On February 18, the University of Utah MBA program had 8 seats available for students to attend a dinner hosted by the TIAA-CREF. The TIAA-CREF is a company that focuses on socially responsible investing. The company is committed to helping improve society by supporting funds that are socially responsible. The TIAA-CREF offers a range of products like retirement planning, IRA, mutual funds, and even life insurance.
The keynote speaker was Scott Budde. He started working for the TIAA-CREF in 2006 as the Chief Investment Officer. Budde has over 20 years of experience in investing and banking. With his vast knowledge in microfinance, Budde was a perfect fit for the company. He spoke about microfinance, his viewpoints, and what industries he believes will be successful. Throughout his speech, he touched on how important social responsibility was and how it is interconnected with microfinance.
For those unfamiliar with microfinance, it is a niche market where entrepreneurs lend small loans to people (primarily in third-world countries) to start businesses. Unlike traditional loans, microfinance loans have an extremely high rate of repayment and profitability for the lender due to the sense of ownership the business person feels.
Social responsibility has been a big topic with corporations lately. What can companies like Nike, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy do to help lessen their impact on the environment? All large corporations have to incorporate some type of sustainability plan in their company due to this upcoming and hopefully long-standing trend.
Some people may not believe that being socially responsible can result in revenue. On the contrary, socially responsible companies are succeeding in turning a profit. As more consumers are turning their loyalty towards companies who are doing socially good things, companies have had to address their need internally with their own employees and externally for consumers.
If you are interested in learning more about TIAA-CREF or possible career opportunities, go to http://www.tiaa-cref.org/.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment