Topic: Strategy

Fresh Perspectives Unlock Creative Wealth-Building Solutions in Cities Across America

Posted on by Syd Goin

Most Americans live in cities; in fact, almost 90% of us will be city residents by 2050. Yet, every community is different and requires locally relevant solutions to the challenges and opportunities they face due to geography, history, industry, and many other place-based factors. City leaders with a local focus and lived experience in the communities they serve have never been more vital and influential in helping communities thrive across the U.S. 

Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, for example, has led the way on free public transportation and the creation of a Housing Trust Fund that has so far allocated about $19 million to support affordable housing projects and create nearly 1,000 affordable units, in a city where he grew up and experienced homelessness. But, resources in these public sector teams are stretched, capacity is limited, and space for creativity to solve systemic issues is hard to come by. 

The danger of never making space for creative thinking in local government or empowering city leaders to try new approaches is that inertia is inevitable. If neighborhoods in cities across America are to break out of cycles of inequality and build resiliency and generational wealth, we must embrace new ideas that challenge the status quo. 

In that vein, innovative impact leaders are creating ways to overcome capacity hurdles and support the important role that city government plays as a change agent. FUSE is a national nonprofit with a mission to increase the effectiveness of local governments in building more equitable communities. They have a unique method of empowering public sector teams to be the source of creative, community-led solutions for wealth-building among underserved populations. 

The FUSE Executive Fellowship Program hires diverse private-sector professionals and embeds them in government agencies on a full-time basis. These fellows bring new ideas, research, and action, all in service of advancing racial equity and addressing pressing challenges facing city communities. This allows FUSE to pursue creative approaches and public-private partnerships. Many fellows continue working in the public sector after their projects are complete, creating a unique pathway for private-sector professionals to make career moves and fulfill their desire to achieve greater impact in the communities where they work and live. 

The interventions by the FUSE Executive Fellows always begin with deep community listening, which is the genesis of fresh ideas: from the community, for the community. They integrate insights with data and human-centered design to help address seemingly intractable problems. For example: How can you preserve affordable housing and promote climate resilience in Durham, NC? How can you ensure everyone has access to fresh food in Birmingham, AL? How can local government use data and analytics to reduce reliance on incarceration and drive criminal justice reforms throughout LA County? How can county leadership help bridge the digital equity divide in Central Texas? And — in many places — how do you shift a workforce into a new era of needs and opportunities, post-pandemic?

Washington, D.C., witnessed a tremendous loss of jobs during the pandemic, particularly within the hospitality and leisure industries. The District’s Workforce Investment Council partnered with Karla Yoder, FUSE Executive Fellow to create a strategic plan to create a more resilient local ecosystem, for workers and employers. Yoder’s work not only highlighted how workers earning low wages were bearing the brunt of job losses but also noted accelerated shifts in the workforce landscape, with demand surging for workers in healthcare and technology. These factors underscored the need for employers to embrace skills-based hiring in order to service new and growing needs. In response, Yoder designed recovery initiatives tailored to D.C.’s workforce, including career coaching for unemployed residents and fostering partnerships between employers and skill-training providers.

FUSE Executive Fellow Daniel Han’s work with the City of Long Beach is another great example of innovative solutions supporting those at the highest risk of economic disruption. He helped the City connect nontraditional, community-based lenders to small business owners of color who were struggling to access capital. “The one thing that remains consistent is the critical leadership role that local government has in being a social innovator, change agent, and advocate for creating an inclusive platform for small businesses to thrive in the community,” said Han.

Just recently, FUSE Executive Fellow Kay West embedded with the City of Fort Worth to help revitalize their Economic Development Department’s “Business Assistance Center” to better support small businesses and entrepreneurs. West’s engagement with the community led to changes that made the Center more accessible, responsive, and fortified — including streamlined processes, more flexible opening hours, a more user-friendly “one-stop shop” web experience; and community convenings to foster inclusivity. “It brings me much joy to serve as a community quarterback to propel impact and bring national resources to my city,” said West, who continues to help communities and economic development organizations advance small enterprise initiatives and build capacity for equitable entrepreneurship programs.

The FUSE Executive Fellowship is one of a variety of exciting new localized wealth-building and social innovation models that are emerging. These programs show how fresh perspectives and an injection of creative capacity can make significant changes in large systems. Other models include building strength through networks that share insights and support between cities, like the Strong Cities Network that exists to help leaders address all forms of hate and polarization; or lifting up the voices of the unheard across a state in order to drive policy change, as demonstrated by End Poverty In California, which was founded by the Michael Tubbs, former Mayor of Stockton, California. 

We need this variety of solutions and an upswell of energy behind local government action to address a holistic issue like wealth building in underserved communities. Housing, education, workforce development, financial inclusion, small business support, digital equity, social cohesion, place-making, culture building — all of these elements and more are part of empowering a community to define its own future and build economic and social resilience. Funders and impact partners often struggle with how to help drive this type of cohesive community impact, when they are focused on one or two issues. 

