Tariq Fancy: A Journey from Purpose to Whistleblower
Hosted by New Standard Institute’s Maxine Bédat
Fri, Jan 27, 5:30 pm
American Swedish Institute
Part of the Climate Solutions Series
Hear from Tariq Fancy, Former Chief Investment Officer for Sustainable Investing at BlackRock, about his journey from chief champion of sustainable investing to chief critic in a conversation guided by New Standard Institute’s Maxine Bédat, recognized as “a catalyst seeking reform” in The Business of Fashion’s BoF 500.
About the participants
Tariq Fancy previously served as the Chief Investment Officer for Sustainable Investing at BlackRock in 2018 and 2019, where he was responsible for integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations across the investment activities of the world's largest asset manager.
He currently serves as the CEO of Rumie, an education technology charity he originally founded in 2013. Rumie uses innovative and accessible mobile-based microlearning to close learning gaps and today reaches learners in more than 200 countries, including allowing Afghan women and girls to learn safely from anywhere in local languages through mobile phones. Rumie is a graduate of Y-Combinator and is the subject of business school case studies by INSEAD and Harvard Business School.
Tariq began his career in Credit Suisse First Boston's technology-sector investment banking group in Silicon Valley in 2001. In late 2003, he joined New York-based private equity firm MHR Fund Management, focused on investing in distressed and special situations, and became the firm's youngest partner in 2006. From 2010 to 2012, he helped build and invest in new strategies at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Tariq holds an honors BA with distinction from Brown University, an MBA from INSEAD, and a Master's in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris. Tariq's voice has been featured in such media outlets as Bloomberg News, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Independent, The Globe and Mail, Mother Jones, The Economist, Reuters, FT, MSNBC, ABC, among others.
Maxine Bédat is the founder and director of New Standard Institute, a think and do tank using data to drive accountability in industry. She is also the author of the book, UNRAVELED: The Life and Death of a Garment, which was longlisted for the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2021. Prior to NSI, Maxine co-founded and was the CEO of Zady, a fashion brand and lifestyle destination creating a transparent and sustainable future for the apparel industry. For its work in sustainability, Zady was named one of the world’s “Most Innovative Companies” in retail by Fast Company. Bédat has been recognized by Oprah in her Super Soul 100, for leaders elevating humanity. She has spoken at some of the world’s leading conferences, including the WWD Apparel/Retail CEO Summit, and has been regularly featured as an expert by Bloomberg, the Financial Times, The New York Times, Vogue, Forbes, Business of Fashion, and CNN. Bédat began her career in international law working at the Rwandan Criminal Tribunal and Allen & Overy, and received a Juris Doctor with distinction from Columbia Law School. She lives with her husband and daughter in Minneapolis.