Speakers - C Summit

Keynote session

Erik Fyrwald

CEO, Syngenta

J. Erik Fyrwald was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Univar, a leading distributor of chemistry and related products and services (2012–2016); President of Ecolab, a cleaning and sanitation, water treatment, and oil and gas products and services provider (2011–2012); and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nalco, a water treatment and oil and gas products and services company (2008–2011). He was Group Vice President of the Agriculture and Nutrition Division of the DuPont Company (2003–2008). He currently serves on the Board of Directors for CropLife International and the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce.

Apart from his functions in Syngenta, J. Erik Fyrwald currently holds the following board memberships:
– Listed companies: Bunge Limited, Eli Lilly and Company.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Keynote session

Leslie Johnston

Executive Director, C&A Foundation

Leslie Johnston joined C&A Foundation as its first Executive Director in August 2013 and brings over 20 years of management experience across multiple sectors, including smallholder agribusiness, entrepreneurship and corporate philanthropy. At C&A Foundation, Leslie led the development of the foundation’s first global vision, mission, and strategy, anchored on making fashion a force for good. She oversees team of over 50 people across 10 countries, working to improve lives and livelihoods across the foundation’s five signature programmes.

Prior to this role, she managed the Swiss-based Argidius and COFRA Foundations, committed to helping enterprising people to help themselves. As the Deputy Director for TechnoServe in West and Southern Africa, she co-managed a $20 million portfolio and a diverse team. She also has top-tier management consulting experience, having worked for McKinsey & Company in DC and South Africa. She holds a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a double Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and French from University of California at Berkeley.

Leslie currently serves on the boards of COFRA Foundation (Switzerland), GoodWeave International (US), CottonConnect (UK), and the Organic Cotton Accelerator (NL) as well as the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ Executive Committee and TechnoServe’s Global Advisory Council.

Based in Zug, Switzerland, Leslie is the proud mother to two boys (ages 10 and 12) and wife to a Scottish writer.

Master of Ceremony

Sophie Hersberger

Research Assistant, Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS)

Sophie Hersberger holds a Master of Science in Business and Economics of the University of Basel. Since 2016 she has been working at the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) as a PhD student and research assistant in research, further education and teaching.

Before joining the CEPS she has worked as a program administrator for the Summer School in Law & Economics of the University of Basel and collaborated closely with the Georgetown University in Washington, DC. As part of her PhD she has spent a month at the University of Pennsylvania, where she participated in a doctoral fellows program.

Her research focuses on markets and stakeholder management of nonprofit organisations.

Session 1: The Prologue

Dr. Frank Niederländer

Board Member, BMW Foundation

Frank Niederländer joined the Board of Directors of the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt in January 2018.

A native of Saarbrücken, he is influenced by the cultural diversity of his home region and the related challenge of helping shape a peaceful, united Europe. Choosing a bilingual educational path was a logical choice: a German-French Abitur and a joint degree from Saarland University and the École Supérieure de Commerce de Lyon were followed by first work experiences in Paris and Brussels.

After first posts, he began his career with the BMW Group in 1991 in Munich as a member of an international trainee program. His career led him through the corporate divisions of R&D, sales, and corporate and financial planning.

Since 2002, Frank Niederländer has held various management positions, including in the fields of development strategy, innovation management, international brand strategy, and the product management of the BMW compact class. Being in charge of international restructuring projects as well as other responsibilities allowed him to significantly help shape the BMW Group’s core business.

Frank Niederländer lives with his family near Munich. His admiration for the local landscape serves as an antithesis to his enthusiasm for vibrant metropolises.

Session 4: Teamwork

Lead or Follow? The evolving role of corporate foundations in the innovation space

Bennet Barth

Program Manager, BMW Foundation

Before joining the BMW Foundation, Bennet worked in an impact investment fund and start-up accelerator in Lisbon, Portugal. At the foundation, Bennet is developing the ways in which the BMW Foundation works alongside impact entrepreneurs both from the investment perspective as well as venture philanthropy. Engaging corporates both in debate and action around social and environmental impact is paramount to the success of entrepreneurs working on social innovation and the pace at which successful impact models are scaled across the globe.

Session 4: Teamwork

Alignment as a catalyst for new corporate social investing approaches

Bénédicte Bonnet

Director, Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Innovation Lab and Market acceleration Europe and Africa, Essilor

French by nationality but really feeling like a citizen of the world, I’m passionate about meeting people from all backgrounds and cultures. What gives me energy is connecting people and ideas to enable innovation that generates impact.

