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The Capital Institute is a non-partisan, transdisciplinary Collaborative Space, founded in 2009 by former JPMorgan Managing Director John Fullerton.
Our mission is to explore and effect economic transition to a more just, resilient, and sustainable way of living on this earth through the transformation of finance.
Capital Institute was born out of an observation of nature, a premise, and three questions.
Observation: Exponential growth of the macro economy is in conflict with the physical limitations of a finite planet. The incompatibility of the current economic and financial paradigm, one that operates without ecosystem limits, has caused immeasurable social and environmental damage and threatens the future health and well-being of the planet.
Premise: The economic system is an integral part of the natural biosphere within which it sits. Our financial and economic systems, while continuing to provide for society’s needs, must evolve to work in concert with the planet’s systems. Although challenging, such a transformation is possible through innovative thinking, the pioneering of new designs and solutions, and bold and decisive action.
Question 1: What would an economic system that operates within the physical boundaries of the biosphere, while more equitably serving the needs of people, look like?
Question 2: How must the practice of finance and the financial system itself evolve in order to fuel and sustain the transition to such an economic system?
Question 3: What is the purpose of capital in such an economic system?
Our Challenge: Economic and Financial Systems Are Not Sustainable
Our economic system is driven by short-term profit maximization and financial wealth accumulation. It depends on the continuous depletion of the earth's resources and escalating aggregate consumption. This brand of capitalism, exported around the world with its many notable achievements, has two fundamental flaws:
The World is Full: The $60 trillion global economy now uses up 1.4 times the Earth’s capacity to regenerate resources per year, a condition known as ecological overshoot. Multiple symptoms of this ecological deficit, most notably climate change, have begun to manifest themselves in ways that can no longer be ignored. Basic physics tells us that business as usual is unsustainable. We cannot invent our way onto a perpetual, indiscriminate growth track. Instead, systemic changes in our growth model will be required that prioritize economic activities based on how well they support the long-term health and well-being of the planet.
Wealth Disparity: Ecological and societal collapse often go hand-in-hand, with reinforcing feedback. An equally disturbing trend, and one that is heightening societal tensions, is increasing wealth disparity. The top 2% of the world’s population now controls more than half of global financial wealth, while the poorest half of the world owns a mere 1%. Income gaps between rich and poor have more than doubled in the past half-century. Historically, income disparities of this magnitude have brought on revolutions.
Read more about the context of the challenges we face here.
The Capital Institute will:
* .. Look to an understanding of natural systems and the emergence process as a metaphor and model for the transformation unfolding in the global economy
* .. Embrace human potential, ingenuity, and courage for achieving this transformation
* .. Publicize the imperative of balancing our prior unsustainable objective of “economic efficiency” with a renewed appreciation for the imperative of resiliency that is present in all sustainable systems
* .. Explore a shift in the goals of the system from misguided GDP growth to metrics of well-being which include limits to inequality and ecosystem health
* .. Recognize that there is a universal “purpose of capital” which will fuel this transition
* .. Embrace a holistic decision making where social, environmental, and economic factors are consistently valued and managed
* .. Advocate for a world that respects and embraces collaboration while maintaining a healthy balance of competition and the benefits it can bring, rather than competition at all costs
* .. Promote an economic and financial system that puts the commons, upon which we all depend, first and individual needs and wants second
Differentiation
As a Collaborative Space, the Capital Institute operates within a network of innovative financial institutions, investment practitioners, businesses, and trans-disciplinary academic and non-academic experts focused on the intersection of sustainability and finance.
Capital Institute works to identify, examine, initiate, and illuminate the qualities of a financial system that will drive and support prosperity through a socially and ecologically resilient economy. We begin by drawing on natural systems science to understand the patterns and principles of resilient economic and financial systems, and engage with practitioners of working, scalable models that are incubating elements of this emergent system. By bringing our trans-disciplinary network of experts together around these models, we seek to identify and synthesize broader principles and practices of finance that can fuel the transition to a sustainable economy.
Ideas + initiating practice + trans-disciplinary thinking = emergent framework.