The FUSE Executive Fellow model offers inspiration for one way forward: harnessing the power of creative individuals to integrate local knowledge, skills from the private sector, and collaborative coalition-building to turn the vision of community wealth-building into concrete policies and initiatives. From helping the City of Houston to create a comprehensive digital inclusion strategy that prioritizes those marginalized households that lack broadband access, to partnering with Cincinnati to help create 4,000 quality green jobs as part of a just transition to the green economy, to empowering Mayor Dickens in Atlanta to launch the Faith Based Development Initiative to create thousands of affordable housing units, the FUSE approach is effectively fast-tracking local government innovation across America. 

In a year when national elections will be held in at least 64 countries around the world, it is vital to remember that change starts at home—and local leaders are the ones whose decisions will have the greatest impact on daily lives. In this context, it’s energizing to see impact leaders like FUSE rally behind local government teams and innovate to allow creative, community-driven approaches to wealth building to flourish in cities across the U.S.

Visit fuse.org to learn more about their Executive Fellowship program.

Impact Next: An interview with Indeed’s Abbey Carlton and Maggie Hulce

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of growing inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster our most vulnerable communities? Whose work is fostering the inclusive growth that ensures every individual thrives? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact? 

In 2024, Impact Next — a new editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing corporate social responsibility and impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress amid urgent need for social and economic action.

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Indeed’s Abbey Carlton, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability, and Maggie Hulce, Chief Revenue Officer.

Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder, NationSwell: How was it that you arrived in social impact work — could you each tell us a little bit about your journey to get to where you are now? 

Maggie Hulce, Chief Revenue Officer, Indeed: I spent most of my early career struggling with the question of where I could do the most good in the world — “Is it better to be part of a corporation, or to be in government? Where can you actually drive the most change?” 

I found myself gravitating to drivers of economic opportunity: workforce development, access to education, and the challenge of finding meaningful work that also pays well. Indeed is unique in how deeply the mission to help people get jobs is embedded in the culture.  At the same time, Indeed is a tech company, with the ambition to disrupt a huge industry and the potential to improve the lives of billions of people. That combination has been pretty magical, honestly. 

Abbey Carlton, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability, Indeed: Growing up in the rural Midwest at a time when a lot of factory jobs were going away and seeing the impact that had on people, families, and communities made an early impact on me — I saw firsthand all of the ripple effects that come when people don’t have jobs and opportunities. 

Economic opportunity has really been the animating theme of my whole career, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come to Indeed, where hundreds of millions of people go to find jobs every month; I believe we are changing how hiring happens. 

It’s been really exciting to get to work alongside business leaders like Maggie, who see that social impact doesn’t have to be this niche thing to do off to the side — it really is core to our mission and our business.

Behrman, NationSwell: You’ve mentioned how embedded and connected to the core of the business social impact is; what else is different, special, or exemplary about the work you’re doing at Indeed? 

Hulce, Indeed: In our space, there is a very natural synergy between what is good for both sides of our ecosystem — job seekers and employers — and the social value that comes from making hiring faster, more effective, and more fair. 

To make hiring more effective, you first have to understanding skills and occupations deeply. You have to collect a lot of data about job seekers and jobs, and then you have to use that data to make recommendations that are nuanced, because people are nuanced in what they solve for when choosing where to work.  

We can also use all the information we collect to make data-driven arguments to employers about how to optimize their jobs or hiring processes.  This coalesces with what we’re trying to do to make hiring more fair and to help people connect with opportunities that they might be overlooked for. 

Carlton, Indeed: We’ve set four really ambitious ESG commitments for 2030, two of which Maggie and I work together very closely on: First, to help 30 million job seekers facing barriers get hired by 2030, and second, to shorten the duration of job search by half. Those are goals that will have a huge impact on people who struggle to find work, and, if we do it right, will really improve economic opportunity for lots of people. They will make our business better, they will make hiring better, they will make it easier for our clients to connect with a broader and more diverse talent pool. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Could you give an example of what that work might look like in practice?

Carlton, Indeed: Let’s say I’m someone who has gone through a cybersecurity boot camp at Year Up, and now it’s time for me to go out and look for a job: What is it like for me to look for a job on Indeed? If we can put a spotlight on where that on-ramp works really well, and where there are opportunities to help somebody who’s gone through a non-traditional educational program to explain what that is and what they learned and what skills they’ve built, we can build that into how we think about our job seeker profiles going forward.

Hulce, Indeed: Abbey’s team has played a big role in helping our product and engineering teams understand the challenges that people face when they don’t have a bachelor’s degree.  Our teams are asking: How do we help job seekers represent their skills in our ecosystem?  How do we help them present their skills in a way that’s compelling to employers?  And how do we influence employers to remove college degree requirements? 

At a certain level, inertia is the biggest barrier we face.  But, we’ve seen data-driven conversations with employers can actually change things.  For example, we can help employers realize that for certain roles, removing college degree requirements is a good business decision, as it helps them reach a much broader pool of talent.  It’s a unique role we can play, as we see both sides of the market. 

Behrman, NationSwell: What would your advice be to other leaders in the space who are similarly hoping to drive impact outcomes while making the business case for this work internally? 

Carlton, Indeed: I’ve learned that if you see your role as a social impact leader as being the counterbalance to the business strategy or being off to the side, then you might not invest in understanding the problems other teams are trying to solve across different areas of the business. Opportunities arise when you can connect those dots, whatever they may be. 