After 8 years in business consulting with the American consulting firm Accenture, I joined Essilor in 2009 and held 3 different roles in the Procurement function (from Indirect Purchasing Manager, to leading the Performance and Transformation of the Procurement function globally, and finally leading the European Procurement organization) over the past 10 years.

I have recently opened a new chapter of my professional life and my career at Essilor, taking the role of “Director, Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Innovation Lab and Market acceleration Europe and Africa”. This 180° shift is an exciting new challenge combining various responsibilities such as :

Driving BoP-focused innovation projects (in business models, financing and funding models, digital technologies, products, and partnerships) to support the scaling up of Essilor Inclusive Business and Philanthropy actions in Europe and Africa
Leading market acceleration initiatives in Africa and Europe for the BoP market segment
Supporting and managing engagement with key stakeholders across public, private and not-for-profit sectors to bring vision care to the underserved across priority markets in the region

This is most importantly an incredible human adventure, having a social impact by bringing vision correction to the underserved in a booming market (Africa) that is the market of the future!

Session 4: Teamwork

To align or not, that’s the question!

Margarida Couto

CEO, VDA Foundation & Senior Partner, Vieira de Almeida & Associados (VdA)

Margarida is a senior partner at the Portuguese Law Firm Vieira de Almeida & Associados (VdA) and the CEO of the corporate foundation “Fundação Vasco Vieira de Almeida” (FVVA). At VdA, Margarida leads the Pro Bono Programme and the Social Economy Legal Team, providing legal advisory to a wide range of non-profit organizations and social enterprises. At the Foundation level, besides being the CEO of FVVA, she is frequently involved in matters related with Corporate Foundations, including as speaker in conferences and seminars.

Currently, Margarida also chairs GRACE – Grupo de Reflexão e Apoio à Cidadania Empresarial, an Association of more than 170 Portuguese companies committed to high standards in terms of Social Corporate Responsibility and to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

Session 3: The Breakaway

Business Alignment

Alice Deißner

Director Strategy and Programmes, Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications

Alice Deißner is Director Strategies and Programmes at the Vodafone Institute. She is responsible for the strategic development of the institute’s programmes as well as heading up research and policy work in our various areas of work. Before she joined the Institute she worked at the Vodafone Foundation, leading the Social Innovation programme.

Alice holds a Master of Advanced International Relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and a Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences from the University of Maastricht. She gained first practical experience in international and non-governmental organisations and has worked as a Senior Consultant at Rambøll Management Consulting, where she published several studies on education, technology, and female entrepreneurship.

Session 4: Teamwork

Lead or Follow? The evolving role of corporate foundations in the innovation space

Daniela Deuber

Head of Social Innovation, BMW Foundation

Daniela has spent most of her time at the BMW Foundation developing and facilitating new ways of collaboration and engagement of leaders from different sectors as well as identifying and promoting different tools for social innovation and impact. As such, she was the main driver in building up the social innovation work of the Foundation including such instruments as Social Entrepreneurship, Social Intrapreneurship, Social Finance and Pro Bono. At the moment she is focusing her energies on global network development, impact investing and financial system transformation and the building of ecosystems around impact investing and venture philanthropy in Africa.

Before joining the BMW Foundation in 2007, Daniela worked for ten years in the field of development work, conducting, for example, financial capacity-building trainings in Africa, Asia and the Balkans and serving as an organizational development consultant for NGOs in Eastern Europe. She also went for a humanitarian aid mission to Honduras after Hurricane Mitch and led a UNHCR project for women in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a focus on SME, microcredit support, traumata counseling and capacity building for almost two years.

Daniela has a Master’s degree in languages, international business and cultures from the University of Passau, Germany. During her studies she already worked in the US, Mexico and Russia. Daniela is an alumna of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme and the Common Purpose and Tallberg Leaders Program, a member of the Global Council of the Global Pro Bono Network and a Board Member of the Social Entrepreneurship Academy in Munich.

Session 3: The Breakaway

Thematic Alignment

Vincent Faber

Director, Trafigura Foundation

A geophysicist engineer by background, Vincent Faber started his career in the oil industry and management consulting. In 1990, on the occasion of a sabbatical year, he gave a new orientation to his professional life and followed a humanitarian and development path, which took him to a countless number of countries, job positions and international organisations.

Thanks to this experience that brought him to work both in the field and in headquarters, he acquired the conviction that fruitful and powerful synergies can be found when the non-profit and business worlds join forces. Called by Trafigura to establish the Trafigura Foundation in 2008, Vincent still spearheads it today, guided by and putting into practice those same values which always drove his engagement in international and development issues.

