Breakout Session 1

Faculty Case Competition: Angola's Mislaid Billions
Bennet Freeman, Managing Director, Corporate Responsibility, Burson-Marsteller
Arvind Ganesan, Director, Business and Human Rights Program, Human Rights Watch
Paula Ivey, Professor, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas
Michael Santoro, Associate Professor, Rutgers Business School
Warner Woodworth, Professor, Brigham Young University

This special event will feature three professors, guided by a moderator, debating the case, “Angola’s Mislaid Billions.” In Angola in 2001, corruption was extreme. More than US$1 billion per year of Angola’s oil revenues had reportedly disappeared in each of the five previous years. In a country where three-quarters of the people were on the verge of starvation, a billion dollars a year was one-sixth of national income. How did this "rotten" system come into being? What, if anything, could be done to correct it? Was there a role for outsiders—the multinational oil companies, NGOs, the IMF and other international organizations, foreign governments—to push reform on the Angolan government? Could external pressure bring a change for the better?

The case - given its controversial and timely subject - will provide an opportunity for faculty to exchange diverse points of view and engage in lively debate with their peers and students alike. Download the case study (.pdf)

Madagascar: Building Alliances for Economic Development and Sustainability
David Stillman, General Manager, United Nations Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development
Zina Andrianarivelo-Razafy, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from Madagascar and Consul-General for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
Patrizia Moggia, Director for Financial Sectors’ Development, United Nations Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development

Madagascar, an island lying 250 miles off the East Africa coast, is known for its rich plant and animal life and for its enormous contribution to the Earth’s biodiversity. It is also a Least Developed Country, with a rapidly growing, impoverished population whose short term needs threaten the island’s delicate environmental balance. Madagascar’s president, Marc Ravalomanana, has made a commitment to improving the economic future of his people while preserving the country’s natural resources. Having introduced political stability and widespread financial and governance reforms, he is opening up rural areas of the country to development and foreign investment. The UN Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development is facilitating these efforts by encouraging corporations, government, NGOs and other stakeholders to adopt successful pro-poor policies, which also generate profitable returns on investment. The session will open with a short film highlighting President Ravalomanana’s “new vision” for the country, followed by a discussion led by Madagascar’s Ambassador to the UN.

Technology Enterprises: Innovation in Sustainability
Justin Yuen, President, For My Innovation
Andrea Fernandez, Business Analyst, Arup
Marlowe Greenberg, CEO, Foothold Technology
Tim Mohin, Director of Sustainable Development, Intel Corporation

This interactive discussion addresses the relationship between technology and improved sustainability performance. The panel will examine this issue from inside a technology corporation, and look at ways that software firms can successfully empower nonprofits and government agencies. The goal is to introduce the audience to techniques to bring sustainability innovations to technology companies, or use technology to bring sustainability innovations to any organization. This discussion aims to forge a link between cutting edge sustainability work and the technology sector.

An Introduction to Entrepreneurship In Education
Heidi Gilman, Early Childhood Marketing Director, Scholastic, Inc.
Lisa Daggs, Chief of Staff, KIPP Foundation
Douglas Schallau, President, Junior Achievement of New York, Inc.
Kenneth Zeff, Broad Resident, San Diego City Schools, Office of the Superindendent

Panelists will share their stories of achieving social impact through education. By creating community, providing opportunity and empowering social change, these successful leaders have built programs that touch the lives of hundreds of students every day. Learn how they did it, what they’ve learned along the way, and how you can get involved.

Real Estate Development with a Community Focus
Charles H. Allison, Jr., Senior Investment Officer, F.B. Heron Foundation
G. Lamont Blackstone, Principal, G.L. Blackstone & Associates
Paul Quintero, Senior Vice President of Business Investments, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZ)
Ernest Fair, Managing Director, TIAA-CREF

This panel will bring together experts from multiple sectors (private, public, non-profit) to discuss prominent issues in public/private partnerships in real estate and community development. The panelists will discuss their experience in partnership formation and project implementation, with a focus on key success factors, pitfalls, and how to create value for all stakeholders.

Strategic Philanthropy
Charles H. Moore, Executive Director, Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy
Alan G. Hassenfeld, Chairman of the Board, Hasbro, Inc.
Irwin Redlener, President and co-founder, The Children’s Health Fund
Michael I. Roth, Chairman, Interpublic Group

Each panelist will share his unique perspective on how corporations and nonprofit organizations effectively collaborate in formal partnerships to produce a greater impact on society. Learn how these companies have established successful, strategic partnerships and what makes them sustainable.

Social Impact Management: Business Strategies in Developing Countries
Joseph Paul Martin, Executive Director, Center for the Study on Human Rights, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Rosalind Hudnell, Director of Corporate Diversity, Intel Corporation
Raj Kondur, Chairman and CEO, Nirvana Business Solutions
Dr. Andrew Kuper, Managing Director, Global Academy for Social Entrepreneurship, Ashoka
Monika Oberkofler, Manager of Global Compliance, Gap Inc.
Djordjija Petkoski, Lead Specialist, World Bank and Head of the Private Sector Development and Corporate Governance team, World Bank Institute (WBI)

Social Impact Management: What works? What doesn't? And, Why? As companies continue to grow globally, their business operations abroad play an increasingly critical role in the economic development of the world’s poorer countries. Social Impact Management takes into consideration the role of private corporations’ business practices as they adapt to address greater social and environmental concerns. Panel participants will discuss how social issues such as labor rights, human rights and human capital accumulation have become part of business practices and will confront the challenges faced in measuring these impacts and engaging local communities. Company representatives will speak from their experiences operating in developing countries, NGO representatives will present ways to assess social impact, and representatives from international organizations will share thoughts on the relevance of Social Impact Management in today's global economy.

Using the Market to Solve Environmental Challenges
Bruce Usher, CEO, EcoSecurities Group Limited
Veronique Bishop, Lead Infrastructure Specialist, Carbon Finance Business, World Bank
Peter Fusaro, Chairman and Founder, Global Change Associates
Robert Rabinowitz, Vice President, Chicago Climate Exchange

Following the much-cited success of the trading scheme to achieve NOx and SOx emissions reduction, the Kyoto Protocol relies on market mechanisms to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets. While the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol is still pending, much progress both nationally and internationally has been made toward enabling emissions trading to occur. This panel examines the continuing evolution of this dynamic market and sheds light on the prospect of a carbon trading scheme with or without the formal ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.

From Dream to Reality: Launching Your Double Bottom Line Venture
Murray Low, Professor, Columbia Business School
Jason Franklin, Principal, IAM Brownfield Development
Xanthe Jory, Founder and Executive Director, Bronx Charter School for the Arts
Dawn Sanders, Founder, Eyespa, LLC
What does it take to launch a double-bottom-line venture; both for- and non-profit? Generally speaking, what funding sources are available to social entrepreneurs? What challenges have entrepreneurs run up against and how did they overcome them? How does one attract talent? All of these important questions will be addressed at this interactive panel.