CEO and Cofounder, Social Finance

Tracy Palandjian attributes her instincts as a social entrepreneur to her Chinese upbringing. “Master the basics, then innovate,” “Waste nothing,” and “Distance tests the strength of horses; time tests the hearts of humans” were among the many lessons instilled at an early age. These guiding principles have served her—and society—exceptionally well.

Palandjian, who grew up in Hong Kong and came to the United States at 15 to attend Milton Academy, found a role model in her paternal grandmother. “She served others. That was her north star,” says the Harvard College graduate and former McKinsey consultant. Palandjian’s embodiment of her forebearers’ values is a theme in all aspects of her life, including her leadership of Social Finance, a thriving nonprofit that develops innovative financial tools to facilitate investment—and efficacy—in solving some of society’s greatest challenges.

Now a mother of three daughters, Palandjian’s caretaking instincts were called upon during her first year of college when her father died of a heart attack. She took responsibility for her two younger brothers, shepherding them into boarding school and monitoring their development through daily calls and weekend visits. “That was a tough time, but my Harvard ‘family’ made it bearable,” she says. That family included her roommates, her Ec 10 tutor Doug Elmendorf—now dean of the Kennedy School—and her future spouse, Leon Palandjian, whom she met her sophomore year. It is apt that upon graduation she received the John B. Imrie Memorial Award for her “joyous affirmation of life” and “ability to respond creatively to difficult situations.”

Palandjian enthusiastically acknowledges that her education was transformative—both personally and intellectually—and recognizes the power of her time at HBS, the case method, and the extensive network of friends who remain so important to her. Her service on various University boards—including the 2017 presidential search committee as vice chair of the Board of Overseers—is one of the many ways Harvard continues to play a central role in her life.

Palandjian has always been interested in bringing business skills to social challenges. Initially she channeled her desire to have an impact by serving on nonprofit boards, but ultimately her passion became her vocation. She launched the nonprofit consulting practice at the Parthenon Group. Then in 2010, her friend Sir Ronald Cohen (MBA 1969), who had built Social Finance UK with David Blood (MBA 1985), was looking to expand the organization. “Tracy had the combination of mind and will to put impact investing on the map in the United States,” says Cohen. “The three of us created a business plan. Tracy executed it absolutely brilliantly.”

“I tilt toward doing, rather than planning,” says Palandjian of building Social Finance from an idea into a national nonprofit. The impact investing firm has pioneered a range of “pay-for-success” strategies to generate both financial return and measurable, tangible social impact. Chief among them is the social impact bond that brings together government, nonprofits, and for-profit investors to tackle complex problems, from improving economic mobility, to reducing homelessness, to promoting health. “We work to unite uncommon partners around the common goal of serving society,” she explains. Under Palandjian’s leadership, Social Finance has advanced historic federal legislation and mobilized over $100 million in capital, working in thirty states across the country.

Palandjian remembers her initial trepidation when launching Social Finance. “I had always followed a conventional path and didn’t think I would make a good entrepreneur,” she recalls. By all accounts it is a good thing she ignored those doubts. Cohen, still a close friend and mentor, describes her as “an ambassador for the field of impact investing who is capable of walking with kings and talking with crowds.” For her part, Palandjian is grateful that she took the plunge. “This has been the most rewarding professional experience of my life,” she says.

Photo by Susan Young

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