Session 4: Teamwork

Saving face or adding brand value? The implications of alignment on public perception

Patrícia Dias Mendes

Senior associate in the Social Impact practice and director of the PLMJ Foundation

Patrícia is a senior associate in the Social Impact practice and director of the PLMJ Foundation. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a lawyer, specialising in the areas of private clients and family wealth, corporate M&A and private equity. She also provides legal support in the context of the social economy.

Patrícia has dealt with a wide range of matters relating to the arts, including acquisitions and transfers of works, authenticity and ownership, copyright, insurance, tax and customs arrangements, circulation, inventory and classification, and other issues of the law of cultural heritage. She has also assisted in matters of patronage and philanthropy.

Patrícia has completed postgraduate courses in consumer law, in media law and in the law of culture and cultural heritage, all at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon.

Session 4: Teamwork

Lead or Follow? The evolving role of corporate foundations in the innovation space

Valérie Faillat

Head of Sanofi Espoir Foundation

After earning a Doctorate of Pharmacy in 1989, Valérie began her career at Sanofi where she held positions with increasing responsibilities in Regulatory Affairs. In 2005, she joined the Access to Medicines department, in the Corporate Social Responsibility Division. For more than 10 years, she has developed a recognized expertise and network with WHO, NGOs, etc, in the area of access to healthcare for vulnerable people and quality of medicines in developing countries. Recently, Valerie has been appointed Head of the Sanofi Espoir Foundation which contributes to reduce health inequalities and responds to humanitarian crisis to assure access to healthcare for the victims and displaced people.

Session 4: Teamwork

Saving face or adding brand value? The implications of alignment on public perception

Theresa Gehringer

Research Assistant, CEPS

Theresa Gehringer has been working as a research assistant at the Center for Philanthropy Studies (CEPS) in Switzerland since 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration of the University of Bayreuth and a Master of Science in Sustainable Development of the University of Basel. Theresa is currently involved in several consulting and research projects within the interdisciplinary research agenda of the CEPS. Her research focus is mainly on Corporate Philanthropy, especially Corporate Foundations, CSR and NPO Sustainability.

Theresa is a member of several professional affiliations such as ERNOP (European Research Network on Philanthropy) and ISTR (International Society for Third-Sector Research) and president of the Association of Young Foundation Experts that brings together young professionals from the foundation sector in Switzerland.

SESSION 4: TEAMWORK

Moving closer to the business: more influence and more legitimacy?

Cynthia Hansen

Head of the Adecco Group Foundation

Following a career in the private, and non-profit sectors, Cynthia Hansen joined the Adecco Group in August 2017 to head the new Adecco Group Foundation. Cynthia’s areas of expertise include corporate governance, social responsibility, partnerships and impact. Prior to joining the Adecco Group, she spent nine years at the World Economic Forum, in leadership roles across Civil Society, Strategic Partnerships, Professional Services industry and Content Strategy.

Previous roles include Director of Management Consultancy at boutique consulting firm Action Planning, Director of the US State Department’s International Visitor program for the State of Washington under the World Affairs Council, and Head of Admissions for Amity Institute, an international teacher exchange program. Cynthia has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organisations, including the Center for Women and Democracy, EU Consult, and The Internationalist magazine. In addition, she was an official delegate of a Washington State women’s mission to Cuba, an election monitor in Jordan under the auspices of the National Democratic Institute, and a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum. Cynthia holds an MSc in Management of NGOs from the London School of Economics, and a double BA (Hons) in Asian Studies and English/Literature from the University of Puget Sound.

Session 2: Setting the pace in the peloton

Karoline Heitmann

Corporate Research Associate, EVPA

Karoline is a young professional driven by her passion and curiosity for creating social impact with business relevance. She joined the European Venture Philanthropy Association’s (EVPA) Corporate Initiative in 2018. Since then, she has been supporting Corporate Social Investors (such as corporate foundations, impact funds, accelerators, social businesses) in their journey towards creating social impact through venture philanthropy and social investments.

Within her role, she works on developing practical tools and guidelines on impact-related topics. Her current research evolves around how corporate social investors can align with their related company to increase the collective impact. Next to this, she organises events and workshops for Corporate Social Investors and developed the programme for the C Summit, Europe’s first corporate philanthropy and social investing summit.