Our Great Challenge and Joint Responsibility
Our generation’s challenges will be many. We must redefine our understanding of wealth, and set new goals for our economic system. This will require establishing new objectives for policymakers and leading institutions, as well as formulating improved metrics of success. Each of us at a personal level will also need to question our values and summon the integrity needed to preserve what we hold dear. At the core, we must ask, what kind of world do we want to leave for our children and future generations, and do we have the will to shift our present course?
Imagine the wisdom and power the Capital Institute will draw to its vision:
Capital fueling the transition to a just, resilient, and sustainable economy
Board of Advisers
Peter G. Brown
Peter G. Brown is a professor in the School of Environment, the Department of Geography, and the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at McGill University. Before heading to McGill, he was Professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland’s graduate School of Public Affairs; while at Maryland he founded the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, the School of Public Policy, and also established the School’s Environmental Policy Programs. He is a graduate of Haverford College, holds a Masters Degree in Philosophy of Religion from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from Columbia in Philosophy. He is the author of Restoring the Public Trust: A Fresh Vision for Progressive Government in America and Ethics, The Commonwealth of Life: Economics For a Flourishing Earth, and Right Relationship: Building Whole Earth Economies.
Brown is involved in conservation efforts in the James Bay and Southern regions of Quebec, as well as in Maryland. He operates tree farms in both locales and is a Certified Quebec Forest Producer, named Tree Farmer of The Year of Garrett County, Maryland in 1995. He is a member of the Religious Society of Friends.
Graciela Chichilnisky
Graciela Chichilnisky is the author of the carbon market of the UN Kyoto Protocol that became international law in 2005. She also created the concept of Basic Needs voted by 153 nations at the 1993 UN Earth Summit to be the cornerstone of Sustainable Development, and in 1996 created the formal theory of Sustainable Development that is used worldwide. Chichilnisky is a world renowned economist and mathematician that the Washington Post calls an 'A-List Star' and appeared in the 2009 Time Magazine on 'Heroes of the Environment'. Chichilnisky acted as a US Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which received the 2007 Nobel Prize. A special adviser to several UN organizations, heads of state and US Congress, her pioneering work uses innovative market mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions, conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Chichilnisky has a Masters and a PhD in Mathematics from MIT and UC Berkeley and a second PhD in Economics from UC Berkeley. She has taught at Harvard University, Stanford and Columbia University. Dr. Chichilnisky is a Professor of Economics and Mathematical Statistics at Columbia University, Director of Columbia Consortium for Risk Management (CCRM) (http://columbiariskmanagement.org), a former Senator and UNESCO Chair in Mathematics and Economics at Columbia University, and currently the Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Professor at Monash University in Melbourne, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Nankai University and at Beijing Normal University in China, and a Founder and Managing Director of Global Thermostat LLC (http://globalthermostat.com). Dr. Chichilnisky has authored 14 books and over 250 articles published in leading academic journals and popular news media outlets, such as Time Magazine and the Financial Times. She is a frequent commentator on CNN, ABC, BBC TV News, and Bloomberg News. Her most recent books are Saving Kyoto, published in fall 2009, and The Economics of Climate Change, published in fall 2010. Dr. Chichilnisky was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of a successful financial telecommunications company, FITEL, the CEO and Chairman of a successful financial technology company, Cross Border Exchange, owned by JP Morgan. She is an advisor to the Capital Institute, a member of the UK Climate Bonds Initiative, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the National Resources Defense Council. Chichilnisky is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who is Who of American Women, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in Education and in the Dictionary of International Biography among the world's 1,000 most outstanding scientists of the 21st century. In 2007 she was identified by Hispanic Business among the top 10 most influential Latinos in the US. A native of Argentina, Professor Chichilnisky is a U.S. citizen, the mother of two children, and a resident of New York City.
