The Impact Revolution - Fixing the Future

The LSE’s Marshall Institute is leading a global programme on the impact economy - the use of enterprise and investment for public good. Our work focuses on identifying emerging patterns, convening key actors and building tools for action. This event is the inaugural lecture in the Impact Economy Project’s dialogue series.

In the face of mounting economic and social pressures across the world, Sir Ronnie Cohen, pioneer of the Impact Revolution, is launching the updated edition of his book, IMPACT: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change. He argues that our global economic system is not working to resolve our challenges, and the solution to today’s problems - from widening social disparities to the climate crisis - lies in a new impact economic paradigm that aligns risk, return and impact.

Chaired by Kieron Boyle, Professor in Practice for the Impact Economy the discussion will explore how decisions taken by investors, businesses, consumers and governments can take social and environmental outcomes into account. The ongoing shift to an impact paradigm offers a powerful way of improving millions of lives as well as the planet.

Drawing on his extensive experience as one of Britain’s pioneering venture capitalists, his leadership of the UK Government’s Social Investment Task Force (2000-10) and its G8 counterpart (2013-14), and as founder of GSG Impact, Bridges Fund Management, Social Finance, Better Society Capital, the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts, and the Portland Trust, Sir Ronnie will argue that we are at a tipping point in bringing social and environmental outcomes to the centre of our economic system.

Please join us for a timely and compelling conversation followed by drinks reception and book signing.

Meet our speakers

Kieron Boyle is Chief Executive of 100x, a world-leading initiative creating the next generation of ‘social unicorns’ — ventures positively impacting a billion lives. He is also Professor in Practice and Director at the LSE’s Marshall Institute, leading a global platform to shape the future of the impact economy. As Chair of the UK’s Impact Investing Institute, he helps set national strategy on impact capital, aiming to unlock £1 trillion for investments that improve people’s lives. Previously, Kieron was CEO of Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, where he transformed its £1 billion endowment into a leading force for change in urban health. In government, he was the architect of the UK’s first impact investment strategy and helped create Better Society Capital, the Government Outcomes Lab, the B Corp movement in the UK, and other global impact initiatives. He has held senior roles at No.10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, and the Foreign Office, following an early career at the Boston Consulting Group. He co-leads the UK’s taskforce on impact capital, was the first recipient of an OBE for services to the impact economy and chairs a $7 trillion investor alliance on health.

Sir Ronald Cohen is a pioneering leader in impact investment, serving as President of GSG Impact, Chair of IFVI, and Chair of The Portland Trust. He co-founded numerous influential organizations including Bridges Fund Management, Better Society Capital, and Social Finance branches. For nearly two decades, his initiatives have catalyzed global efforts to direct private capital toward social and environmental good, earning him the Rockefeller Foundation's Innovation Award in 2012. He chaired the Social Impact Investment Taskforce under the UK's G8 presidency (2013-2014) and advised the G7's Impact Taskforce (2021). Previously, he co-founded and led Apax Partners Worldwide LLP (1972-2005), a global venture capital firm, and helped establish the British and European Venture Capital Associations. He has held prominent positions at Harvard University, Oxford University, the British Museum, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

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