The "Impact Pioneer" - Sir Ronald Cohen

Welcome to the hotseat where Joe McCarthy sits with Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder of Apax Partners, Chair of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, and author of IMPACT.Sir Ronald is widely regarded as the father of both European venture capital and impact investing. He arrived in London as an 11-year-old refugee from Egypt speaking almost no English, made his way to Oxford and Harvard, and went on to build one of the defining venture and private equity firms of its generation before stepping away to devote himself to what he calls the impact revolution.His argument is simple and radical: governments are stretched, inequality is widening, and relying on taxation and philanthropy alone has failed. The answer is to redirect the trillions already moving through capital markets by measuring impact the way we measure profit. In this conversation he explains why 2026 is a watershed year for that idea, and how AI is changing what is possible.In this conversation, Sir Ronald and Joe discuss the following topics:Why optimising for impact is a route to superior returns, not a trade-offThe hidden risks of impact-blind investing: carbon taxes, consumer flight, and talentWhy carbon tax is the single lever that moves the dial on emissionsHow impact-weighted accounting turns tons of carbon and water into monetary valueThe 1929-to-GAAP parallel and why transparency built modern marketsWhat Harry Markowitz and the measurement of risk teach us about measuring impactWhether public market sustainable investing has any real additionalityMeasuring social impact: pay, representation, and the cost of unemployment to a communityWhere AI meets impact, from education at scale to the first AI-derived drugHow families and family offices should build impact at the portfolio levelGovernments shifting from funding inputs to paying for outcomesHis advice to a younger self: start young, think big, stick with it, and bring impact to itFollow us on:YouTube: @HighNetPurposeInstagram: @highnetpurposeTwitter: @HighNetPurposeLinkedIn: high-net-purposeConnect with Sir Ronald Cohen:LinkedIn: Sir Ronald CohenWebsite: sirronaldcohen.orgBooks: IMPACT: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change (2nd expanded edition, 2025), The Second Bounce of the Ball, ON IMPACT00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview 02:33 Sir Ronald's Sense of Purpose 05:18 Refugee Roots and Early Life 06:44 Oxford Union and Learning to Speak Without Notes 09:14 From McKinsey to Founding Apax Partners 10:38 Building European Venture Capital from Scratch 11:48 Deciding to Leave Apax at 60 13:02 The Government Call That Started the Impact Mission 15:36 The Social Impact Bond - From Idea to Peterborough 17:57 Challenges and Surprises in the Impact Journey 20:03 Why Impact Is Not a Trade-Off for Returns 22:54 Carbon Tax as an Investor Risk 24:52 Consumer Preferences - Cycle vs Long-Term Trend 28:12 Impact Weighted Accounting - Origins and How It Works 33:24 From ESG 1.0 to Rigorous Impact Measurement 35:27 Additionality in Public Markets 38:10 Leaders and Laggards - Sector-Level Impact Transparency 41:36 How AI Is Unlocking Impact Data at Scale 44:00 Monetising Social Impact - Diversity Deficits and Employment 46:58 Impact Lenses Across the Whole Portfolio 51:06 Advice for Families and Entrepreneurs Deploying Capital 55:53 Where to Go for Reliable Impact Information 58:23 Governments, Outcomes Funds and the Systemic Shift 01:03:13 Advice to a Younger Self - and the Second Bounce of the Ball 01:04:07 How Sir Ronald Stays Energised 01:05:29 Closing ReflectionsThis podcast is prepared by Islandbridge Capital Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.All content on High Net Purpose is provided as general information only. It does not constitute any advice or recommendation or representations, and is not intended to influence listeners or users into making any specific investments or any other decisions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.