Penelope Douglas
Penelope Douglas is Founder of Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), a hybrid organization that stimulates economic development in California’s low-income communities. Pacific Community Ventures manages three socially-responsible investment funds and provides innovative resources to emerging businesses and their low-income workers. In addition, Douglas is also a Partner in Pacific Community Ventures, LLC. Before founding PCV, Douglas was Senior Vice President at Odwalla, Inc., Chief Administrative Officer at Morrison & Foerster, and chair of the Morrison & Foerster Foundation. She has also held senior management positions at Ernst & Young and Wells Fargo Bank. As co-founder of the first west coast community venture fund, Douglas is a pioneer and thought leader in the area of community development investment. She has served on the board of directors of the Community Development Venture Capital Association (CDVCA) and is a frequent presenter at industry conferences. She currently serves on the boards of New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC), New Vine Logistics, and Evergreen Lodge, in addition to having served as chair of Larkin Street Youth Center, chair of the Children’s Television Education and Resource Center, chair of San Francisco Friends of the Urban Forest and founding chair of Juma Ventures. Douglas is a California native and her education includes a B.A. from Smith College. She is also an artist and an athlete who has competed in four Ironman distance triathlons and numerous long distance races.
Phil Duff
Philip N. Duff is founder and Chief Executive Officer at Massif Partners, an institutional investment manager focused on the solvency of funding long term liabilities. Prior to founding Massif Partners, Mr. Duff was one of the founding partners of FrontPoint Partners LLC, an investment management firm, and served as its Chairman and CEO from November 2000 to December 2006. In December 2006, FrontPoint Partners was sold to Morgan Stanley. Prior to his starting FrontPoint Partners in 2000, Mr. Duff was the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Managing Director of Tiger Management from 1998 to 2000. Before joining Tiger, Mr. Duff spent much of his career at Morgan Stanley and served as the Chief Financial Officer of Morgan Stanley from 1994 to 1997. From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Duff served as President and CEO of VanKampen Investments, a mutual fund acquired by Morgan Stanley. Mr. Duff started his career at Morgan Stanley in 1984 in investment banking, where he became head of the Financial Institutions Group. Mr. Duff received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Hazel Henderson
Dr. Hazel Henderson is a world-renowned futurist, evolutionary economist, a worldwide syndicated columnist, consultant on sustainable development, and author of Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy and nine other books. Her editorials appear in 27 languages and more than 200 newspapers syndicated by InterPress Service, Rome, New York, and Washington DC. Her articles have appeared in over 250 journals, including (in USA) Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and Challenge, Mainichi (Japan), El Diario (Venezuela), World Economic Herald (China), and Australian Financial Review. Her books are translated into German, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Korean, Portuguese, and Chinese. She founded the independent media social enterprise Ethical Markets Media (USA and Brazil) in 2004 and serves as president and editor. She sits on several editorial boards, including FUTURES, FORESIGHT, The State of the Future Report, E/The Environmental Magazine, and Resurgence. She is a Fellow of the World Business Academy and co-edited, with Harlan Cleveland and Inge Kaul The United Nations: Policy and Financing Alternatives (Elsevier Science, 1995), a Report of the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations. As a fulltime media executive, Henderson resigned from her former board associations, including Worldwatch Institute (1975-2001) and the Calvert Social Investment Fund (1982-2005). She co-created with Calvert Group, Inc.: the Calvert-Henderson Quality-of-Life Indicators in 2000, updated regularly at www.calvert-henderson.com. She is an Honorary Member of the Club of Rome and a Fellow of Britain’s Royal Society for the Arts, founded in 1754. She has many honorary degrees, was Regent’s Lecturer at the University of California (Santa Barbara), held the Horace Albright Chair in Conservation at the University of California (Berkeley), and advised the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment and the National Science Foundation from 1974 to 1980. She is an active member of the National Press Club (Washington DC), the Social Venture Network, and the World Futures Society (USA). Henderson also shared the 1996 Global Citizen Award with Nobelist A. Perez Esquivel of Argentina. She is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in Business and Finance and Who's Who in Science and Technology.
