IE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INITIATIVE ON BUSINESSES WITH PURPOSE.

SYMPOSIUM:

“Destination Impact: From Inspiration to Implementation”

IE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INITIATIVE ON BUSINESSES WITH PURPOSE

SYMPOSIUM:

“Destination Impact: From Inspiration to Implementation.”

Friday, October 4, 2024 – 09.00-14.30 (CEST)

IE UNIVERSITY – MADRID

This event aims to bring together a select group of impact-investing leaders along with renowned academics in this field. Together, we will identify the main challenges facing the sector, leveraging the firsthand experiences of professionals and the synthesis and research skills of academics.

We are privileged to count on representatives from toniic, Impact Europe, COFIDES, Creas, SpainNAB, Impact Bridge, PFC family office, Blink, Sefea Impact, Q-Impact, and Impact Capital. 

On the academic side, we are counting on the participation of international scholars who have been engaged in the conversation for many years now including Kai Hockerts from Copenhagen Business School, Leonardo Boni from Politécnico de Milano, Lisa Hehenberger from ESADE, Luisa Alemany from London Business School, and Pablo Muñoz from Durham University.

Through a combination of stimulating keynote speeches and practical workshops, we will gather the practitioners’ insights and synthesize them during the event, translating them into concrete research questions that will then be transposed into a concise yet impactful report. After the event, we will publish a report that will serve as a call to action for academics to undertake research projects addressing these challenges. 

The symposium will focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to impact investing.

The overall goal of this event is to build a bridge between professionals and academics, so that together we can identify future lines of research, as well as practices and initiatives in organizations that allow us to advance on this journey towards impact.

The IE University Research Initiative on Businesses with Purpose is gratefully funded by an unrestricted gift from Meta.

Participants

GIANLUCA GAGGIOTTI

Gianluca is Senior Knowledge Manager at Impact Europe, where he is directly involved in several research activities, with a specific focus on data analysis and content development of several research-related initiatives. Gianluca has been coordinating Impact Europe's data harmonisation effort in collaboration with GSG, a group of European National Advisory Boards (NABs) and their academic partners, which led to the creation of the European Impact Investing Consortium. In parallel, since 2022, Gianluca independently works with Alessia Gianoncelli, under the brand IMPACTips, to provide impact measurement and management consultancy and support the structuring of impact financing instruments.

MELODY JENSEN

Melody Jensen has been at the helm of the T100 Project at Toniic for the past four years. This pioneering longitudinal study examines the practices and portfolios of dedicated impact investors. The T100 Project aims to catalyze new impact capital by showcasing how private asset owners can invest with impact across all asset classes in a portfolio. Additionally, it supports academic research to develop innovative and inclusive financial models. Melody holds an MBA with a specialization in Social Enterprise and Finance, along with an MA in International Policy and Development from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

LUISA ALEMANY

Luisa Alemany is an Associate Professor of Management Practice at London Business School (LBS) and the Academic Director of its Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital. She was formerly at ESADE Business School and a Visiting Professor at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. She is currently a Fellow at St Hugh’s College (U. Oxford). Her main areas of interest are Entrepreneurial Finance and Venture Philanthropy. Most recently, she has been researching to better understand the relationship between risk and human capital in impact investing. She sits on the investment committee of Oxfam’s Enterprise Development Program, Fond-ICO Next Tech (a 2 billion euro VC fund with a focus on scaling up deep tech in Spain), the advisory committee of FMO Ventures, the Dutch DFI, and in the board of Newton Venture Programme, a joint venture between LBS and top quartile UK based VC fund LocalGlobe, to bring diversity to the venture ecosystem. Her award-winning textbook, together with J. Andreoli, “Entrepreneurial Finance: The Art and Science of Growing Ventures” (Cambridge University Press, 2018), is the leading European textbook on the topic. She holds a degree in Economics and Business, awarded by Universidad Complutense de Madrid, an MBA from Stanford University and a PhD in Economics and Business from Universidad Complutense.

GAIA GIOMBELLY

Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy (Parma), Master’s degree in International Relations (Bologna), master programme in Social Research Methodology (Roma). Engaged in international civil service (2016), upon returning to Italy she started working on monitoring and evaluation at the Institute for Social Research in Milan, involved in M&E of public and private funded projects (local development, reception policies, digital transparency, etc.). Afterward, she worked with Torino Social Impact as a social impact assessment officer.

Since 2022, ESG and Impact Analyst at Sefea Impact SGR, she is involved in impact assessment and ESG analysis, both at fund level and by supporting portfolio companies developing their impact strategy.

LISA HEHENBERGER

Lisa Hehenberger is an Associate Professor at Esade Business School and Director of the Esade Center for Social Impact. She is a renowned expert on social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, impact investment, and impact measurement and contributes to both policy and practice. Lisa’s research explores how enterprises and funders develop and measure impactful solutions and how multiple and diverse field actors generate institutional contexts that enable such work to flourish.

She has published in the most prestigious academic journals, such as the Academy of Management Journal and Journal of Business Ethics, and is the author of numerous books, policy papers, and practitioner reports.

PIET COLRUYT

Piet Colruyt (°1969) is the Founder of Impact Capital (2010) & Impact House (2018). He co-founded several impact funds in Belgium, like SI3 Fund (2022), a social first Benelux fund with focus on “equal opportunities”. He is board Member of Korys, the holding company of the Colruyt family, majority shareholder of the family business Colruyt Group, Belgians TOP 3 food retailer.

Piet is also investor in impact start-ups or angel funder of system changing non-profit initiatives like Ashoka, G1000, Klimaatzaak, Be.Impact and Impact Finance Belgium He studied philosophy, civil engineering, architecture & corporate finance Started his career as an architect... to make supermarkets more sustainable & less energy consuming Became investor and board member in many Impact Organizations in mainly 4 domains, “RE4”: REtail, Real Estate, Renewable Energy, Re-thinking Economy ... became thé promotor of Social Entrepreneurship & Impact Financing in Belgium.

ANA PIMENTA

Ana has over 15 years of international experience in impact investing, private equity/ venture capital and transactions. She leads the impact strategy and measurement of Blink CV, a first generation single-family office in the Netherlands. Previously, she held roles at Santander, EY, Deloitte, Lynx Asset Managers, Third Way Africa and Alanis Capital.

Ana led and executed projects in several countries and sectors, including energy, food and agriculture, infrastructure, education and real estate. She lived and worked in Portugal, Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Ana also lectures on impact investing and measurement and mentors social enterprises. She holds a PhD in Impact Investing & Measurement from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a master’s degree in Economics from NOVA SBE.

LEONARDO BONI

Assistant Professor at the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan, he is part of Tiresia, the research center on finance and innovation for social impact, of which he supervises the impact and ESG finance team. His main research topics are impact investing and purpose-driven organizations, with a particular focus on policy dynamics and regulatory frameworks for sustainability.
He graduated at Bocconi University in Economics and Management of Innovation and Technology, and obtained a PhD from the University of Bologna with a thesis on hybrid organizations. Among his work experiences, he held the role of analyst at the climate finance research think tank Climate Policy Initiative. He co-founded Triadi, a consulting firm supporting the impact integrity and the sustainability transition of investment funds and corporations. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Prosit Farma Holding SPA Società Benefit.

SOL PARK

Sol is Principal at Hatch Blue, a venture capital firm focused on aquaculture. Hatch Blue works closely with a third-party impact partner to verify the impact of its EUR 80m Blue Revolution Fund that Sol is part of. She previously worked for Yunus Social Business, where she invested in social businesses in emerging markets via debt instruments.

Originally from South Korea, Sol has lived in 6 countries across 4 continents, including Asia, Europe, North America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Studies from the University of Richmond.

KAI HOCKERTS

Kai Hockerts is Professor in Social Entrepreneurship at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). Kai’s primary research focus is on corporate sustainability strategies and social entrepreneurship. He holds a Ph.D. in Management from the University of St. Gallen (CH). Before joining CBS Kai was Adjunct Professor at INSEAD (F).

