The Next Series - NationSwell

A NationSwell editorial franchise profiling the investors, executives, authors, philanthropists, and social sector leaders who are shaping business as a force for good.

Impact Next

Impact Next spotlights the social impact leaders whose work is paving the way forward for change, while revealing the human behind the work.

2024 Honorees

Sustainability Next

Sustainability Next spotlights the corporate sustainability leaders whose work is shaping the landscape of progress amid urgent need for environmental action.

Sustainability Next: An interview with designer, author, and architect William McDonough

Here we profile we profile William McDonough, Chief Executive of McDonough Innovation and a visionary leader in environmental and climate action for decades.

Sustainability Next: An interview with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Fred Tan and LabStart’s Deepa Lounsbury

Hear from Fred Tan, Head of Social Impact at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Deepa Lounsbury, the CEO of LabStart and their work to bring climate technologies from lab-to-market.

Sustainability Next: An interview with Mastercard’s Ellen Jackowski

Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President at Mastercard, shares what job sparked her commitment to climate, and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead.

ESG Next

Each ESG Next profile gives unprecedented access to the strategies and insights deployed by leaders at the vanguard of social impact and sustainability — leaders whose work today is driving the ever-evolving field of Environmental, Social, and Governance into the future.

2023 Honorees

ESG Next: An Interview With Pivotal Ventures’ Renee Wittemyer

Maryanne Hancock, CEO of Y Analytics discusses the importance of centering rigor in impact investing, ESG’s “Fearless Girl” moment, and the surprising lessons that impact leaders can learn from an economist and a can of beans.

ESG Next: An Interview With Steelcase’s Kim Dabbs

Kim Dabbs, Global Vice President of ESG and Social Innovation at Steelcase and author of the upcoming book, You Belong Here discusses the importance of building a global learning community, the power of inclusive design, and the importance of centering the wellbeing of your teams and of other leaders.

ESG Next: An Interview With Levi’s Anna Walker

Anna Walker, Vice President of Impact and Issues at Levi Strauss & Co., on shared the unique strengths of an organization’s employees to inform corporate action, the undersung value of employee resource groups, and why coalition building is as much about the “where” as the “who.”

ESG Next: An Interview With Y Analytics’ Maryanne Hancock

Maryanne Hancock, CEO of Y Analytics, talks about the importance of centering rigor in impact investing, ESG’s “Fearless Girl” moment, and the surprising lessons that impact leaders can learn from an economist and a can of beans.

ESG Next: An Interview With Yelp’s Miriam Warren

Miriam Warren, Chief Diversity Officer at Yelp, shares how her childhood home was the beginning of her journey to the field, the three questions she asks herself before pushing for corporate action amid pivotal social moments, and the fellow leaders that inspire her leadership.

ESG Next: An Interview With Omidyar Network’s Michele Jawando

Michele Jawando, Senior Vice President at Omidyar Network, talks about the untold story of ESG’s unlikely allies, the importance of strong and engaged workers for any organization, and why we don’t have permission to surrender to the sorrow — even when working to advance justice becomes incredibly challenging.

ESG Next: An Interview With American Express’ Jennifer Skyler

Jennifer Skyler, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at American Express, discussed the importance of leveraging your core values in times of disruption, drawing new strength from embracing discomfort, and the timeless, underappreciated value of resilience.

ESG Next: An Interview With Liberty Mutual’s Melissa MacDonnell

Melissa MacDonnell, President, Liberty Mutual Foundation and Vice President, Community Investments, Liberty Mutual Insurance discusses what this moment in corporate philanthropy means for practitioners, the power of a collaborative framework for funding, and how employee volunteerism programs can better center inclusion.

ESG Next: An Interview With PJMF’s Vilas Dhar

Vilas Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) shares what this moment in artificial intelligence (AI) means for ESG practitioners, the importance of pushing past digital literacy and towards digital agency, and the big questions that leaders should ask as we build an equitable and human-centered future enabled by technological innovation.

ESG Next: An Interview With Citi’s Brandee McHale

Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development at Citi and President of Citi Foundation, talks about the unexpected challenges of headwinds becoming tailwinds, the necessity for leaders to break out of their echo chamber for inspiration, and why economic mobility is the foundation of her unlikely journey to the field of ESG.

ESG Next: An Interview With PwC’s Shannon Schuyler

Shannon Schuyler, Chief Purpose and Inclusion Officer at PwC, talks about the importance of an organizational North Star, why there’s no more safe zone for having difficult discussions about society at work, building coalitions with unlikely allies, and why going deep is sometimes better than going wide.

ESG Next: An Interview With Tiger Global’s Ali Hartman

Ali Hartman, Head of Responsible Investment at Tiger Global, talks about the power of building unlikely bridges, the importance of the “G” in ESG, and the opportunity for clarity and leadership in responsible investment — especially amid the current backlash.