Prior to her work at EVPA, she graduated cum laude from Rotterdam School of Management in Global Business & Sustainability. In combination with her studies at INCAE Business School in Costa Rica, she acquired extensive knowledge about the sustainability challenges and opportunities in Europe, developing countries and globally.

Session 4: Teamwork

To align or not, that’s the question!

Tom Hoyle

Charitable Trust Manager, Genesis Charitable Trust

Tom Hoyle joined Genesis in April 2016 and manages the partners’ Charitable Trust, which makes grants to improve livelihoods in developing countries (av. approx. $2m annually). Tom began his career in the charity sector with Ambitious About Autism and has worked in social business, helping set up StudentFunder. As a consultant at Cause4 he advised the Peter Sowerby Foundation and ran a trustee training programme with Close Brothers Asset Management and the Clothworkers livery company.

He has recently assessed grant proposals for The Fore in the UK and grant assurance processes for Sentebale in Lesotho. Tom was previously Executive Director of Project Harar, leading the development of the Ethiopian health NGO between 2007 and 2012. He studied NGO Management at Cass Business School and holds degrees in international relations from the University of Leeds.

Session 3: The Breakaway

Industry Alignment

Rebecca Hubert Scherler

Legal Counsel, Secretary to the Foundation Board, Syngenta Foundation

Rebecca Hubert Scherler is the Legal Counsel and Board Secretary for the Syngenta Foundation, and is responsible for the legal function and overseeing matters relating to the Foundation’s governance and regulatory compliance. Rebecca is a member of the Foundation’s senior leadership team and also overseas talent management strategies on behalf of Syngenta Foundation.

Rebecca joined Syngenta Foundation in 2013 and prior to joining the Foundation, Rebecca worked at Clyde & Co LLP, a leading global law firm, and trained at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP. She has 8 years’ experience in multi-jurisdictional finance and corporate transactions and 6 years in providing strategic legal advice on key legal, regulatory and other organizational risks being faced by non-profit organisations in the development sector. Rebecca is a qualified English solicitor and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Session 4: Teamwork

Alignment as a catalyst for new corporate social investing approaches

Svetlana Ivchenko

Director of Social Policy Department, Norilsk Nickel

Director of Social Policy Department in Norilsk Nickel – Russia’s leading metals and mining company and the world’s largest high-grade nickel and palladium producer.

Svetlana holds a Master of Management from the Novosibirsk State Technical University (Russia) and Master of Public Administration from the Valdosta state University (USA).

For twenty years, she has been working in such fields as Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Community Development, NGOs and Volunteering. Svetlana has started her professional development in a non-profit sector as a volunteer and later as a staff member at Siberian Civil Initiatives Support Center. Then she was a Project manager in the Institute for Urban Development. In 2004 she moved to the corporate world as Charitable Projects Director in Russian Aluminum company. Svetlana has been working with Norilsk Nickel since 2013. She is in charge of charitable program and corporate volunteering, community development, social benefits, corporate events. Svetlana is a member of the Steering Committee of Global Compact Network Russia.

In 2016-2018 ranks among Top 5 Russian managers in Corporate Social Responsibility. Association of Russian Managers).

Session 4: Teamwork

Lead or Follow? The evolving role of corporate foundations in the innovation space

Annette Jung

Strategic Lead Ashoka Partnership, Philips Foundation

Annette is the Managing Head of Philips Capital Southern Europe & Africa for Royal Philips. She has a background in banking and holds various senior functions in customer, export & project financing at Deutsche Bank and Philips, covering various industries. Annette is a founding member of Philips Capital and since August 2017 she leads the Southern Europe & Africa team. She is also the representing Philips Capital in the “Captives Forum”, an Industry Association of global finance captives. Next to her role in Philips Capital Annette is a volunteer of the Philips Foundation since inception. She is the strategic leader for the Ashoka Partnership Program for the Philips Foundation.

Annette started her career at Deutsche Bank in Germany where she was focusing on trade- and export financing. Moving to Philips, she led the customer financing activities in various businesses; in 2003 Annette joined Philips Treasury in the Netherlands starting to focus on the Philips Healthcare financing activities and eventually moved to this sector in 2009 where she held various regional and global financing functions. In 2014 – as “founding member” – Annette moved to Philips Capital.

Session 4: Teamwork

To align or not, that’s the question!

Franz Karl Prüller

Senior Advisor, ERSTE Foundation

Franz Karl Prüller has been Senior Advisor to the ERSTE Foundation Board since 2016. Before joining ERSTE Foundation, where he was Director of the Social Development Programme from 2005 until 2013, Member of the Board from 2012 until 2016, and the Board’s Chair from 2015 to 2016, he worked at Caritas Austria for 17 years. For a period of nine years there, he was Secretary General in charge of international programmes and the project department.

During that time he represented Caritas Austria on the executive boards of Caritas Internationalis and Europa and chaired the charitable foundation Neighbour in Need for three years. Prior to 1996, he was in charge of Caritas’ Central and Eastern Europe programme and disaster relief programme. While working on the CEE programme from 1989 to 1993, he helped re-build Caritas organisations in the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, among others.

Session 4: Teamwork

Moving closer to the business: more influence and more legitimacy?

Kirsten Ottens

Director, ING Netherlands Foundation

Kirsten has been focused on the role corporates can play in solving social issues for 10+ years. Employed by ING, a global financial institution with a European base, she founded ING’s corporate foundation in 2014. Believing in the power of people, the foundation supports social entrepreneurs that move society forward by providing grants, loans, knowledge and network. The foundation focuses on digital inclusion, financial empowerment and job opportunities for all. Kirsten spends most of her time building a strong community of change makers by finding the best players and providing the best support.

Session 3: The Breakaway

Instrumental Alignment

Dr. Stefan Rissi

Managing Director, JTI Foundation

Stefan Rissi studied at the universities of Zurich and Paris Sorbonne, and holds a PhD in philosophy. Between 2002 and 2004, he was editor at the Swiss National Science Foundation, and subsequently Dramaturg and strategic advisor at the Zurich Opera from 2004 until 2009. Since then, he has been global head of Community Investment at JTI, a multinational company based in Geneva, and Director of the JTI Foundation, a charitable foundation supporting disaster management programs across the globe.

He holds a DAS in Nonprofit Management and Law from the Center for Philanthropy Studies, Basel. Stefan Rissi is a member of the board of directors of the Fondation Suisse du Service Social International; a member of the Steering Group of the London Benchmarking Group; and a founding member of the Belgrade Baroque Academy.

Session 3: The Breakaway

Business Alignment

François Rouvier

CSR, Director Social Business, MOBILIZ Programme, Renault SAS

François Rouvier is managing a social business programme within the CSR department of Renault since January 2011 after 23 years at Michelin and then Renault where he had various management responsibilities in marketing and sales, both in France and abroad.

With a compact team working transversally he is developing business models for vulnerable people providing innovative mobility solutions to keep or to get a job. A network of social garages within the Renault dealership network has been built ; an impact investing fund (Renault Mobiliz Invest) has been created with an accumulated investment of €3.5m and new social business innovations are developing abroad (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia), fostered by a social business Strategic Expertise Area launched in 2018.

Session 2: Setting the pace in the peloton

Dr. Lonneke Roza

Assistant Professor, Rotterdam School of Management & EVPA

Dr. Lonneke Roza is a part-time Assistant Professor at Rotterdam School of Management and she specializes in non-commercial strategies to create social impact. Her research is mainly focused on (employee engagement in) Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Social Investments. She published articles in renowned journals such as Journal of Business Ethics and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. In addition, Lonneke is the leading editor on the first academic book on Corporate Foundations, published by Springer in 2019. Her latest project is a co-edited book that will be published at Sage on employee engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility, expected in Spring 2020.

Next to her research, Lonneke teaches courses and trainings for master students and professionals on Non-Profit Management, Social Entrepreneurship, Employee Engagement in Corporate Social Investments and Employer Branding through Corporate Social Investments. In addition, she works with the University of Pennsylvannia and co-delivers a course on Corporate Citizenship.

She currently supports European Venture Philanthropy Association on the research and trainings for the corporate initiative; a platform where Corporate Social Investors share experiences and create knowledge to develop the space of investing for impact. In addition, Lonneke is a strategy consultant for companies, corporate foundations and charitable organizations. She serves as a chair of the board of Vattenfall Foundation (corporate foundation) and on the board of Facilicom Group Foundation (corporate foundation), KPN Mooiste Contact Fonds (corporate foundation) and Lokale Fondsen Nederland (umbrella organization for community foundations). She is frequently asked to speak at public events and conferences on the role of businesses in society.

Session 4: Teamwork

Moving closer to the business: more influence and more legitimacy?

Edward Schwarz

General Manager, LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction

Edward Schwarz is a Swiss national. He has been the General Manager of the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction including the international Awards competitions for sustainable design since it was launched in 2004. Prior to this, he was editor of a Swiss building trade magazine, journalist for a daily newspaper and editor-in-chief of a radio station, all in the region of Zurich.