Kai is currently Associate Editor of Corporate Sustainability at the Journal of Business Ethics. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, California Management Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Business Strategy and the Environment, Journal of International Management Reviews, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Journal.

GIORGIANA NOTARBARTOLO

Gio is a wealth inheritor advocating for positive impact and systems change.

She is the Head of Impact and Philanthropy at her Family Office Partners For Change, manages her portfolio, founded the venture competition 2030 Social Impact (which aims to contribute to the development of impact investing in her mother country Italy), proactively advocates for other wealth owners and financial institutions to deploy capital for positive impact and works towards the redistribution of her wealth to help promote a more equitable society through fairer tax systems.

Gio has a BA from Bocconi University, an MBA from INSEAD, is a mother, and is passionate about furthering her personal and professional growth for a more equitable world.

MARTA GONZÁLEZ LABIÁN

Marta González Labián is Head of Impact and Sustainable Finance at SpainNAB. There she leads the Impact Capital Supply Task Force and the Market Sizing study working to promote capital mobilization and impact integrity. She is also professor at Universidad Pontificia Comillas, ICADE Master on Impact Management and Measurement of Social Impact.

Previously, Marta worked as fund manager in March Asset Management where she was awarded with the AAA rating by Citywire and ranked among the top 20 woman in asset management worldwide. At the same time, she led March A.M ESG Transition and SFDR implementation.

Marta holds master’s degrees in business administration, law and in international affairs from Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (ICADE). She holds the CESGA certification (EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst) and is a Certified Ontological Coach (CIVSEM).

Organizing Team

RACHIDA JUSTO

Dr. Rachida Justo is a Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at IE University. She holds a PhD from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and was given the Outstanding Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation from this university in 2008.

Her research, focused on social entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurship, has been published in leading Business Administration journals, as well as in several books and book chapters published by prestigious international publishers. Her academic work has received several national and international prizes and awards, and she is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Business Venturing Insights.

Rachida transfers the results of her research to the classroom, where she teaches Entrepreneurial Management and Social Entrepreneurship at undergraduate, graduate, executive and PhD levels. She is also a reputed consultant in the design of public policies drawing up reports for organizations such as the OECD, Caixabank, Credit Swiss and the Spanish Equality Ministry. She was the Academic Director of BBVA’s Momentum accelerator for social enterprises in five countries, and served as a member of GECES, a European Commission expert group on Social Economy and Social Enterprises. Rachida combines her academic activities with management tasks. She was the Department of Entrepreneurship Director and is now the Entrepreneurship Division Program Chair at the Academy of Management Association.

PABLO MUÑOZ

Pablo Muñoz is a social scientist trying to do useful research, mostly at the intersection of human enterprise, social issues and natural environments. With a focus on engaged scholarship, he explores 1. How individuals and communities use entrepreneurial practices to overcome challenging circumstances and create better futures and 2. the idea of impact-in-process, to bring research impact into the core of social science research.

His work has been published in leading management journals, such as Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, California Management Review, Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management Discoveries and Academy of Management Perspectives; in innovation studies journals such as Research Policy and Technological Forecasting and Social Change; as well as in regional and environmental studies outlets, e.g., Business Strategy and the Environment, Organization & Environment, and Regional Studies. He has also published several reports on research impact, social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship and at-risk groups, impact investing, and enterprise and rural development. His research has also been referenced in popular and specialised media such as Fast Company, Shareable, The Conversation, The European Business Review, The Telegraph, The Network for Business Sustainability and America Economia.

At Durham, he’s the Co-Director of the Durham Enterprise Centre (Business School) and the Centre for Social justice and Community Action (Sociology). Outside of Durham, he is the co-founder of Mind Your Business & the Social Science Enterprise Lab, serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Business Venturing Insights and holds visiting positions at IE Business School in Spain and Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile

NICOLAS MARTINEZ

Nicolás Martínez is a PhD student at the university Autónoma of Madrid. His research focuses on the fields of development and entrepreneurship.

