By Anna Goldberg (’18)
Students in the UCLA Anderson chapter of Net Impact and the Investment Finance Association gathered for the first High Impact Tea of the academic year to hear from guest K. Robert “Bobby” Turner, principal and CEO of Turner Impact Capital LLC. Although one might not associate students focused on positive social change with students interested in finance and investing, Turner proved stereotypes wrong in his candid talk about how profits and purpose work very well together.
Turner has established himself as a pioneer in the area of social impact investing and has spent the latter part of his career proving that a company does not need to sacrifice mission or capital in order to be successful in both. He spoke frankly about being a “recovering capitalist and philanthropist,” having started his career wanting only to make money. As a successful executive, he began donating to philanthropic organizations, but soon realized that giving money was only “treating the issues, and not curing them.” He went on to help define the “triple bottom line” investment movement, dedicating his professional career to providing not only sound financial returns for his investors, but also education, safety and sustainable options for communities around the U.S.
The audience was captivated by Turner’s honesty and realism, and we could have sat for hours listening to him speak. For the Anderson student body, who care about becoming successful business leaders as well as driving change in the world, Turner’s talk was the perfect embodiment of Anderson’s core values.
Anna Goldberg is chief of staff to the president of UCLA Anderson’s Women’s Business Connection and director of academics and alumni for the Anderson chapter of Net Impact.
Comments