Event details
Programme
17.15-18.00 – Registration, tea and coffee
18.00-18.10 – Introduction by Francisco Veloso, Dean of Imperial College Business School
18.10-18.30 – Author Alex Edmans presentation of the book
18.30-18.50 – Alex Edmans and Jessica Ground, Global Head of ESG at Capital Group, book discussion
18.50-19.05 – Audience Q&A
19.05 onwards – Drinks reception. Complimentary signed copies of the book will be available
The book
Should companies be run to earn a profit, or to serve a purpose? In this inspiring book, which was named one of the Financial Times' Books of the Year for 2020, Alex Edmans shows it’s not an either-or choice. Drawing from the highest-quality evidence and real-life examples spanning industries and countries, Edmans demonstrates that businesses driven by purpose are consistently more successful in the long term. But a purposeful company must navigate difficult trade-offs and take tough decisions. Edmans provides an actionable roadmap for company leaders to put purpose into practice, and overcome the hurdles that hold many back. He explains how investors can discern which companies are truly purposeful rather than greenwashing, and engage with them to unleash value for both shareholders and society. And he highlights the crucial role that citizens can play as employees, customers and investors, in reshaping business to improve our world.
The author
Professor Alex Edmans is a Professor of Finance at London Business School and Academic Director of the Centre for Corporate Governance. Alex graduated from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York). After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 and was tenured in 2013 shortly before moving to LBS.
Alex’s research interests are in corporate finance, responsible business and behavioural finance. He is Managing Editor of the Review of Finance, the leading academic finance journal in Europe. His research has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, The Economist, and The Times, and he has been interviewed by Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, Fox, ITV, NPR, Reuters, Sky News, and Sky Sports. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, presented to the World Bank Board of Directors as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series, and given the TED talk What to Trust in a Post-Truth World and the TEDx talk The Social Responsibility of Business with a combined 2.3 million views.
Jessica Ground
Jessica is Global Head of ESG at Capital Group. She is responsible for enhancing and executing ESG strategy with a focus investment integration and company engagement. She is also responsible for working regulators, clients and additional 3rd parties raising the visibility of Capital Group’s ESG capabilities.
Previously Jessica spent 23 years at Schroders, where she was the Global Head of Stewardship and has over 20 years of experience in the industry. She joined Schroders in 1997 and had a successful career as an Equity Analyst and Portfolio Manager before focusing on ESG.
Jessica holds a number of industry leadership positions including Board Member of the Investor Forum and Member of the Takeover Panel. She is formerly Chair of The Investment Association’s Stewardship Committee and was a member of SASB’s Investor Advisory Group.
Jessica holds a BA in History from Bristol University and is an associate member of the CFA UK.
Any views expressed by the speakers are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Brevan Howard Centre, Imperial College Business School or any of their sponsors.