6 Jun 2019
Sustainability & Social Change

Investment leaders meet to drive social change

We all want to do what we can to make the world a better place, and people in investment are no different.

Next week, a group of London’s most high profile figures in investment will be meeting to discuss ways they can address a series of global challenges.

The group of investment professionals will include the founders and partners of leading private equity funds as well as business leaders and human rights experts.

While enjoying a dinner at the influential Conduit Club on Mayfair, guests will be exploring the ways FTSE 250 companies have successfully used their positions to bring about positive change and learning how to instigate similar changes through their own businesses and their teams.

Organised by our CEO and co-founder, Caroline Sage, the invitation-only event will feature key speakers, Paul Van Zyl and Puja Jain.

Sustainability and social change

Puja Jain is partner of Generation Investment Management; a sustainable investment management firm co-founded by former US Vice President Al Gore and Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management head David Blood. The firm fully integrates sustainability analysis into its decision-making and aims to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable form of capitalism.

Paul Van Zyl is a co-founder of the influential London club, The Conduit. Paul was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and is a winner of the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. A South African anti-apartheid campaigner, Paul served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and co-founded the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), an international human rights organisation based in New York.

Founded in 2018, The Conduit serves as a home for a diverse community of people who are passionate about driving social change and positive impact. Bringing together social entrepreneurs, investors, creatives, business leaders, policy-makers and civil society, The Conduit acts as a catalytic platform for individuals tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing us today.

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There are many ways that individuals and companies can bring about real change and improve our environment and communities but it doesn’t happen overnight. Business leaders need to understand what they can do and the role they can play and they need to act purposefully and responsibly. The leaders of investment companies are among the most powerful and influential people in the world and that gives them a tremendous opportunity to make real changes that could save lives, improve livelihoods and rescue the environment. I’m really pleased with the number of industry leaders who are attending our dinner and I hope that every one of them can take something from it which helps them to make a difference.”
Paul Van Zyl, Co-Founder of The Conduit

Inspiring investment leaders

As well as being CEO of Kea Consultants, Caroline Sage is also a member of The Conduit. In this role, Caroline aims to help her contacts in the alternative investment space enact social change and make a positive impact in the community.

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As part of my work helping investment firms to attract the best and most talented individuals, I’ve been encouraging them to adapt to meet young people’s expectation that employers should go beyond profit-making activity by playing a positive role in making the world a better and more just place.

Companies can no longer pay lip service to ethics and morality if they’re to continue attracting the best people; they have to genuinely lead the way in tackling some of the serious global problems we’re facing. Far more than other generations, millennials are determined to fight for social causes they believe in, whether that’s to tackle climate change, social justice or poverty and so they’re far more drawn to employers which can help them do that. It’s not good enough just to tick the ESG and CSR box, many of them are asking us the question and we have to encourage our employers to be more conscious of this.

Because of the pressure for ethical behaviour that young people are placing on employers, more and more leading figures are realising the power that they have to bring about real, lasting, positive change. This could be the beginning of an incredible force for good, and I’m delighted that so many influential people are embracing this ethical revolution and proud that so many of our clients are pioneers in this effort.”
Caroline Sage, CEO of Kea Consultants

The dinner, for invited guests only, will be held at The Conduit in Mayfair on Monday 10th June and more events are planned to take place in the coming months. To get in touch regarding future events, contact us on [email protected].