Hulce, Indeed: Our mentality internally is always, “We should be customer #1.” We care a lot about equity in our practices, so it makes sense that we should be practicing on ourselves first. If we have an idea, we want to know how well it will work.  So we try it out, and see what we learn.  This approach also helps us build more empathy for our customers.

Carlton, Indeed: What Maggie and I have done together recently is think about whether there is a single galvanizing focus that we could bring to the company so that all of these good things don’t get diluted, and we really think about skills-first hiring as being that focus. 

If we think about promoting economic mobility, that is a way that Indeed is uniquely positioned to drive change. So we’re going to pull that lever and focus on centering skills in the hiring process, because that’s how we believe we can make hiring more equitable for all job seekers.

Behrman, NationSwell: What is it about your personal leadership that you think has helped you to be effective?

Hulce, Indeed: I think a lot about the importance of optimism – believing that change is possible — and the idea that you need to triangulate with different types of brains to actually solve some of your hardest problems. 

As a leader, I also reflect on how to get people excited about what we’re trying to do. How do you get them to believe in what is possible? And how do you get them to work together to challenge and change the status quo? 

The last part of leadership I think about a lot is the importance of time spent developing and investing in people, in giving them opportunities to grow.  

Carlton, Indeed: When I was leaving the Rockefeller Foundation, my then-boss gave a toast where he described me as firm in my principles and flexible in my methods — that is the way that I try to work.

When you are in this work, you come to realize how deep, entrenched, systemic, and long-term it is. I have tried to navigate the space of doing work on jobs and economic opportunity with some pretty firm principles and beliefs, but with a lot of flexibility on how we get there, trying new things in the process. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Who are some of the peer leaders you really admire that you want to shine a spotlight on?

Carlton, Indeed: Hamdi Ulukaya, who founded Chobani and then the Tent Partnership for Refugees, is a leader whose work I have been following and admiring for some time now — I am in awe of some of the ripple effects his work has had. Last year, Indeed had the opportunity to be a part of the coalition that Tent has brought together and to sponsor a number of large-scale hiring events focused on refugees in Europe. I think his leadership is such an inspiring example of the role that business can play in galvanizing real deep change around social issues.

Hulce, Indeed: I’ll call out our CEO, Chris Hyams, as someone who has been so incredibly thoughtful about how he weaves together what we’re trying to do as a company and the importance that it can have on society. From his advocacy for responsible AI to our ambitious goals with ESG, he is definitely leading from the front.

Behrman, NationSwell: Are there any resources — books, essays, poems, quotes — that have informed your leadership that you might recommend to other leaders?

Hulce, Indeed: I am halfway through Big Bets by Rajiv Shah, which discusses how to bring people together to drive bold change. I’d also recommend a book by Deanna Mulligan called Hire Purpose.  She was the CEO of an insurance company, and her book discusses reskilling, upskilling, and long term talent strategy. 

Impact Next: An interview with Amazon Web Services’ Maggie Carter

Posted on by Brianna Provenzano

At a moment of growing inequality and division, who is advancing the vanguard of economic and social progress to bolster our most vulnerable communities? Whose work is fostering the inclusive growth that ensures every individual thrives? Who will set the ambitious standards that mobilize whole industries, challenging their peers to reach new altitudes of social impact? 

In 2024, Impact Next — a new editorial flagship series from NationSwell — will spotlight the standard-bearing corporate social responsibility and impact leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and philanthropists whose catalytic work has the potential to shape the landscape of progress amid urgent need for social and economic action.

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Maggie Carter, Director of Social Impact at Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder, NationSwell: Maggie, was there an early or formative experience that brought you into this work?

Maggie Carter, Director of Social Impact, Amazon Web Services (AWS): 

It all started with my mom, who always led by example. She was always giving back. Whether it was volunteering in my school library or serving hot meals and donating blankets and clothes to the homeless in the DC metro area, she was always giving her own time and bringing the family along for the journey.

When I was in college, we led our first Recycling Awareness Week to kick off recycling on campus, and that experience of building and running a grassroots campaign is where I first got the bug to do something with a purpose, and throughout my career I was fortunate to find roles that combined that passion with sports.

When I was leaving the NBA, I knew that I wanted to get closer to program delivery on the nonprofit side. I made the transition to the UN Foundation and UNICEF, which combined my focus areas: children, education, and health. And from there, I was pitching AWS and Amazon on what a partnership would look like around disasters, emergencies, and innovation. The AWS team said, would you be willing to come build this from the ground up? That’s how I got to where I am today.

Behrman, NationSwell: At AWS, the products are part of the impact — they’re at the center of things. Can you speak to the philosophy behind that model?

Carter, AWS: For us, it’s very much about how our technology has the potential to transform the ways organizations are delivering their programs or services to impact their communities and their beneficiaries. We look at our role as co-building solutions with organizations and helping them to scale their impact.

For example, in Rwanda, they are leveraging secure messaging and AI on AWS to more effectively and rapidly identify symptoms in cancer patients and connect them to oncologists when their symptoms worsen. In Rwanda there’s just one oncologist to over 3,000 cancer patients on average — there’s a huge demand and low supply of doctors, and by using this messaging app, we’re helping those cancer patients that need more critical care receive it sooner.

