“Globalisation must pay for globalisation”
I had the pleasure of welcoming @Bertrand Badré, CEO of the impact investment fund Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital and a former Managing Director of the World Bank.
From the Inspection générale des finances to Bercy, from investment banks to the subprime crisis and the highest levels of international finance, he has experienced the major economic upheavals of recent decades from the inside, driven by one enduring conviction: finance must fully accept its responsibility for the future of the world.
Bertrand is a brilliant mind, deeply committed to the common good.
He speaks candidly about “greed”, crises, power and responsibility, but also about self-worth, the legacy he leaves his children and his personal refusal to “look back in 20 years and say: I could see it was going to end badly, and I did nothing”.
With Blue Like an Orange, he seeks to show that investing can be both profitable and purposeful, placing ESG considerations at the heart of value creation.
In this episode, Bertrand looks back on:
- His childhood and outstanding academic path: HEC, Sciences Po and ENA, while working alongside his studies.
- His beginnings in public finance at the Inspection générale des finances.
- His move into investment banking at Lazard and his introduction to that world.
- Innovative development-financing mechanisms, such as earmarked taxes.
- His role as Chief Financial Officer of Crédit Agricole during the subprime crisis.
- The series of steps that led him to a managing director role at the World Bank.
- The founding of Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital and the fund’s mission.
- ESG considerations and their real impact on value creation.
- The book he co-wrote on sharing power between women and men.
- His definition of audacity: resisting the temptation to give up and taking action.
