14. Naomi Krieger Carmy: Solving Societal Challenges through Innovation and Impact

Naomi Krieger Carmy is a Senior VP at Social Finance Israel, an Israeli not-for-profit organization that issues Social Impact Bonds. She has had a global career that has spanned roles in investment banking, economic development and policy, and has recently had a particular focus on furthering innovation through the UK Israel Tech Hub a public/private venture to promote business and tech collaboration between the UK and Israel. Her most recent role prior to the current one was as VP and Head of the Societal Challenges division at the Israel Innovation Authority, where she was was responsible for policy, programs and funding for R&D of impact tech and development of human capital for the innovation ecosystem. Our conversation starts with her education and time in the Israeli army, tracing her path from economist to investment banker to policy expert. We then turn to her more recent work focusing on some of the human capital challenges that come with companies in stages of fast-paced innovation. We examine what these challenges are and what works to address them, in particular to get more gender balance into such organizations. We close with a discussion of the growing of social impact bonds, what kind of impact is targeted and how it is measured. This is an area we are likely to hear much more of in coming years and this podcast is an excellent primer. This podcast was made possible with the kind support of Emanuel Arbib of IAM Capital Group, a global alternative investment group, and the individuals Elissa Bayer and Avital Eusgeld.