Simon Rich
Simon Rich serves by appointment of the Governor on the North Carolina Economic Development Board and chairs the Innovation and Technology committee. He also serves on the Governor’s Energy Policy Council. Formerly he was Chairman and CEO of Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas and President of Louis Dreyfus Holding Corp; the Louis Dreyfus Group holds a global position in all areas of energy and agriculture including production, processing and merchandising. Mr. Rich is former chairman and emeritus member of the board of visitors of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University and teaches courses in Energy and Environment within the school. He is chairman of Environmental Defense Fund in North Carolina, and the former chairman and current member of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, the largest sustainable agriculture program in the US a partnership of the NC Department of Agriculture, NC A&T University, and NC State University. Mr. Rich is on the board of Triangle Capital Corporation, NSDQ symbol TCAP, a business development company operating throughout the southeast; Verenium , NSDQ symbol VRNM, a cellulosic ethanol developer and enzyme production company. Mr. Rich is a 1967 graduate of Duke University.
Allan Savory
Allan Savory was born in Zimbabwe and educated in South Africa (University of Natal – BSc Biology and Botany). He pursued an early career as a research biologist and game ranger in the British Colonial Service of what was then Northern Rhodesia (today Zambia), and later as a farmer and game rancher in Zimbabwe. In the 1960s he made a significant breakthrough in understanding what was causing the degradation and desertification of the world’s grassland ecosystems and, as a resource management consultant, worked with numerous managers across four continents to develop sustainable solutions. He served as a Member of Parliament in the latter days of Zimbabwe’s civil war and leader of the opposition to the ruling party headed by Ian Smith. Exiled in 1979 as a result of his opposition, he emigrated to the United States where he co-founded the Center for Holistic Management with his wife, Jody Butterfield and in 2009, the Savory Institute. In 1992 they founded the Africa Centre for Holistic Management near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe whose purpose is to enhance food and water security and human livelihoods through training that utilizes livestock to restore degraded watersheds and croplands to health. Their book, Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision-Making (Island Press, 1999) describes Savory’s effort to find workable solutions ordinary people could implement to overcome many of the problems besetting communities and businesses today. In 2003, Allan Savory received Australia’s International Banksia Award “for the person or organization doing the most for the environment on a global scale,” joining previous recipients Rachel Carson, and David Attenborough, among others.
Gus Speth
Gus Speth is the Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor in the Practice of Environmental Policy at Yale where he served as Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies from 1999 to 2009. From 1993 to 1999, Dean Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Chair of the UN Development Group. Prior to his service at the UN, he was Founder and President of the World Resources Institute; Professor of Law at Georgetown University; Chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality; and Senior Attorney and Co-founder, Natural Resources Defense Council. Throughout his career, Dean Speth has provided leadership and entrepreneurial initiatives to many task forces and committees whose roles have been to combat environmental degradation, including the President’s Task Force on Global Resources and Environment; the Western Hemisphere Dialogue on Environment and Development; and the National Commission on the Environment. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation’s Resources Defense Award, the Natural Resources Council of America’s Barbara Swain Award of Honor, a 1997 Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Law Institute and the League of Conservation Voters, and the Blue Planet Prize. He holds honorary degrees from Clark University, the College of the Atlantic, the Vermont Law School, Middlebury College, and the University of South Carolina. Publications include The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability, Global Environmental Governance, Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment, Worlds Apart: Globalization and the Environment, and articles in Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, The Nation, The Harvard Business Review, and other journals and books. Professor Speth currently serves on the boards of the Natural Resources Defense Council, World Resources Institute, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Population Action International, Center for Humans and Nature, 1Sky, and Climate Central. In July 2010, Professor Speth will join the faculty of the Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vermont.
Joseph Stanislaw
Joseph Stanislaw is founder of the advisory firm The JAStanislaw Group, LLC, and an Independent Senior Advisor to the Energy & Resources group of Deloitte LLP. Dr. Stanislaw was a founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and was Managing Director for non-U.S. activity until he was named President and CEO. Dr. Stanislaw is an adjunct professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. He serves on the Boards of several corporations and NGOs with interests in the areas of clean, alternative, and renewable energy. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Stanislaw was a Research Fellow, lecturer in economics, and founding member of the Energy Research Group at Cambridge University. He was a Senior Economist at the International Energy Agency in Paris. Dr. Stanislaw is the co-author with Daniel Yergin of The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy. Dr. Stanislaw received a B.A., cum laude, from Harvard College, a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Edinburgh, and holds an Honorary Doctorate and Professorship from Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas.
