Thu 20 Apr 2023 - Purpose is the corporate buzzword of today, with politicians, the public, and even shareholders calling on businesses to serve wider society. But purpose is also controversial because companies have a responsibility to deliver returns to investors.
Is there a trade-off between purpose and profit, or is it possible for companies to achieve both?
This talk, part of the Presidential Speaker Series, will critically examine the case for purposeful business, using rigorous evidence and real-life examples to show what works – and, importantly, what doesn’t. It will discuss practical ways for businesses of all sizes to put purpose into practice – to ensure it guides a company’s day-to-day decisions, is embedded throughout the organisation, and enhances rather than jeopardises long-run shareholder returns.
Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk “What to Trust in a Post-Truth World” and the TEDx talks “The Pie-Growing Mindset” and “The Social Responsibility of Business” with a combined 2.5 million views.
He serves as non-executive director of the Investor Forum, and on Royal London Asset Management’s Responsible Investment Advisory Committee. Alex’s book, “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit”, was a Financial Times Book of the Year for 2020, and he is a co-author of “Principles of Corporate Finance” (with Brealey, Myers, and Allen).
He has won 24 teaching awards at Wharton and LBS and was named Professor of the Year by Poets & Quants in 2021.
Matt has 30 years of experience working as an actuary in the life and general insurance industry. After a long career at Watson Wyatt, Matt joined Aviva in 2009 where he held the role of Group Chief Actuary until January 2022.
Matt’s responsibilities in this role covered all aspects of the Group’s actuarial methodology in respect of both Life and General Insurance. In addition, Matt led the development of data science and the embedding of climate risk within Aviva’s Risk management Framework. Matt plays an active role in the UK actuarial profession and was elected to the Council of the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in 2016, before joining the Regulation Board in 2018.
More recently Matt has been closely involved in the profession’s response to climate change, the development of the IFoA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy.