The Changemaker Speaker Series is an annual program of the Changemaker Collaborative which brings innovative and inspiring business leaders to campus to talk all things People, Planet and Profits twice per semester. Panelists discuss a variety of topics and ways to utilize business as a force to make the world a better place. 

Free and Open to the Public
Thank you to our Changemaker Speaker Series partners:
Responsible Governance and Sustainable Citizen Project/College of Liberal Arts

NH Businesses for Social Responsibility

Creating Real Value in a Changing World: Bringing Stakeholder Capitalism into Practice
February 25 | 12:30 - 2pm 
REGISTER
 

Speakers headshots

Guest Speakers:

Deborah Merrill-Sands | Dean, Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics
Jason McBriarty | Levi Strauss & Co. | Levi Strauss Foundation
Judy Samuelson  | Executive Director, Aspen Institute, Business & Society Program, author The Six New Rules of Business: Creating Real Value in a Changing World

It’s just over 50 years since Milton Friedman published his doctrine asserting that only legitimate social responsibility of business was to increase its profits, and 18 months since the Business Roundtable (almost 200 CEOs of the largest corporations in America) released a powerful statement apparently overturning five decade of shareholder capitalism, and advocating for a form of capitalism that creates value for all stakeholders. For those who believe business has the potential to make material progress on our greatest global challenges – including climate change and inequality – this appeared a major turning point. At the same time, there’s no quick path to dismantling a half-century of shareholder primacy, or the scaffolding that supports it. Judy Samuelson, Executive Director, Aspen Institute, Business & Society Program, and author of the new book, The Six New Rules of Business: Creating Real Value in a Changing World will lead a dialog with business and business education leaders to reflect on the progress being made by BRT members and other companies, discuss tangible examples of how companies are radically altering “business as usual” and discuss where there remain significant barriers, as well as the role we all will play in helping shatter those barriers for a more sustainable future.

 

Uncharted: Navigating to a Sustainable Future
April 22 | 12:30 - 2pm 
REGISTER

uncharted book cover

Guest Speaker:
Margaret Heffernan, author of the new book, Uncharted, nominated for the Financial Times/McKinsey Best Business Book Award 2020

This book argues that "Doing everything today that you might need for tomorrow provides the antidote to passivity and prediction." This is a timely and outstanding new book for these turbulent and uncertain times, Uncharted by Margaret Heffernan explores the people and organizations who aren’t paralyzed and daunted by uncertainty. Those of us in the field of sustainability know that creating a sustainable future demands figuring out how to navigate in uncharted territory, to address highly complex challenges, work across silos and sectors to do bold experiments to discover new options, and ultimately develop effective, sustainable solutions. But knowing how to do that is not easy. This book provides important answers.