About me
Karl is the co-founder of EngagedX, which specialises in providing bespoke consultancy, thought leadership, advocacy and policy work. He works internationally across private, public and social sectors. He is an experienced entrepreneur, leader and executive.
He was recently Head of Research and Knowledge for the UNDP SDG Impact Finance initiative (UNSIF), where he led research to improve the analytical framework for social impact investing; was a member of Groupe d’Experts de la Commission sur l’Entrepreneuriat Social (GECES) appointed by the European Commission to advise on its Social Business Initiative; sits on the OECD expert group on social impact investing; Senior Fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab; Adviser to a select number of organisations.
Karl has been invited by civil society organisations, academia, governments and the media across Europe, Asia and USA to speak on social impact investing. He has guest lectured at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; advised HM Treasury on EU social investment regulations; was invited to submit evidence for alternative finance to the UK’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards; been asked by the UK Cabinet Office to represent the UK on social investment at EU level; was invited by US Secretary of State to be a plenary panelist at the Global Impact Economy Forum in 2012.
In 2011, he co-authored ‘Making Good in Social Impact Investment: Opportunities in an Emerging Asset Class’.
Karl holds an MBA specialising in entrepreneurship and project management, writing his dissertation on data interoperability standards and collaboration principles in the building design industry. He started his career as an architect and project manager for multidisciplinary design teams, and development leader for public and private sector construction projects. Karl was the founding Chair of Friends of the Crystal Palace Subway, which is a community-led initiative to reopen a historic community asset to the public.
Category Archives: General Commentary
Global Impact Economy Forum. US State Dept, Washington DC, 26 & 27 April 2012
I recently went to Washington to learn about the new global impact economy being advocated by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and specifically to find out whether it is aligned with social business and social investment initiatives in Europe. … Continue reading
Global Instruments of Finance and the Folly of Economic Growth (Part 1)
Is the social usefulness of financial instruments misunderstood in a similar way to how, in the darkness, the aspiring animal musicians in the folktale Town Musicians of Bremen are mistaken for being a witch? Financial language is confusing at the … Continue reading
Press release: Making Good in Social Impact Investment
Thursday 6th October 2011 UK at watershed moment for social impact investing with potential to be global leader Social impact investment has the potential to evolve from being an emerging market to a very large, mature investment market attracting mainstream … Continue reading
England riots: what drives people into the streets
The underlying reasons for this apparent feral behaviour are complex and individual motivations will vary, but there are some underlying psychological themes which may help us understand why the rioting was so contagious and why so many people were compelled … Continue reading
Taskforce for a European social investment bank/ fund/ facility
The Taskforce for a European social investment bank/ fund/ facility will be launched in Krakow, September 2011 (organised in cooperation with the Euclid Network (of European civil society professionals))
Is social investing the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vickers Report?
Social investing (equivalent to impact investing) encompasses such an increasingly broad range of financial activities and products, that some of it may be considered investment banking for the social sector. Examples include Social Impact Bonds and the sophisticate structured funds … Continue reading
The New Economy, Money and the Meaning of Life – not a Monty Python sketch
Featuring Charles Darwin, Ayrton Senna, Strawberry Fields, Steven Hawking, Shaka (King of the Zulus), Steve Wozniak and Karl Marx. There is a healthy dose of blue-sky thinking in this article. I have included some provocative thoughts in the spirit of … Continue reading
Impact Measurement – A conceptual framework
Tomorrow (5 Dec) in Brussels I will be presenting my views on the impact measurement discourse at a conference on “Measuring the Social Impact of Social Enterprises”. My approach will be to explore how to frame the discussion in the … Continue reading →