's Day” to talk about improving the lives of girls and women globally.
Learn and be inspired by the candid observations of Girish Menon, CEO of ActionAid UK. If you ever wondered how international development organisations actually work and what it takes to be a CEO in a complex organisational landscape -- where lives truly are on the line -- you'll enjoy this episode and take away several key pointers.
The Do One Better! podcast is hosted by Alberto Lidji, former Global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, and aims to inspire listeners to be more philanthropic, to think more about sustainability and to embrace social entrepreneurship. Full episode notes and additional resources are available at Lidji.org
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Marks & Spencer’s Director of Sustainable Business, Mike Barry, joins Alberto Lidji to share key trends in sustainability and identify “the single most important, most profound change”.
Mike Barry is a trailblazer in the world of sustainability and leads sustainability at M&S, one of the world's great food and clothing retailers.
We hear him explain how “just making old capitalism less bad ain’t good enough” and gain invaluable insight as he clinically points out “the most important things that a Marks & Spencer's can do" to make the most difference in reducing carbon footprint. The shareholder base is definitely more energised and rest assured, disruption is coming!
The Do One Better! podcast is hosted by Alberto Lidji, former Global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, and aims to inspire listeners to be more philanthropic, to think more about sustainability and to embrace social entrepreneurship. Full episode notes and additional resources are available at Lidji.org
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Managing Director of the Jacobs Foundation, Sandro Giuliani, joins Alberto Lidji to shed light on how their $7bn endowment and strategic operations improve the lives of children and youth globally.
If you ever wondered how global philanthropy works, this is the episode for you. Sandro Giuliani, Managing Director of the Jacobs Foundation, explains what it takes to achieve long-term, sustainable, system-wide change and sheds light on co-funding, intellectual partnerships, impact investing and private/public partnerships.
The Jacobs Foundation has a $7bn endowment, a robust portfolio of philanthropic initiatives, and strategic partnerships with global foundations, national and local governments, and several of the world's leading academic centres of excellence, including Berkeley, MIT, Wharton and Oxford. They drive knowledge and research forward through an incredible Fellowship program and, ultimately, focus on children and youth.
The Do One Better! podcast is hosted by Alberto Lidji, former Global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, and aims to inspire listeners to be more philanthropic, to think more about sustainability and to embrace social entrepreneurship. Full episode notes and additional resources are available at Lidji.org
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
The Chair of Ernst & Young’s EY Foundation, Patrick Dunne, joins Alberto Lidji to talk social entrepreneurship, impact, employability, education in Africa and helping disadvantaged youth.
Patrick Dunne is Chair of Ernst & Young's EY Foundation and Chair of ESSA (Education Sub Saharan Africa), as well as being a serial social entrepreneur. Hear his personal story and learn from his business experience -- a journey from humble beginnings that has led to leadership positions at some truly remarkable philanthropic organisations and social enterprises.
Clarity of purpose, getting the right people and appointing first-time CEO’s – he shares plenty of tips for you to take away.
If you’re at all interested in diverse social enterprise models; helping children and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds break through and running programs in sub-Saharan Africa, this episode is for you.
The Do One Better! podcast is hosted by Alberto Lidji, former Global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, and aims to inspire listeners to be more philanthropic, think more about sustainability and embrace social entrepreneurship. Full episode notes and additional resources are available at Lidji.org