Stewart Wallis
Stewart Wallis is the Executive Director of New Economics Foundation (NEF), an independent think-and-do tank based in the UK that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being through challenging mainstream thinking on economic, environment and social issues. Prior to NEF, Mr. Wallis was International Director of Oxfam with responsibility for 2500 staff in 70 countries and for all Oxfam’s policy, research, development and emergency work worldwide. He was awarded the OBE for services to Oxfam in 2002. He has previously worked for the World Bank in Washington DC, focusing on industrial and financial development in East Asia. He then worked for Robinson Packaging in Derbyshire for nine years, the last five as Managing Director, leading a successful business turnaround. Mr. Wallis has a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and a Masters Degree in Business and Economics from the London Business School.
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Board of Directors
Diana Propper de Callejon
Diana Propper de Callejon is a General Partner at the venture capital firm, Expansion Capital Partners, where she co-manages the firm’s dedicated cleantech fund. Prior to Expansion Capital, Diana was the co-founder and Managing Director of EA Capital, a financial services firm that advised clients on new business and investment opportunities in resource efficiency and greentech investments. Diana is a frequent speaker at Clean Technology and sustainability investment conferences. She has also been a speaker at the Philanthropy Workshop for the Hewlett and the Rockefeller Foundations. Diana currently serves on the Board of Directors of CPower, SensorTran and Tiger Optics, and also served as a member of the Board of Orion Energy Systems through its successful IPO. Diana has written on venture capital investing in Clean Technology for such publications as Morgan Stanley’s Investor Outlook and Sustainable Business Investor, and is Co-Editor of the ground breaking report, “Cleantech Venture Investing: Patterns & Performance”. Diana earned a BA, summa cum laude, from Duke University, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
John Fullerton
John Fullerton is the Founder and President of the Capital Institute. He is also the Founder of Level 3 Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment firm focused on high impact sustainable private investments. Previously, he was seed investor and CEO of Alerian Capital Management, an investment firm focused on energy infrastructure that grew to $250mm in assets under under his leadership, and before that, a Managing Director of JPMorgan. During an 18-year career at JPMorgan, John managed multiple capital markets and derivatives businesses around the globe, and finally ran the venture investment activity of LabMorgan as Chief Investment Officer. He was JPMorgan’s representative on the Long Term Capital Oversight Committee in 1997-98. John is currently a director of the New Economics Institute, Investors' Circle, New Day Farms, Inc., and an Advisor to Natural Systems Utilities. He is a participant/author of the UNEP Green Economy Report. John earned a BA in Economics at the University of Michigan, and an MBA at the Stern School of New York University’s in the Executive MBA Program.
Robert Johnson
Dr. Robert A. Johnson is the Executive Director of the newly created Institute for New Economic Thinking, backed by George Soros. He serves on the United Nations Commission of Experts on International Monetary Reform under the Chairmanship of Joseph Stiglitz. He is also the Director of Economic Policy for the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI) in New York. Dr. Johnson was previously a managing director at Soros Fund Management where he managed a global currency, bond and equity portfolio specializing in emerging markets. Prior to that time, Dr. Johnson was a managing director of Bankers Trust Company managing a global currency fund. He also served as Chief Economist of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee under the leadership of Chairman William Proxmire (D. Wisconsin) and before that, he was Senior Economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee under the leadership of Chairman Pete Domenici (R. New Mexico).
Dr. Johnson received a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Economics from Princeton University. He received a B.S. in both Electrical Engineering and Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Peter Kinder
Peter Kinder co-founded KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. in 1988, in Boston, Mass., and served as its president and board chair until its sale to Risk Metrics Group in 2009. At its sale, KLD was the world’s leading provider of social investment research and indices. He remains a consultant to MSCI, Inc., which bought Risk Metrics in June 2010. Mr. Kinder blogs (www.thebell.us and http://blog.riskmetrics.com/) on economics, legal issues affecting his niche, the evolving nature of the corporation, fiduciary duties and the passing scene. He co-authored three books in his field: Ethical Investing (1984); The Social Investment Almanac (1992); and Investing for Good (1993). He has spoken to audiences on four continents. Mr. Kinder serves on the boards of The Capital Institute and of the Center for Political Accountability, the finance advisory committee of the Wallace Global Fund, a private foundation, the President’s Council of CERES and the Marlboro College MBA Program Circle of Advisers. Mr. Kinder served two terms on the board of the U.S. Social Investment Forum, one as vice chair. KLD was a co-founder of the Sustainable Investment Research International Group (SiRi) and Mr. Kinder served on its board. He was a co-founder and principal (1997-2000) of Domini Social Investments, LLC. From 1973 to 1988, Mr. Kinder practiced law, first as an assistant attorney general in Ohio, then in Boston as a staff lawyer for a foundation and finally in private practice. He specialized in administrative law and corporate regulation. Mr. Kinder received an A.B. in History from Princeton University in 1970 and a J.D. from Ohio State University in 1973, both with honors.
Lawrence Lunt
Lawrence Lunt, a native of Brussels, directs the US arm of his family office, Armonia, whose mission is to invest 100% in innovative sustainable impact investments. He sits on the Board of several of Armonia’s portfolio companies. Mr. Lunt began his career with General Motors in Tokyo, Japan in 1984 as an automobile industry analyst and later transferred to GM’s newly acquired computer services subsidiary, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in London. In 1990, he became a Director of the ARTAL Group, a Luxemburg private holding company owned by his family. In 2007, Armonia helped seed the launch of TBL Capital, an intentional, patient capital venture fund focused on the needs of the entrepreneur with a balanced emphasis on people, planet and profit. Mr. Lunt also created Fun Machine, a music production and publishing company promoting various music genres with the Latin producer Andres Levin. He has released several CD’s as a singer-songwriter. Among his philanthropic activities Mr. Lunt founded the Barat Foundation at the Convent of Sacred Heart of Greenwich whose mission is to educate students in philanthropy. In 2002 he helped restart the international education program Up With People, a global youth program building bridges of understanding to promote world peace. In 2008, he helped launch Ashoka in Belgium. He is a member of the Social Venture Network and Investor Circle, and has a strong interest in preserving the Arctic. He is also a member of the Nature Resource Defense Council’s Global Leadership Council and of the International Polar Foundation. Mr. Lunt has a degree in Economics from Louvain University and received an MBA from Sophia University. He is married with three daughters.
Richard Zimmerman
Richard Zimmerman is a Senior Vice President, Private Banker for HSBC Private Bank in New York. Along with this role he serves as a representative to the Private Bank's Sustainability Initiative. Richard has also held senior positions in private wealth management at Bessemer Trust, Bank of America, and J.P. Morgan. Mr. Zimmerman combines his financial career with a passionate interest in helping individuals and organizations operate in more conscious and sustainable ways in the world. He sees innovative opportunities emerging to utilize capital to have both a positive financial return and a beneficial social impact. Mr. Zimmerman is ardently involved in philanthropy, having served as a board director and in strategic advisory roles for a number of not-for-profits in the areas of AIDS, child advocacy, and the environment. He is a board advisor to StartFund, a global fund that provides early stage matching grants to impactful projects around the world. He is a published author of 'What Can I Do to Make a Difference,' Penguin Books USA, a positive source action book which addresses issues of global sustainability and outlines practical ideas to affect positive change. He also has a background in personal development as a motivational speaker, writer, and coach. Mr. Zimmerman is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a Bachelor's degree in English literature and is attending Columbia University for a Masters Degree in Sustainability Management. He lives in New York City with his two teenage children.
Leadership
John Fullerton, Founder and President, leads all activities of the Capital Institute. Since the formal launch of Capital Institute in 2010, John has established himself as a thought leader in the 'new economy' space, on financial reform, and as a leading practitionor of 'impact investing'. He writes a weekly blog, 'The Future of Finance' at Capital Institute, and speaks regularly on the intersection of sustainability, social justice, and finance. John is also the principal of Level 3 Capital Advisors, LLC, an investment firm focused on high impact sustainable private investments.