We also co-built a solution with a small organization called Operation Barbecue Relief, whose mandate is to feed those impacted by a disaster, as well as the first responders to disaster. So we designed a solution with them called Project Smoke — an application to help track and monitor their food supplies so they can better manage resources and deploy them where they’re needed most. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there anything else that feels very important and differentiated that people should know about this work?

Carter, AWS: Each of these solutions is repeatable and scalable, they’re not band-aids. For us, it’s important to stay laser focused on the unique value proposition that the AWS cloud has when we’re engaging with organizations in our key priority areas — specifically around disaster response, health equity, and environmental equity.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there an attribute or an approach or a philosophy that guides your leadership that has helped to make you effective?

Carter, AWS: I put high expectations on myself and I lead by example, so it’s about finding that balance where there’s a high bar but also empathy for what is going on. 

It’s always been in my DNA to be the fixer, the builder, so shifting that mindset to where I’m coaching and enabling my team and my leaders to identify that path forward themselves — that’s been a big learning for me in the last two to three years. 

I’ll also add that it’s been amazing to see employees rise to the occasion. Shifting to this approach really helps them build confidence in themselves to find that path forward — it equips them to be successful critical thinkers, here and beyond.

Behrman, NationSwell: Who are some of the peer leaders you really admire that you want to shine a spotlight on?

Carter, AWS: One who really stands out is Jacqueline Fuller, formerly at Google.org — she is at the bleeding edge, and I was fortunate to work with her and her team when I was at UNICEF USA on some pretty strategic partnerships around Zika and Syrian refugees. I want to also mention Leisha Ward at Target, Paul Poman at Unilever, and Kayleen Walters, the head of impact at Minecraft. 

And finally, my mentor, Kathy Behrens at the NBA. Throughout my career, since I worked for Kathy, I’ve always thought to myself, “what would KB do?” What she’s been able to do with the NBA over time, launching NBA Cares, shifting to the social justice initiative, launching the foundation in the last few years — it’s been amazing to see.

Behrman, NationSwell: Are there any resources — books, essays, poems, quotes — that have informed your leadership that you might recommend to other leaders?

Carter, AWS: I love stories of perseverance — those human interest stories where you see what somebody was able to achieve when everybody doubted them, especially in sports.

I particularly love “The ‘99ers” — the documentary follows the U.S. women’s national soccer team that won the World Cup in 1999. I remember watching it live and crying about how this was opening up opportunities for future generations of women moving forward. I think that team gave women and young girls confidence in themselves to be able to push boundaries, to push the envelope, to go where other girls haven’t been able to before.

2023 Private Sector Social Impact and Sustainability Leadership Survey

2023 Private Sector Social Impact and Sustainability Leadership Survey

SURVEY FINDINGS
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2023 brought social impact and sustainability work further into the social, political, and organizational spotlight, and presented leaders with distinct, long-term considerations for their work. Leaders encountered large-scale, composite challenges: the escalation of the anti-ESG movement; the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action and its subsequent implications for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB); the effects of an increasingly restrictive macroeconomic environment on teams and priorities; and the intensification of regulatory requirements. At the same time, social impact work has matured and deepened, with leaders investing heavily in employee engagement, leaning in on sustainability strategies, cautiously adopting AI, and empowering communities through trust-based and place-based work.

Against this backdrop, NationSwell set out to investigate what forces were most significant in changing the way leaders approached their priorities and decision-making over the past year, and what leaders anticipate about the environment, their organizations, and their jobs in the year to come. Between July and August 2023 we surveyed 74 corporate social impact and sustainability leaders across NationSwell’s membership community and beyond. The resulting report explores the direct opinions and experiences of those leaders, in service to advancing collective knowledge about their essential roles.

Below is a summary of the key findings discussed in greater detail in the report:

Theme 1: Leaders’ confidence takes a hit among a difficult year for impact work

  • Leaders’ satisfaction with their organizations’ social impact is waning marginally amid an increasingly challenging environment.
  • With trepidation about the year ahead, leaders’ confidence in their own work is also dwindling.

Theme 2: Economic and regulatory activity assert their dominance above other forces 

  • Two of 2023’s trending issues – the politicization of ESG and the emergence of generative AI – have not transformed social impact and sustainability strategies. 
  • Instead, macroeconomic conditions had widespread and deep impacts highlighted by layoffs, budget cuts, and new barriers to collaboration.
  • Over the next year, leaders predict that economic conditions and regulatory/legislative activity will be key factors in their prioritization and decision-making.
  • In recognition of their growing need, and in spite of economic uncertainty, leaders will advocate for more funding for social impact and sustainability work in the year ahead.

Theme 3: Influence is leaders’ most sought-after and valued currency 

  • Leaders respond most to the influence of their executive team, and want to wield their own influence in return.
  • Leaders are intent on improving their strategies and capabilities to engage with internal stakeholders.
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ESG Next: An Interview With American Express’ Jennifer Skyler

Posted on by Greg Behrman

At a moment of unprecedented attention, investment, and opportunity for the emerging field of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), leaders are asking: Who is best preparing their organization for the society of the future? Who is innovating today to meet decades-long environmental and social goals? Who is setting standards that catalyze their industry’s change for the better? Who is defining what bold and aspirational look like — and how best to advance that work in practice?

