Presidio Student Insights: A Winning Pitch from the Next Generation of Sustainable Investors

A picture of the students from Presidio Graduate School, who won IEN’s 2023 Student Corporate Engagement Challenge.

Beyond Carbon Podcast - Episode 11

In this episode, hosts Chris Ito and Georges Dyer engage in a captivating conversation with a trio of students from Presidio Graduate School, who were members of the team that emerged victorious in the IEN’s 2023 Student Corporate Engagement Challenge in the Graduate category. The challenge encourages students to pitch an investment in a publicly traded company, coupled with a shareholder engagement strategy. The conversation focuses on their investment pitch for First Solar and its groundbreaking thin-film cadmium telluride technology, offering a more sustainable alternative to traditional solar panels.

Guests

The winning team members from Presidio Graduate School include:

In this episode, Georges and Chris talk with Callie Green, Steph Motta and Claire Nevels.

Conversation

  • Explores the rationale behind an investment in First Solar
  • Underscores the importance of engaging on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), especially in leadership, as an area where companies can improve and unlock economic value.
  • Illustrates the pivotal role of educational institutions in empowering students to advocate for systemic changes towards a more sustainable and just world.
  • Showcases the proactive steps being taken by the next generation in aligning investment strategies with the urgent need for environmental and social justice.

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Beyond Carbon Podcast Hosts

Picture of Chris Ito

Chris Ito

CEO, FFI Solutions

Chris is the CEO of FFI Solutions and a member of the board of its parent company FFI Holdings. Drawing upon his 30 years of experience in the financial services and asset management industries, Chris conceived and managed the launch of FFI Energy Transition Strategies, a family of thematic strategies that provide investors with exposure to the structural shift currently occurring in the global economy. He is currently the Co-chair of the Advisory Board of the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University.
Picture of Georges Dyer

Georges Dyer

Executive Director at Intentional Endowments Network

Georges Dyer is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Crane Institute of Sustainability, and leads its flagship initiative, the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN), which supports endowments in aligning investment policies with institutional mission, values, and sustainability goals. For over 20 years he has been engaged in solutions-based, whole-system approaches to sustainability. Georges serves on the Board of Change Is Simple, a non-profit bringing project-based sustainability education into classrooms in eastern Massachusetts. 

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