During his 18-year career at JP Morgan ending in 2001, John managed multiple capital markets and derivatives businesses around the globe, and subsequently ran the venture investment activity of LabMorgan as Chief Investment Officer. He was JPMorgan’s representative on the Long Term Capital Oversight Committee in 1997-98. John is currently a director of Grasslands, LLC, New Day Farms, Inc., the New Economics Institute, and an Advisor to Natural Systems Utilities. He was a participant of the UNEP Green Economy Report. John's impact investment activity with Level 3 Capital Advisors is highly complementary with his work at Capital Institute, and brings a unique “theory and practice” experience that helps inform our work.
The Capital Institute Team
Susan Arterian Chang, Director of Content and The Field Guide to Investing in a Resilient Economy Project. Susan is a journalist and researcher with over 20 years of experience reporting on major trends in the global financial markets. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Reed College and did graduate work at New York University’s Stern School of Business in the MBA program, with a concentration in finance. The eight years she spent as the publisher of a community newspaper in a small city struggling to grow sustainably while undergoing large-scale redevelopment inspires her passion to get Wall Street to work for a sustainable quality of life on Main Street. In early 2010 she launched The Impact Investor, a site reporting on the capital markets activity developing around enterprises and funds created from the ground up to achieve desired social and/or environmental impacts. The Impact Investor is now a project of The Capital Institute.
Jason Chang worked at the United Nations headquarters, The Korean Foundation for World Aid, and General Board of Church and Society Advocating for the United Nations prior to joining the Capital Institute. He is a graduate of Drew University, where he majored in political science and psychology, and holds a Master's degree in economics from the New School for Social Research. His interests include development economics, international economics, history of economic thought, and world political economy.
Dan Thompson comes to Capital Institute from a year with New York public policy think tank Demos and a host of student organizing experiences at Berklee College of Music. His interests include alternative economic theory. He is currently Capital Institute's Director of Communications.
Devin McIntire has advised, founded and run social ventures in India, Tanzania and the US. He is working at Capital Institute for the summer and is currently an MS/MBA dual degree student in the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan. His research is focused on identifying and describing 'Coordinations'-- a new type of organization that is emerging at the intersection of 'peer-production'/'co-creation' and 'collaborative consumption'/'sharing economy.' He is also the founder of Real Good Food-- a new, web-based food exchange for enthusiastic home cooks.
David J Nicola, Capital Institute Fellow, spent 7 years on Wall Street working as a portfolio manager at BlueMountain Capital Management and investment banking analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. After stepping away from Wall Street in 2009, David spent time traveling abroad, volunteering, and pursuing photography. During that time he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, studied lions with the Earthwatch Institute in Kenya, participated in the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in India, and created a self-published photo book - http://www.blurb.com/user/dnicola. David traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Europe & the Western US in 2009 and 2010. He is a co-founder and board member of The Nature Conservancy's Young Professionals Group in NYC. Please see links to his photo website: www.davidjnicolaphoto.com and travel blog: www.dnicola.blogspot.com
Liana Scobie, Capital Institute Fellow, writes about sustainable urban economic development. At Smart Cities Advisors, she analyzes leading-edge business models and best practices in emerging markets. Liana graduated from Colorado College, where she wrote her thesis on the promise and challenges of social accounting. Her previous work in Havana, Copenhagen, and La Plata, Argentina, has furthered her interest in entrepreneurial solutions to environmental stewardship and social inclusion.
Rick Keating is chief executive officer of Keating & Co. Keating’s “think. say. hear.” philosophy has built his company into a highly regarded boutique public relations firm. Rick is collaborating with Capital Institute to craft, clarify, and communicate our message, bringing to bear over 25 years of experience counseling individuals, companies and organizations with transformational ideas in the areas of sustainability, new economy, social justice, economic/financial reform, and business. He is currently writing a book on the role of empathy in strategic counseling. Rick is a graduate of Villanova University, with dual degrees in English and Communications, and of MIT-Harvard's Public Disputes and Mediation Program.