ESG Next: An Interview With Mastercard’s Shamina Singh

Shamina Singh, Founder and President of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and Executive Vice President of Sustainability at Mastercard discusses the “S” in ESG, her commitment to continued learning and service, and the power of leaning into the urgency of the moment.

ESG Next: An Interview With Nike’s Caitlin Morris

Caitlin Morris, Vice President of Social + Community Impact at Nike, talks about this moment in ESG, the intertwining of people and planet, and the unique power of measurement not to gauge impact, but actually facilitate it.

ESG Next: An Interview With Starbucks’ Michael Kobori

Michael Kobori, Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks, talks about why this is the most crucial moment for ESG that the field has ever faced, the power of leadership companies to change whole industries, and why tapping into your employees is essential.

ESG Next: An Interview With Seventh Generation’s Alison Whritenour

Alison Whritenour, Chief Executive Officer at Seventh Generation, talks about her journey from traditional marketing to corporate social responsibility, her concerns about this moment in ESG, and how her hope that Seventh Generation’s new approach to CSR reporting will provide the blueprint for its future.

ESG Next: An Interview with Wells Fargo’s Jenny Flores

NationSwell interviewed Jenny Flores, Head of Small Business Growth Philanthropy at Wells Fargo, about how her experience as an immigrant in America informed her journey to human-centered banking, the unique impact of ﬂexible capital, the importance of fearless philanthropy, and the not-so-secret powers of her approach to collaboration.

ESG Next: An Interview With Bain Capital’s Tricia Winton

Tricia Winton, Partner and Global Head of ESG at Bain Capital, talks about why she thinks ESG isn’t going away anytime soon, the power of a private partnership model in advancing ESG work, and the importance of focusing on the upside while you navigate the risks and pitfalls.

ESG Next: An Interview With Microsoft’s Kate Behncken

Kate Behncken, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Philanthropies, talks about the importance of tying together purpose and profit, the power of capacity-building leadership, and this moment of tremendous opportunity for social impact and sustainability leaders.

ESG Next: An Interview With Nili Gilbert, Vice Chairwoman of Carbon Direct

Nili Gilbert, Vice Chairwoman of Carbon Direct, spoke to NationSwell about her personal journey to sustainable finance, why equitable solutions are only possible with cross-sector collaboration, and why she thinks ESG won’t be enough to get us to where we need to be.

ESG Next: An Interview With Pete Stavros, KKR’s Co-Head of Global Private Equity

Pete Stavros, co-head of U.S. Private Equity at KKR, talked to NationSwell about his journey to the field of ESG, the leaders and books that inspire him, and why the movement for broad worker ownership is good for just about everyone — even if its myriad of implementational challenges can be daunting.

ESG Next: An Interview With Rose Stuckey Kirk, Verizon Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer

Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Verizon, talked to NationSwell about the importance of professionalizing the field of ESG, the false premise that leaders have to choose between business opportunity and social good, and the art of “walking the halls” of your company to achieve internal buy-in on your impact initiatives.

ESG Next: An Interview With George Serafeim, Harvard Business School Professor of Business Administration

George Serafeim, author and Harvard Business School Professor, spoke to NationSwell about the current state of the field of ESG, why criticism of the field — even bad faith or partisan criticism — can be a good thing, and the integral ways that purpose and profit depend on one another. Here’s what he had to say.

ESG Next: An Interview With Prudential’s Lata Reddy

Lata Reddy, Senior Vice President, Prudential Financial Chair, The Prudential Foundation, spoke with NationSwell about the importance of place-based impact, the power of anchor institutions, the next frontier for ESG measurement, and the importance of tried-and-true approaches alongside newer, more disruptive technologies.

ESG Next: An Interview With IBM’s Justina Nixon-Saintil

Justina Nixon-Saintil, Vice President and Chief Impact Officer at IBM, spoke with NationSwell about why passion and partnership are paramount to an ESG leader’s success, why engineering and corporate social responsibility work go hand-in-hand, and why the future of ESG might just be its “S.”

ESG Next: An Interview With Target’s Amanda Nusz

Amanda Nusz, Target Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, spoke with NationSwell about the connectivity between ESG and business growth, and the importance of co-creating within your business and across your stakeholders.

ESG Next: An Interview with Goldman Sachs’ Letitia Webster

Letitia Webster, Managing Director + Chief Sustainability Officer, Merchant Banking Division, Goldman Sachs, spoke to NationSwell about what the precipice of this moment in ESG means for sustainability leaders, the importance of integrating corporate social responsibility across your entire business, and the leaders that inspire her.

Next level leadership

NationSwell’s prestigious membership community supports social impact, sustainability, and ESG leaders with strategic connections, research, and curated programming so they can meet the moment and develop more effective solutions for the world’s most pressing issues.

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