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From venture capitalist to 'compassionate capitalist'
First he pioneered the British venture capitalist industry, cofounding Apax Partners in 1972. Then Sir Ronald M. Cohen (MBA 1969) led the way in social investment, prompting The Economist to call him “the compassionate capitalist.” Now he is revolutionizing the way nonprofits receive funding through social impact bonds.
“Social impact bonds enable a social organization to raise capital for preventive action, to establish a track record of social performance and to be paid for that social performance at a rate that enables it to give a satisfactory return to the investors,” says Cohen, who is co-creator of the concept.
Born in Egypt and now living in England, Cohen became interested in social capital and philanthropy in 2000 when he led the UK Treasury’s Social Investment Task Force. He subsequently was involved in a variety of social investment ventures. Cohen retired in 2005 as chairman of Apax Partners Worldwide, one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups. In 2007, he cofounded Social Finance, a London-based nonprofit that is advancing ways to apply market principles to solving social problems in the UK. He also serves as chairman of Portland Trust, a nonprofit that promotes peace and stability between Israelis and Palestinians through economic development.
(Published April 2014)
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