In 1992 he joined Holcim and subsequently became head of corporate communications for the united operations in Switzerland. From 1998, Edward Schwarz was global head of internal and online communications for the Holcim Group before establishing the Foundation from 2003.

Session 2: Setting the pace in the peloton

Steven Serneels

CEO, EVPA

In 1992, Steven started his own advisory company specialized in Supply Chain and Operations Strategy. After growing the company to about 100 people, working with senior management of medium and large companies in Europe and beyond, he sold it in 2008, remaining in charge as CEO. In 2011, Steven joined Ashoka Global, Washington, as strategic advisor. In this capacity, he focussed on how citizen sector organizations (and social entrepreneurs in particular) and corporations can work together successfully in creating social impact at scale in a commercially viable setting. Today, Steven is CEO and board member of EVPA (European Venture Philanthropy Association), and chair of the Corporate Social Investment Initiative.

He is an investor of SI², a for profit social impact fund, providing growth capital to European for profit social enterprises, and chairman of Kampani, a social impact investment fund to unlock the potential of entrepreneurial farming in the South. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Iristick, developing, producing and commercialising smart safety glasses, both for Industry and Society; and a board member of Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITG).

Session 3: The Breakaway

Instrumental Alignment

Paul Streets

Chief Executive, Llyods Bank Foundation for England and Wales

Paul joined the Foundation in May 2013 after a career which has spanned the voluntary and public sector and work in International development (DfiD/Sight Savers), Human Rights (Amnesty International), professional and service regulation and health and social care. He has been Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, the Health Development Agency and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. Since he became CE the Foundation has developed a new operating model focused on longer term funding, organisational development support to those funded and policy and practice influence on their behalf. The Foundation launched it’s new strategy ‘Reaching Further’ with the themes we ‘fund’; ‘we develop’; ‘we influence’. The Foundation is recognised as a leading advocate for the 97% of charities with an income of less than £1m, and in 2018 Paul was named as one of the UKs Top 25 ‘Social CEOs’ @PaulStreets_

Immediately prior to the Foundation he worked as a Senior Civil Servant in the Department of Health heading up Public and Patient Engagement and Experience. He is former Chair of Contact a Family (2011-17) the leading UK Charity supporting families of children with severe disabilities and former Chair of the UK Rare Diseases Advisory Group (2014-17). He was Deputy Chair at the Healthcare Commission from 2000 until 2009 and the first lay member of the Royal College of Physicians Council. He has an MBA with distinction (Warwick), an MSc in Agricultural Economics, a Diploma in Co-operative Development (Finance) and a BSc in Geography from UCL.

He was appointed an OBE in 2003 for services to people with diabetes.

Session 4: Teamwork

Alignment as a catalyst for new corporate social investing approaches

Dr. Christina Tewes-Gradl

Founder and Managing Director, Endeva

Dr. Christina Tewes-Gradl is passionate about making the global economic transformation inclusive. As a founder and managing director of Endeva, she works with partners from all sectors to accelerate systems change and innovative business models for the SDGs. For example, she facilitates Corporate Impact Venturing by connecting large companies and impact startups. She has 17 years experience in strategy, sustainability and inclusive business.

Christina is a Research Fellow at the CSR Initiative of the Harvard Kennedy School and a former Kofi Annan Fellow on Global Governance. She holds a PhD on the business model concept and Masters degrees from the University of Passau and LSE. Previously, Christina worked as a strategy consultant with McKinsey&Co and with rice farmers in Madagascar.

Session 3: The Breakaway

Thematic Alignment

Natasja van Mil

Communications Manager, Rabo Foundation

Driven to create impact by always looking for opportunities. Natasja van Mil is a communications manager by heart and always combined her passion with being engaged with international and development issues. In her career and in her personal life. She is eager to make a difference and realizes that one of challenges for organizations is linking communication and business strategy. But she has experienced that communication can contribute to realize strategic goals.

Natasja works at the Rabo Foundation and looks for opportunities how the alignment with Rabobank can increase. Both share same values and want to contribute to a better world. Together. The corporate foundation has a rich history, founded in 1974, and can build on the more than 120 years’ experience of Rabobank and the expertise and knowledge of their corporate employees. Natasja is inspired to create more social impact together and share the story of Rabo Foundation to inspire others to be involved and act now. Because together we can make a difference. It all starts with a vision and the believe that it is possible.