Pioneering the business of social investing

Arthur Wood brings over twenty years of experience in the finance sector to his work on social investing. He heads the Social Financial Services (SFS) at Ashoka, engaging global financial service firms in investing in the social sector. He creates strategies and delivers insight into how investors can use their capital to increase the flow and efficiency of financing to the social sector.

Prior to joining Ashoka, Arthur worked with a number of banks – both institutional and private – creating product models and services that have been widely accepted and replicated across the sector. At Coutts, the UK’s most prestigious private bank, Wood conceptualized and managed a project for the innovative use of Offshore Insurance products which has now been adopted across the private banking industry as a key planning tool. As a Director of another leading UK bank, Kleinwort Benson Private Bank, Wood re-engineered and headed the teams associated with Product Development across the entire range of financial instruments. The group was voted the most innovative product team in an award by Private Asset Management magazine. Arthur was also head of e-commerce for the private bank, and he pioneered a model which McKinsey & Co. described as the cutting-edge of strategic web development. He attended the London School of Economics, HEC in France, and Bocconi School of Management in Italy.

As an accomplished debater and innovative thinker on finance, Arthur brings a valued perspective on financing the citizen sector.

Speech Topics

• Financing the Social Sector
• Marketing and Information Technology 
• Venture Philanthropy