Enter NationSwell’s ESG Next, an exemplary group of investors, executives, authors, philanthropists, social sector leaders, academics, and field builders who are helping to shape business as a force for social and environmental progress, advancing — and even pioneering — the most forward-thinking and effective programs, initiatives, technologies, methodologies, practices, and approaches.

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

Greg Behrman, CEO + Founder, NationSwell: Can you walk us through what’s unique about how you and your team have approached ESG?

Jennifer Skyler, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, American Express: When I first joined in 2020, my team undertook a comprehensive process to refresh the ESG strategy and framework based on a materiality analysis of key stakeholder issues. That was an important first step — those first efforts culminated in the launch of our ESG Strategy and Framework which encompasses three core pillars: financial confidence; climate solutions; diversity, equity, and inclusion.

That framework guides us to drive action in alignment with our values and address the top issues that matter the most for our company and stakeholders. It provides the guiding principles, operational structure, and resources to be able to make meaningful, positive impact in people’s lives and the world we live in. 

By having a foundational framework in place to address those issues, we can set tangible goals, build action plans to achieve those goals and hold ourselves accountable for progress, and provide transparency into our efforts for our internal and external stakeholders. 

Behrman, NationSwell: How is the work you’re leading at American Express unique?

Skyler, American Express: We have a very special, values-driven culture. As Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, I carry the responsibility of championing the Blue Box values that our company and brand stand for, making sure all our actions and communications are tightly aligned to those values.

I joined the company in 2020 — and as you can imagine, that meant that my arrival was met with the unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Before we even began to address those challenges, we committed to one core principle as our north star: that we would back our colleagues, customers, and communities above all else.

That commitment has since proven critical to how we managed to emerge as an even stronger company. From the early days of the pandemic, we doubled down on our backing of our stakeholders. We invested in the health, safety, and holistic well-being of our colleagues through expanded benefits and support programs. For our customers, we offered financial relief to those experiencing economic challenges and evolved our product benefits and services to meet their changing needs in the face of the pandemic. We also provided philanthropic support to economically vulnerable communities to help them address their challenges and support their recovery.

Those investments have paid off a great deal and put us in a strong position today, where we’re seeing great momentum across our business. Our customers and colleagues are sticking with us, and we are attracting many more to our workforce and card member base – all enabling us to deliver record growth rates that we’ve been seeing for several quarters now.      

Having gone through such a pivotal moment at American Express, I have an even greater appreciation now for working at a company with sound and consistent values that you can lean on during good times and bad times.

Behrman, NationSwell: Is there a significant program or initiative you’re leading into which other field builders should have visibility? 

Skyler, American Express: As Chair of the American Express Foundation, which facilitates the company’s philanthropic and community impact efforts and am deeply inspired by the work our nonprofit partners do to improve their communities. In December, we relaunched the American Express Leadership Academy, transforming the curriculum to help enhance the business and leadership skills of high-potential nonprofit leaders to meet the unique challenges of today. Since its launch in 2007, the Academy helped more than 165,000 social purpose leaders reach their potential.

This year, the theme of our Leadership Academy was resilient changemakers, and I think my overall thinking as a communications and corporate sustainability leader over the past few years has really embodied this idea. If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that we can’t foresee the future and the challenges we will face tomorrow. What’s most important is developing the right skills and having the tools to be able to effectively tackle life’s challenges– whatever they might be – and remain resilient.

More personally, I love to support small businesses, whether shopping in my own neighborhood or at local shops wherever I travel. I have now had the opportunity to turn this personal passion of mine into even greater real impact given American Express’ continued commitment to backing small businesses, like through our Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has awarded $2 million to 50 historically significant restaurants in the U.S. over the past two years and will provide another $1 million to 25 new recipients this year.

Behrman, NationSwell: To which leadership practices do you most attribute your success and efficacy?

Skyler, American Express: One of the behaviors that we’re expected to demonstrate as leaders is courageous and transparent leadership, which has been something I always believed in. Being courageous and embracing discomfort is necessary to be able to achieve growth and realize your full potential.

You cannot grow in your career without discomfort. You must be receptive to feedback and not be afraid to fail to make progress. That’s why I am always focused on challenging myself and my team to think differently, aim higher, and learn from both successes and failures to grow with each experience.

Behrman, NationSwell: What’s inspiring your leadership right now? 

Skyler, American Express: I’m a voracious consumer of so many different podcasts and media – often multiple screens at a time – so if I made a list, it would be ridiculously long. I like to hear all sides of an issue and stay on top of the fast-paced, ever-evolving environment that we operate in.

Of course, every now and then we need a break from the news cycle. Right now, I’m loving Daisy Jones and the Six on Amazon Prime as my respite.

To learn more about how our ESG Next honorees are shaping business as a force for social and environmental good, visit the series hub. American Express is a NationSwell Institutional Member. To learn more about membership in NationSwell’s community of leading social impact and sustainability practitioners, visit our site.

Skilling the future workforce: 8 recs for corporate leaders

Skilling the future workforce: 8 recs for corporate leaders

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
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Private sector engagement with skills-based hiring is increasing in response to employment gaps and escalating economic precarity. Between 2017 and 2019, 46% of middle-skill and 31% of high-skill occupations experienced material degree resets. And in 2022, 79% of HR professionals reported that scores on skills assessments are just as or more important than traditional criteria in hiring decisions.

