“Accountability for stewarding strategic commitments to action across the company or firm starts and ends with the Board. Directors of successful organisations need to be equipped to identify and embrace new opportunities while responding to multi-dimensional risks, and successful organisations will embrace the opportunities. In the next 5 years, leaders can expect to have to demonstrate more than answer not just to whether they took impact into account; they but will have to answer the question why their entire approach has not been oriented to avoid harm and do more good for people and planet. ”
Laurie Spengler
Founding Partner
Laurie understands that the power of boards is not in what they say but what they do. She believes boards will be judged not on what they are supposed to do but on the decisions they take or avoid taking. Actions speak louder than words.
Laurie J. Spengler is an impact investment banker, board member and active contributor to the impact investing industry.
Among current board engagements, Laurie serves as a non-executive director of British International Investment (formerly known as CDC) (the UK DFI), Lendable, a global fintech lender and BRAC Uganda Bank Limited. She is an Impact Advisor to the Future Fund of private equity firm EQT and a founding partner of Mondiale Impact which puts impact at the heart of 21st century governance. Laurie serves as Global Ambassador to the Global Steering Group on Impact Investing, is a member of the Advisory Council of the UK Impact Investing Institute and was a long-standing member of the Gender Smart Advisory Council. She is a Senior Fellow and Advisory Council member of Casei3 at the Fuqua Business School. Laurie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Laurie is CEO of Courageous Capital Advisors, LLC, an impact investing advisory firm dedicated to generating outsized positive impact by providing targeted strategy, transaction and governance services. The investment strategies that Laurie advances have a particular focus on un(der)served markets, communities and individuals. Laurie has been advancing gender lens investing for many years as an ally, advisor and field builder.
Previously, Laurie was CEO of Enclude Ltd. and Enclude Capital UK Limited. Prior to building Enclude Capital, Laurie was Founder and CEO of Central European Advisory Group and also worked as an attorney with the New York, Brussels and Prague offices of White & Case.
Laurie has a JD from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.