Indian entrepreneur and business leader
Geeta Aiyer
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Born
| 1958
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Education
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Known for
| Founder and President of Boston Common Asset Management
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Geeta Aiyer
is an Indian
entrepreneur
, business leader, and
social activist
, best known as founder and president of Boston Common Asset Management, a
sustainable investment
firm.
Early life and education
[
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]
Aiyer was born in
Chennai
,
India
in 1958.
[1]
Aiyer moved to America in 1983 to attend
Harvard Business School
.
[2]
She was the second
Indian woman
to attend to attend the school and graduated with an
MBA
in
finance
in 1985.
[3]
Aiyer also has a
BA
with honors
as well as an
MA
degree from
Delhi University
, India.
[4]
Career
[
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]
After graduating from Harvard, Aiyer started with
Cambridge Associates
as a consultant. She also founded the company East India Spice, her first entrepreneurial venture.
[2]
In 1988, Aiyer became an analyst and portfolio manager at the
United States Trust Company
of Boston. She advised executives of the
Albertsons
supermarket chain after they had lost a $108 million lawsuit over denying female employees
advancement opportunities
. Aiyer "demonstrated to Albertsons that unfair employment practices were a financial liability", resulting in the company making a commitment to gender equity moving forward.
[5]
In 1994, Aiyer founded Walden Capital Management, using the revenues made from running her first company. Aiyer cites pursuing "dual goals of financial return and social change on behalf her clients" as a driving principal behind establishing a firm focused on
responsible investment
.
[1]
[6]
From 1998 to 2002, Aiyer was president of
Walden Asset Management
.
[1]
In 2003, Aiyer founded Boston Common Asset Management as an employee-owned sustainable investment firm.
[7]
Aiyer has served as its president since 2003, overseeing $5 billion in assets under management. Boston Common is known for practicing
ethical investing
, making investments in line with
environmental, social, and corporate governance
(ESG) goals.
[2]
[8]
Boston Common joined a group of other
impact investors
to pressure the
Washington Redskins
to change the name of their football team due to
racial concerns
over their name, a campaign that ran over the course of 12 years. The team complied in 2020 after the
police killing of George Floyd
. Aiyer remarked: "There comes a tipping point when, after a company has been fighting you, they suddenly let go because it becomes obvious to them that it’s not worth continuing the fight."
[1]
[5]
Activism
[
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]
Aiyer founded the
nonprofit organization
Direct Action for Women Now (DAWN), which advocates for victims of
gender based violence in India
.
[3]
[4]
Awards and honors
[
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]
- In 2010, Aiyer was awarded the Highest Leaf Award by the
Women's Venture Fund
[4]
- In 2014, India New England named her Woman of the Year
[3]
- In 2020, Aiyer was inducted into YW Boston's Academy of Women Achievers, honoring her dedication to "eliminating racism and
empowering women
"
[9]
- In 2021, Aiyer was named to the
Boston Business Journal
's 2021 Power 50: The Movement Makers for being a "pioneer in impact investing"
[10]
- In 2023, Aiyer was included by
Time
into the first
TIME100
Climate list, recognizing the 100 most innovative leaders driving business
climate action
[8]
References
[
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]