These are positive trends from an economic and a social perspective. Skills-based hiring is critical to increasing equity and diversity in the workplace, as traditional credential-based hiring tends to screen out, disqualify, or exclude applicants without a four year degree.

While increased commitment to skills-based hiring is an important step toward a more prepared and more inclusive workforce, many companies are learning that in-demand skills do not exist in adequate supply. Some of those businesses are taking it upon themselves to develop the skill-based talent pipeline that will be necessary to power their organizations, industries, and broader market into the future.

To better understand how companies are investing in the skills-based training ecosystem, before hiring even comes into frame, we dug deep with nine organizations on the cutting edge of workforce development.

Through our conversations with leaders and practitioners, we uncovered a depth of contributions to changing and scaling the learning systems that are preparing workers for quality jobs. Our report compiles eight recommendations to provide guidance for private sector employers who are committed to skilling the future workforce and ultimately contributing meaningfully to a more just and equitable workplace. 

The eight recommendations:

 

  • Decide if you aim to be influential at a systems, sector, or company level
  • Position your strategy correctly within your company’s infrastructure
  • Lean into (and use) your company’s strengths
  • Build a well-balanced partner portfolio
  • Design for replicability and scalability
  • Mind the non-skills gap between learner and earner
  • Engage in pre-competitive transparency and collaboration
  • Bring rigor and patience to impact measurement
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The state of play: Corporate sustainability

The state of play: Corporate sustainability

TREND REPORT
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As climate change creates a growing risk to companies’ financial stability, sustainability programs offer a competitive advantage for businesses across size and sector. Those who are ahead of the curve are making bold commitments, deepening expertise, collaborating effectively, and greening their workforces. The most resolute business leaders will continue to push forward their strategies against political backlash. For them, it is a moment of opportunity not hesitancy. 

In this report, we help leaders get up to speed and check their progress against the latest macro trends, policy and regulatory developments (U.S. and E.U.), and pace-setting organizations.

The trends: 

  • Corporate climate commitments and leadership accountability are on the rise. But the rate of progress remains well behind what’s needed to achieve 2050 goals. 
  • Political and legislative activity are creating cross-pressures on sustainability work. But stakeholder activism remains a strong tailwind. 
  • New innovations and collaborations reflect a growing supply chain playbook. Companies know that Scope 3 impact cannot be ignored. 
  • Jobs–both existing and new–are becoming greener. Employers and workers are both driving the transition. 
  • Water and biodiversity are making big moves toward the center of corporate interest. Pending emissions disclosure rules remain top of mind.
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ESG Next: An Interview With Tiger Global’s Ali Hartman

Posted on by Greg Behrman

At a moment of unprecedented attention, investment, and opportunity for the emerging field of ESG, leaders are asking: Who is best preparing their organization for the society of the future? Who is innovating today to meet decades-long environmental and social goals? Who is setting standards that catalyze their industry’s change for the better? Who is defining what bold and aspirational look like — and how best to advance that work in practice?

Enter NationSwell’s ESG Next, an exemplary group of investors, executives, authors, philanthropists, social sector leaders, academics, and field builders who are helping to shape business as a force for social and environmental progress, advancing — and even pioneering — the most forward-thinking and effective programs, initiatives, technologies, methodologies, practices, and approaches.

For this installment, NationSwell interviewed Ali Hartman, Head of Responsible Investment at Tiger Global, 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. 

Greg Behrman, CEO + Founder, NationSwell: How did your personal and professional journey to the field of ESG begin?

Ali Hartman, Head of Responsible Investment, Tiger Global: My journey to this field began long before anyone was using the acronym ESG. In many ways, it began before I even knew my ABCs. You see, I grew up in a social justice activist household, where both of my parents risked their safety and comfort in pursuit of nuclear disarmament. They were civil disruptors in the Plowshares movement and were arrested and imprisoned multiple times for their activism. So I spent my childhood in soup kitchens and at meeting houses, in courtrooms and on protest lines. With that reality came a sense of responsibility to serve the greater good and an obligation to speak truth to power. Changemaking was — and is — a part of my DNA. Literally, my mom was in prison while pregnant with me. 

As a teenager and young adult, I pursued internships and jobs in the public sector and with activist organizations. These were known entities to me based on my upbringing and places I understood that I could make an impact. It was in graduate school, when I took a class called Business Ethics, that I was first exposed to the power of the private sector. 

About a month into the class, a light bulb went off for me. I realized that companies had so much capital, flexibility, access, and influence. I realized that if I wanted to have an impact that could be sustained and scaled, I had to understand how this part of the equation worked. 

Since that class, my career has spanned roles in corporate sustainability, ESG strategy, and responsible investment across big business, private equity, and, most recently, venture capital. These jobs connect money and meaning and prove that public interest and private resources can have a greater impact when they’re working together. 

Behrman, NationSwell: How do you make sense of this moment in ESG?

Hartman, Tiger Global: I’ve been doing this work for about 15 years and have seen real evolution in this space. There’s been tremendous momentum and meaningful scale during a relatively short period of time. But with that growth, we’re also seeing some confusion and chaos. We need to get clear and be intentional when it comes to defining and pursuing ESG management. 

