Episode 6 of the Impact Principles Webinar Series provides updates and insights into the newly launched Impact Management Platform along with Impact Frontiers, an IMP initiative used by many Signatories.
August 24, 2021
About the Panelists:
Diane Damskey, CFA, Moderator
Diane is the Head of the Secretariat, Impact Principles and a senior member of the team that developed the Operating Principles for Impact Management that established a framework to bring greater discipline and transparency to the impact investing market. She is Head of the Secretariat, responsible for the administration, promotion and growth in the number of impact investors adopting this standard. She leads the engagement with private sector asset managers, asset owners, wealth managers and family offices on the Impact Principles. Prior to joining IFC, Diane was an Adviser to the Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., where she led initiatives to promote private sector investment in emerging markets.
Diane joined the World Bank following over 25 years’ experience with private sector financial institutions. Diane began her career at Manufacturers Hanover Trust, managing banking relationships in North Africa, and negotiating the Kingdom of Morocco debt restructuring. She then became a member of the Troika at Lehman Brothers, advising on the debt restructuring for the Republic of Venezuela, and then managed debt repurchase programs for Hungary and Russia at the First National Bank of Chicago. Diane has held several senior roles with institutional and private client investment managers, including Credit Suisse Asset Management, Northern Trust, UBS International Private Bank, and JPMorgan. Diane holds a B.S. in Foreign Service, cum laude, from Georgetown University and M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School. She is a CFA charterholder.
Olivia Prentice, COO and Head of Content, IMP
A co-founder of the IMP, Olivia has worked since the project’s inception to facilitate market consensus on sustainability and impact measurement, management and reporting. She focused on leading the development of best practices for investors, such as defining approaches for integrating impact considerations into traditional portfolio construction norms. Now, Olivia oversees the work of the IMP Structured Network of standard-setting organisations; providing technical support to all Members in their efforts to coordinate and co-create content. Olivia also manages the IMP’s internal operations.
Olivia is on secondment from Bridges Fund Management, where she was previously Director of the firm’s impact strategy throughout the investment cycle and across all fund types. Prior to this, Olivia worked in emerging market impact investing at the UK’s Development Finance Institution, CDC, and with the DFID Impact Fund.
Olivia has experience advising both investors and corporates on designing sustainability impact measurement and management approaches across diverse geographies and asset classes. She has authored several publications on this topic, and regularly delivers training for global academic institutions and industry membership networks.
Olivia has an MA in International Relations from King’s College London, and a BA (Hons) in History from Durham University. She has lived and worked in New York and Tanzania, and is currently based in London.
Mike McCreless, Head of Investor Collaboration, IMP
Mike provides support to investors as they adopt the IMP norms, and leads the Impact Frontiers Collaboration – a forum for supporting investors in pioneering new ways to quantitatively and holistically integrate impact alongside financial risk and return in investment practices. In 2020, he led this collaboration to co-author the article “How Investors Can Integrate Social Impact With Financial Performance to Improve Both” in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, as well as an accompanying Investor Handbook.
Mike was previously Head of Impact at Root Capital, where his article “Toward the Efficient Impact Frontier” was featured in the Winter 2017 issue of SSIR. Prior to that, he consulted for Monitor Company and conducted research for Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter.
Mike holds an MBA and an MPA in International Development from Harvard University, as well as a BA from Yale University.
In a previous life, Mike was a violinist, pianist, and orchestral conductor, and now lives outside of Boston with his wife and two daughters.
Caitlin Rosser, Senior Officer, Impact & Communications, Calvert Impact Capital
Caitlin leads Calvert Impact Capital's impact measurement and management (IMM) efforts, including managing how they define and measure impact and report to internal and external audiences. As part of this work, she co-led the development of Calvert Impact Capital’s IMM strategy to focus on three key stakeholder groups: their investors, their borrowers, and the communities in which their borrowers work. Caitlin leads Calvert Impact Capital’s engagement with various industry groups, including the GIIN’s IRIS+ workstreams, the Impact Principles, and the Impact Frontiers Collaboration. She also supports Calvert Impact Capital’s thought leadership and growth goals and contributes to strategy, communications, and marketing efforts. Caitlin brings a dynamic experience of working in both the public and nonprofit sectors in a variety of roles.
Caitlin joined Calvert Impact Capital after completing a Master’s degree in Social Enterprise, where she also consulted for various nonprofits both in the US and abroad and gained extensive experience in project management, monitoring & evaluation, and implementing tools to assist organizations in better fulfilling their missions. Previously, Caitlin served in several budget and financial management roles at the US Department of Justice. Her years in public service helped her to understand the importance of linking outcomes to programmatic activities and communicating results. Caitlin brings an outcomes-oriented mindset, thinking strategically about how a project’s activities are creating positive, measurable outcomes.
Caitlin holds a BS in Business and a MA in Social Enterprise from American University.