Impact Investment Pioneer Rodney Schwartz, Founder of Europe's Leading Impact Investment Bank | S02: Ep01 Rego's Business Review

In this episode: Rod's journey from an equity analyst on Wall Street in the booming 1980's, to Investment Banking in the 90's, to founding Europe's largest Impact Investment Bank, to his current fascination with Innovation in Politics.

>Guest Introduction

>4:40: Thoughts on Geopolitics: Russia and Ukraine

> 7:15: Rod's current activities and realisations about democracy, politics and innovation

> 10:53: Early career: Wall Street in the 80's and Europe in the 90's

Paine Webber and Wall Street, before the boom

The Financial Revolution and Innovation

>14:05: Lehman Brothers, Europe. Paribas

>16:20: Dick Fuld: Job interview with the legendary Lehman Brothers boss

>18:44: Michael Bloomberg and the digitisation of finance

>20:30: Warren Buffett and Bill Gates on which Superpower they'd like to have

>21:00: Elon Musk on being an entrepreneur

>22:00: Michael Milken anecdote

>22:36: Rod's career transitions and unconventional path to entrepreneurship

>26:15: Impact Investment - early days

First attempts in 2000 & 2007, and being "too early"

Chair of Shelter.  Chair of then startup Just Giving (a big success)

>29:25: Founding ClearlySo Impact Investment Bank in 2008: "Create 100 Just Givings"

>32:15: Getting started; early traction

>35:00: Insights from raising ~ $1 Billion as a pioneer in Impact Investment

>36:00: The mainstreaming of Impact Investment: A 100-fold increase in Assets Under Management in the last 8 years (from $8B to ~ $800B)

>36:55: Working definition of Impact

Noteworthy clients:

Bulb Energy, helped convert 1.5 million people to green energy

Hermes, European Investment Bank, Partners Group

Blu Water, Psychology Online, OddBox

>41:50: Dealmaking

Solving for Risk, Return and Impact

Talent challenge

"Not in the room, not in the deal"

Ted Turner & AOL-Time Warner; managing competing interests

>46:01: Portfolio career

Advisor to £100 million Palatine Private Equity Impact fund; other roles

>51:40: Career takeaways: Being really early; Innovation; Passion

>53:54: Current global transitions: Labour shortages; Spending on homes; Generational divide

>60:30 Politics and Innovation

> Micro-surveys; Marketing; Leadership

>The need to "de-polarise" media

>1:09:15: What really led to the fall of the Berlin Wall? Little known story of a breakthrough between Reagan and Gorbachev, and what it tells us about how we can lower the temperature of public discourse today.

>1:13:15: Looking Ahead

About Rodney Schwartz:

Rod has operated since 1980 in the investment industry as an analyst, strategic consultant, senior manager, corporate advisor, venture capitalist and entrepreneur. This has given him substantial experience in what makes companies succeed or fail through hundreds of observations. Since 1999 he has specialised in the emerging impact investment field, and founded CLEARLYSO, Europe's leading impact investment bank which intermediates capital from investors to high-impact funds and enterprises. He still mentors and advises impact funds and enterprises, but has decided to take two years out from autumn 2021 to study for an MSc degree in Democracy and Comparative Politics at UCL in London.

Follow Rodney Schwartz at: linkedin.com/in/rodneyschwartz   and at: https://twitter.com/rodneyschwartz 

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