I’m an ESG purist. What I mean by that is when I talk about ESG integration, I’m referring to the measurement and management of material environmental, social, and governance factors in the operations of a business. 

Importantly, what I’m not talking about is impact investing, philanthropy, CEO activism, or corporate values. These are each, of course, critically important. But they’re just not part of ESG strategy. For me, ESG management is about viability, not morality. 

That’s not to say what is good for the sustainability of a company isn’t good for people or the planet — it usually is. When companies are measuring and managing their inputs (including natural resources and human resources) more intentionally, strategically, and efficiently, everyone wins. From where I sit, thoughtful, strategic ESG management has become the baseline of doing business in a world that is more complex and constrained than it has ever been. There’s so much opportunity to build better businesses that are ready to manage the volatility that is here and is only going to grow with time. 

Behrman, NationSwell: Tell us about the work you and your team are leading at Tiger Global, and why it’s noteworthy or potentially even showing early signs of advancing the field.

Hartman, Tiger Global: We are still in the early innings of our work at Tiger. We have a lot more to understand when it comes to purpose building responsible investment into our asset classes and investment strategies. That said, I’m proud of the progress we’ve been making and am excited about what’s to come for us — and hopefully for the venture industry more broadly. 

In the last year and a half, we’ve established a strong foundation for what will be an evolving responsible investment strategy. Our work to date includes firm-level policies, new ESG-related diligence practices, and a suite of monitoring tools to better understand our portfolio companies and fund-level trends. 

We still have a lot to learn about how to best integrate this work into a scaled venture model — one where companies are earlier in their maturity and limited in their resources, and where investors are often passive and minority shareholders. This is a totally different proposition than the work I did in private equity. 

Nonetheless, while the challenges are real, so are the opportunities. I believe that supporting companies early in their evolution and embedding efficiency and ethics into operations from the start can have a profound impact for companies’ growth and for the world in which they operate. 

Something else I am excited about is the chance to advance this work across the venture industry. While some impact-oriented firms or emerging managers have already started to integrate responsible investment strategies into their work, there is a massive opportunity to engage the larger, more traditional firms. Without a doubt, there is both value and necessity in us working collaboratively across the industry. 

As an example, we recently signed on as a founding member of the Venture Climate Alliance alongside more than 20 of our VC peers. Over the last few years, Tiger Global has been taking steps to measure and manage our firm-level footprint, achieving net-zero status as of 2021. As we look ahead, we are excited by the challenge of building tools and resources, setting expectations, and sharing opportunity with our portfolio companies with the goal of helping them better manage the risks and opportunities posed by climate constraints. We’re also excited to help advance the net-zero conversation across the industry.

Behrman, NationSwell: What is something that you’re spending time thinking about when it comes to ESG? 

Hartman, Tiger Global: When it comes to venture, I increasingly think that there’s an opportunity to reprioritize the acronym to be GES, instead of ESG. Putting governance last in the acronym can put it last on people’s minds. While, historically, some may have seen governance as a check-the-box part of this work, it is foundational. I think governance can and should go far beyond anti-bribery or anti-corruption. 

Governance is management and management is talent. And talent is prioritized and prized by the venture capital industry. I think that if we can modernize governance and give the “G” more attention and recognition, we’ll see better outcomes in all dimensions, including companies’ abilities to engage on environmental and social issues, weather volatility, and outperform over time.

Behrman, NationSwell: Who are some peer leaders who inspire you?

Hartman, Tiger Global: I’m inspired every day by folks across the changemaking continuum. Truly. When people say they are depressed about the state of the world, I tell them they should meet some of the people I get to meet. I’ve been having some really exciting conversations with Lyel Resner, co-lead of the Startups & Society Initiative. I think his experience as a tech entrepreneur brings important perspective to the table and I have loved talking to him about the interplay between responsible investment and responsible innovation. 

Shu Dar Yao at Lucid Capitalism also comes to mind. She is a force, highly creative, and has her finger on the pulse of what’s possible for the industry. We had such a great conversation when we were together recently at the Women’s Venture Capital Summit. 

I would be remiss to not mention the inimitable Cheryl Dorsey, CEO of Echoing Green. Cheryl has been many things to me over my years of knowing her — a co-conspirator, super connector, visionary leader, and dear friend. Her work and wisdom have never been more important to the urgent problems we’re collectively facing. I would put Cheryl and the amazing EG fellows in charge of everything if I had a magic wand!

Behrman, NationSwell: What are you reading, watching, or listening to right now that is inspiring your leadership?

Hartman, Tiger Global: A piece of writing that I often find myself returning to and sharing with colleagues in similar spaces is “At the Edge of the Inside” a consideration of the works of theologian Richard Rohr. It emphasizes the importance of effecting change within an organization or system. If you’re on the outside of a system, you can’t fully understand or appreciate it. Conversely, if you’re too close to the center, you may not be able to see its shortcomings. 

That really resonates with me. During the first decade of my career, I often felt out of place. Traditional business people sometimes considered me too alternative, while the activist or nonprofit community sometimes viewed me as disingenuous. Rohr’s piece helped me understand the importance of navigating those edges and building bridges. I highly recommend it to those working within conventional systems but pursuing unconventional goals. 

