Editor’s note: This article is part of a continuing series in which Paul Ellis, a well-known advisor and consultant on sustainable investing strategies, interviews industry professionals on the topics of millennials and sustainable investing. What follows is an interview with two industry experts from ImpactAssets, a nonprofit financial services firm that increases the flow of capital into investments that deliver financial, social and environmental returns: Mackenzie Colgan, regional director, distribution and Beth Stelluto, chief growth officer.
To read the first article in the series, click here: /news/the-wise-woman-and-the-millennial-23738.html
To read the second article in the series, click here: /news/millennials-leading-the-way-in-sustainable-investing-24019.html
Paul: Kenzie, how did you get involved in the sustainable and impact investment field?
Kenzie: I was in Nairobi when I was 18, working for a nonprofit. I watched the flow of development capital coming into countries trying to solve huge issues and saw the waste and lack of accountability in that system. When I returned to the U.S., I went to work initially for the Clinton Foundation. From there, I joined a mainstream asset manager to learn the capital markets. I married the two approaches in the impact investment space, working to source deals for the Acumen Fund’s health portfolio back in Nairobi. Then I got a call to interview with ImpactAssets and joined the organization.
Paul: Beth, you’ve been at ImpactAssets for two years. How did you get there?
Beth: I took a different route than Kenzie did. I’ve spent my whole career in financial services, the bulk of it at Schwab where I led several marketing and product development teams, so I understand capital markets and the mindset of the individual investor and advisor. But philanthropically, I’m interested in global microfinance and environmental issues. When Ron Cordis, an ImpactAssets board member called to say “ Beth, we really need someone like you to help us scale,” I jumped at the chance to work with him and the other members of their team.
Paul: Kenzie, you were already on board when Beth joined the firm. Did the two of you start working together immediately?
Kenzie and Beth: Yes!