Capital Institute has identified 6 critical leverage points which serve as the focus of our work.
Each Capital Institute program will address at least one and often two or more of these leverage points. We believe that system change can only occur if fundamental transformation of both theory and practice occurs around each of these areas.
Redefining Wealth: We must re-imagine the notion of wealth
Redefining Wealth
The current economic and financial paradigm drives a global citizenry to pursue financial gain at the expense of social justice and ecological resiliency. We have defined wealth narrowly in terms of financial gain when it is just as much about personal and social well-being. We must re-imagine wealth. Our work will include exploration and discussion of, and research into the root causes and effects of the wealth gap, as well as the transformations necessary to promote true well-being as the goal of the system, not simply the pursuit of money.
Financial System Architecture: Balancing resiliency with efficiency
Financial System Architecture
The financial crisis of 2008 illuminated the need to reform the current architecture of the financial system. Our work will address: the banking system, the monetary system, and the structure and regulation of markets for both private and public goods. We will draw on natural systems design as a model and metaphor.
Current initiatives include the Committee to Transform Finance (CTF) and policy recommendations on a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT).
Real Investment: How we choose to invest today will determine tomorrow's economy
Real Investment
Real investment decisions today - by government, business, and private individuals - are the bridge to a just and resilient economy of tomorrow. The short-term speculation that dominates our finance-driven capitalism has nothing to do with real investment, a distinction largely absent in modern finance. Capital Institute will illuminate the need to revise our current capital allocation process, improve investment tools and methodologies, and align decision making with the requirements of an environmentally sustainable and more socially just economic system.
* .. Theoretical Framework - what will complement conventional IRR and modern portfolio theory that will integrate social and ecological risks and hard boundaries into the investment decision making process.
* .. Real Investment versus Financial Investment - what tools and policies are needed to redirect the flow of real investment capital deployed by corporations, governments, institutional funds, and individuals in order to fuel the transition to a sustainable economic system.
* .. SRI/ESG - how far has Socially Responsible Investment and Environmental, Social, Governance metrics taken us, and what more can we expect from these established frameworks for public securities investment.
* .. Impact Investment - what role will 'impact investment' play in shifting the flow of real investment capital and how can this be scaled to affect the quality of the global economic system.
* .. Practice Partner - Walking the talk is central to what we do. Level 3 Capital Advisors is founder John Fullerton's private 'impact investment' portfolio.
Tools, Methodologies, & Metrics: What gets measured gets managed
Tools & Metrics
A just, resilient, and sustainable society will require the development of new economic and financial theories, as well as government measurements that acknowledge that the purpose of the economy is to promote the well being of society and the planet. We must move beyond a focus on GDP metrics for determining well-being and must include measures of happiness, environmental health, and social welfare. Continued recognition and incorporation of externalities in personal, economic, and government decision-making must also be explored and embraced.
Public Policy: Realigning the system to serve the economy within the constraints of a finite planet
Public Policy
It is our view at Capital Institute that the transformation to a just, resilient, and sustainable economic system will require the force and scope of effective public policy. We will advocate for financial, banking, and monetary reform and will support legislation and policy measures that promote good corporate governance, social well-being, the preservation of the ecosystem, and a reduction in the wealth gap.
Capital Institute has joined the call for meaningful financial reform. We are proud to have joined Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of over 200 organizations that have come together to spearhead a campaign for real reform in our banking and financial system.
Capital Institute lends a balanced and experienced practitioner's voice to the critical public policy debate that has moved to center stage in American politics.
Corporate Governance & Stakeholder Responsibility: All stakeholders must play a role
Corporate Governance & Stakeholder Responsibility
The role of the stakeholder is important for transforming to a more just, resilient, and sustainable way of living in this world. Corporations must broaden their definition of value creation to include value to all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Individuals must also take responsibility for their choices as consumers of not only corporate products, but also ecosystem resources and services.
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