On a lighter note, it’s essential to find joy, rest, and respite in our busy lives, which I often find when listening — and laughing — to the podcast SmartLess, hosted by Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman. It offers a delightful blend of entertainment and relaxation, reminding us to make time for lighthearted fun.

On a related note, I highly recommend the newsletter What Could Go Right, which offers a refreshing perspective amid today’s often negative news cycles. It’s easy to feel anxious or overwhelmed by the state of the world, but it’s essential to recognize the progress we’ve made and the potential for positive change. To address challenges as great as the climate crisis, we can’t rely solely on fear, scarcity, or reactive responses. We have to inspire and excite people by showing them what’s possible and giving them hope. 

To learn more about how our ESG Next honorees are shaping business as a force for social and environmental good, visit the series hub. Tiger Global is a NationSwell Institutional Member. To learn more about membership in NationSwell’s community of leading social impact and sustainability practitioners, visit our site.

Key learnings on the theme of business for good

Key learnings on the theme of business for good

 

NationSwell’s 2023 Summit brought together the most cutting-edge and committed leaders in ESG, social impact, philanthropy, and other select fields. Across a full day of programming, participants elevated exciting and promising ideas and initiatives, reflected and revitalized, and gleaned actionable insights, practices, and collaboration opportunities to propel their leadership forward.

One of the main themes of the day was business for good, through which presenters and guests explored how to better center their values, prioritize human connection, and bring forward a “Better + Bolder” version of themselves.

Below are key learnings from the NationSwell Summit on the theme of business for good.

Note: Key learnings are also available on the Summit themes of purpose-driven leadership and economic mobility. A panel discussion on the fourth theme of sustainability was off the record.

Key Learnings

Individuals most affected by social issues are often those closest to solutions.

Identity is core to the impact that individuals and organizations drive, and often has an outsized impact on sociopolitical progress. Often, those most affected by societal inequalities are instrumental in deeply understanding and responding to pivotal issues. For example, as Thea Gay (NationSwell Fellow) noted, current efforts toward mitigating climate change are often driven by those who are most vulnerable to environmental injustice, such as youth and LGBTQ+ communities. Relatedly, as a Black woman, T. Morgan Dixon (Founder and CEO, GirlTrek) is closely aligned to her organizational mission of healing and transforming the lives of Black women through walking and self-care. Leaders must embrace the aspects of their own identity that prepare them to identify and adopt solutions to societal challenges, while also acknowledging when it is most appropriate to seek out and invest in others.

The intersection of business, leadership, and advocacy requires continual self-reflection.

Whether a business leader or social activist, it is vital to think deeply about who you are and how your identity shows up in the work you do. As your work evolves, your own self discovery will take new forms, and you may realize that working toward social impact for other communities is tied to advocacy for yourself. Bringing humility and self-reflection to your day-to-day work can create trust within your organization and create a narrative of meaning behind the work you do. During past inflection points, Hamdi Ulukaya (Founder and CEO, Chobani) has embodied self-reflection by asking for direct feedback from his entire staff on his leadership. He notes that success is a powerful influence and that course correction from your community is vital to staying true to your vision.

The social impact field is ripe for harnessing the collective power of technology and talent.

The potent social power of technological advancement, particularly around AI, is illustrated by the White House’s recent request that technology CEOs limit the risks of AI. But AI carries significant opportunities alongside its risks. As more talent enters the technology field, there are opportunities to mobilize platforms and employees for social good. For example, Sid Espinosa (Head of Social Impact, GitHub) notes that GitHub has created a huge network of passionate new developers that are eager to play a role in using technology for impact. Given the immense and growing power of technology and AI, organizations should anticipate headwinds and tailwinds relating to their own operations and consider how they can connect dots between their work, the evolution of the technology field, and social good. At GitHub, this perspective resulted in a partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council, through which the company used its AI capabilities to deliver cash transfers to Ukrainians during conflict.

 

  1. Doing business for good often means seamlessly integrating – and responding to – information about the social and economic environment in which a company carries out its operations.

  2. Contributing financial resources toward advancing social impact is important, but can only go so far. To achieve organic and sustained impact, business leaders must assess the context in which they operate – often including characteristics outside of their control – and use that awareness to advance their goals. For example, in 2016, Hamdi Ulukaya (Founder and CEO, Chobani), identified refugee rights as a pivotal issue in the U.S. As such, there was a significant number of refugees in close proximity to Chobani’s manufacturing facility in upstate New York. Hamdi was able to increase their hiring of refugees to 30% of their total workforce, achieving a win-win for the company’s social impact agenda and the community within which it operates.
  1. Making a business case for investing in social impact is effective at generating buy-in, but doing it “meaningfully” creates sustainable change.

  2. According to Hamdi Ulukaya (Founder and CEO, Chobani), business is the most powerful platform for creating meaningful, sustainable change. Through the Tent Partnership for Refugees, he has found that CEOs often respond positively to understanding a clear business case for investing in an area of social good. For example, he cited that hiring refugees leads to high retention rates and demonstrable return on investment within two years. However, sustainable investment and long-term impact is escalated by business leaders who are dedicated to the meaning behind an issue. For some, this may be found through personal motivation, while others can look to their consumers and employees to lead the way.
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