Stories
Stories
Finding Purpose in Profit
Growing up, Kim Coupounas (MBA/MPA 1995) explored careers as varied as attorney and Anglican priest. “I knew that I wanted to lead and to fight for justice and social good,” she says. “Ironically, I’m doing that now but on a far different path than I originally intended.”
Today, Coupounas directs the Colorado field office of B Lab, a nonprofit organization that seeks to redefine the meaning of success in business. B Lab’s mission is to assemble a global community of Certified B Corporations—companies that meet certain prescribed standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
“I was hired in 2014 to change how business is done in Colorado and to make it the leader in responsible business practice,” she says. “For the past three years, I have been traveling around the state, helping companies to morph themselves into best-in-class businesses that consider impacts on all of their stakeholders, not just shareholders.”
Coupounas, who often refers to her B Lab role simply as that of storyteller, says entrepreneurs enjoy hearing about other company founders who have successfully followed the B Corporation path.
“My life’s purpose, and the work that I am fortunate enough to do every day,” she observes, “is inspiring people to use the power of business as a force for good.”
(Published August 2017)
Support the next generation of leaders Make a gift nowPost a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 01 Sep 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Far-Reaching Impact
Re: Namya Mahajan (MBA 2022); Azeez Gupta (MBA 2019); Richard Menschel (MBA 1959); By: Jennifer Gillespie -
- 01 Sep 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Advancing the Mission
-
- 19 Jan 2024
- Making A Difference
Blockchain for Good
Re: Stella Dyer (MBA 1994) -
- 01 Dec 2023
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Rounding the Bend
Re: Emily Bolon (MBA 2007); James Reinhart (MBA 2009); Christopher Homer (MBA 2009); Maria McClay (MBA 2006); By: Jen McFarland Flint
Stories Featuring Kim Coupounas
-
- 19 Jan 2017
- HBS Alumni News
Finding Purpose in Profit
Re: Kim Coupounas (MBA 1995); Demetrios Coupounas (MBA 1993); By: Robert S. Benchley -
- 22 Oct 2015
- HBS Alumni News
Kim Riether Coupounas: Making A Difference
Re: Kim Coupounas (MBA 1995) -
- 22 Sep 2015
- Making A Difference
Business as a Force for Good
Re: Kim Coupounas (MBA 1995)