In his thesis he studies the ability of new financing mechanisms, such as impact investment, to solve pressing social issues such as economic inequality and financial inclusion.

After finishing his degree in Economics at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, he did a Master’s degree in Economic Development and Public Policy at the university Autónoma of Madrid. After that, he published his Master’s thesis in an applied economics journal and presented the study at several international conferences. Subsequently, he did a Master’s degree in Impact Investment, taking part in the research team for the professorship.

Before joining IE, Nicolás worked in the impact measurement and management department at the social enterprise It will be.

CARLA BUSTAMANTE

Carla Bustamante, Ph.D., is a Senior Researcher at IE University, focusing on social entrepreneurship and impact investing within the Impact Bridge Chair – IE. She conducts academic research to develop innovative strategies that balance financial returns with social and environmental impact.

With 18 years of experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystems of North and South America, as well as Europe, Carla has excelled as a professor, consultant, policy advisor, and entrepreneur. Previously, as Associate Director at IESE Business School, she advanced corporate innovation through applied research on open innovation and corporate venturing, participating in EU competitive projects. She directed a Master’s program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and consulted for Harvard’s Porter Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness. Her extensive experience includes serving as a board member for the Chilean Economic Productivity Agency (Corfo) and mentoring at a technology accelerator.

A Fulbright Scholar, Carla earned her Ph.D. in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Organizational Behavior from the University of Colorado Boulder and holds degrees from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez. Her academic research has been published in leading journals like Global Strategy Journal and Journal of Business Research, while her contributions to applied research have been conducted with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Carla has received numerous grants and awards, and her work is frequently presented at prestigious international conferences.

JEANNE ROCHE

Jeanne Roche is a PhD candidate at IE Business School and works in the fields of social entrepreneurship and family firms.

Her thesis focuses on the role of business-owning families in the emerging field of impact investing, venture philanthropy, and socially responsible investments, and part of her work also looks at the effects of social entrepreneurship certification (such as B Corp).

Prior to joining IE, Jeanne interned in a microfinance bank in Brussels and for European research centers focused on alternative economic and business models including the Economics in Mutuality lab at the Saïd Business School (University of Oxford).

Jeanne has a MSc in Business Engineering and an MA in International Development & Demography from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium).

MARIA MURIEL

Maria Muriel is the PhD Program Coordinator at IE Business School. She is responsible for the day-to-day management support of the doctoral programs, acting as a link between the doctoral students and the university.

Since 2021 she has also been an Events Coordinator, working on the planning and execution of the series of workshops organized by IE Research, in collaboration with Meta. She holds a double degree in Tourism, Advertising and Public Relations (UCA, Spain).

Moderators

portrait of Fabrizio Salvador

Fabrizio
Salvador

Dr. Fabrizio Salvador is Professor of Operations and Technology Management at IE Business School, IE University, where he also serves as Adjunct Vice-Rector, Applied Research.

His research blends operations management with strategic human capital, emphasizing people analytics, organizational flexibility, performance, and resilience. His is currently exploring the nexus between organizational design and employee well-being, with a focus on sustainability.

His award-winning research has bene published in top academic journals, where he also held various editorial leadership positions. He is a strong believer in the engagement of researchers with business and society.

portrait of Rocio Bonet

Rocio
Bonet

Rocio Bonet is an associate professor of human resource management at IE Business School, IE University in Madrid. She earned her PhD from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests lie in the area of strategic human capital. Her current research empirically explores how the use of practices focused on achieving flexibility in organizations affects different employment outcomes. In her work, Rocio has found that there is a potential “dark side” in attaining organizational flexibility: transferring excessive risk from companies to workers can potentially lead to dysfunctional organizational consequences.

Rocio is currently the academic chair of the IE-DKV Chair for Employee Health and Wellbeing.

Information

For more information send an email to: businesseswithpurpose@ie.edu