Agenda and Speakers

 

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015
12:30  Welcome: “The Only Competitive Business is an Inclusive Business” 

  • Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean of International Business and Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University
  • Val Smith, Director, Sustainability, Citi
12:45  Profiting from Poverty? Making the Case for Private Sector Solutions 

In 2010, SKS microfinance became the first microfinance corporation to IPO. Hailed as a landmark in the integration of markets of meaning, the company soon became a lightning rod for criticism as well. Join SKS Founder, Author of A Fistful of Rice, and Tufts Alum, Vikram Akula for a rare off-the-record conversation about the power of profits, the role of the market, and his lessons learned on the on the road to founding his newest venture, Vaya Finserv.

Featured Speaker:

  • Vikram Akula, Founder, SKS Microfinance, and Author, A Fistful of Rice

 Moderator:

  • Kim Wilson, CEME Senior Fellow and Lecturer, The Fletcher School

 Respondent:

  • Loretta Michaels, CEME Senior Fellow and Senior Policy Advisor to the US Treasury
 1:30  Making Inclusive Investment Happen: Challenges of Measurability and Investability 

This panel will examine fundamental challenges confronting investors of inclusive businesses. It will focus on two issues: how investors determine the viability of an inclusive investment, and how they measure inclusion.

Moderator:

  • Alnoor Ebrahim, Associate Professor, Social Enterprise Initiative, Harvard Business School

Panelists:

  • Sasha Dichter, Chief Innovation Officer, Acumen
  • Masha Gordon, Former Executive Vice President, PIMCO, & CEME Senior Fellow
  • Mike McCreless, Director of Strategy & Impact, Root Capital
2:20 – 2:30 BREAK
 2:30  Turning Point: Stories from Intra-preneurs Catalyzing Inclusion within Organizations 

Join trend setters across industries as they share personal insights into the slow pace of revolutionary change. In a series of short “Turning Point” talks, hear first-hand about catalyzing change on the frontlines of inclusive business.

 Presenters:

  • Maureen Alphonse-Charles, Senior Vice President & COO, The Partnership, Inc.
  • Dorothy Chan, Senior Manager, MTR Corporation
  • Anne Erhard, SVP, Business & Social Purpose, Edelman
  • Satish Jha, Founding Chairman, One Laptop per Child, India
 3:05  Partnerships at Scale: Building Effective Cross-sector Collaborations 

Partnerships are critical to scaling-up social impact. Yet corporations and social innovators often struggle to establish sustainable partnerships. This session will focus on connecting diverse partners, aligning goals, and successfully scaling-up across markets.

Moderator:

  • Justin Bakule, Executive Director, FSG Shared Value Initiative

 Featured Speakers:

  • Lata Reddy, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, President, The Prudential Foundation, Prudential Financial, Inc.
  • Dina Silver Pokedoff, Senior Manager, Branding Communication, Saint-Gobain Corporation

Discussant:

  • Tim Cross, President, YouthBuild International
 3:50  Women in the Value Chain: Sustainable and Inclusive Business through a Gender Lens 

 Moderator:

  • Marcia Greenberg, Independent Consultant

 Panelist:

  • Wade Channell, Senior Economic Growth Advisor, Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, USAID
  • Jessica Long, Managing Director, Accenture
  • Rekha Mehra, Senior Associate, Cross-Functional Group, Creative Associates International
4:35- 4:50 BREAK
 4:50  Innovation for Inclusive Health: Business Models to Serve the Base of the PyramidDalberg Global Development Advisors will convene and moderate a panel which showcases inclusive business innovation across the healthcare value chain – from building awareness all the way through to disease management. Each of these in their own right contributes to achieve better healthcare outcomes and many do so in a financially sustainable way. These examples seek to serve as an inspiration for the audience which will discuss implications for their own organization. 

 Moderator:

  • Erin Barringer, Senior Project Manager, Dalberg

Panelists:

  • Jonathan Jackson, CEO, Dimagi
  • Saul Kornik, CEO, African Health Placements
  • Nancy Swanson, Executive Director, Linked Foundation
  • Jami Taylor, Senior Director, Global Access Policy, Janssen
 5:35  Corporates on the Frontline: Sustainability & Human Rights in Practice 

Beyond boardrooms and business plans, the messy reality of implementing sustainable and inclusive business activities is often fraught with difficult decisions, trade-offs, and compromise. This panel will explore practical guidance for practitioners of sustainable and inclusive business activities, comparing the experiences of three very different industries: finance and banking, consumer goods, and information systems.

Moderator:

  • Rebecca Pearl-Martinez, Head, Renewable Equity Project, The Fletcher School, & CIERP Research Fellow

Panelists:

  • Val Smith, Director, Corporate Sustainability, Citi
  • Scott Williams, Associate VP of Quality Assurance and Environmental Stewardship, BJ’s Wholesale Club
  • Katie Schindall, Consultant Program Manager, Sustainability, EMC Corporation
6:30  Keynote Address: 

Join us for the inaugural Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) Global Leadership Lecture Series Address, featuring:

 Keynote Speaker:

  • Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever

Joined By:

  • Patrick Verkooijen, Special Representative for Climate Change, World Bank, & CIERP Senior Fellow
7:30  Reception 

 Sponsored by the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy