Geeta Aiyer
{{short description|Indian entrepreneur and business leader}}
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| birth_place = Chennai, India
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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
Aiyer was born in Chennai, India in 1958.{{Cite news |title=Chief of female-led boutique on the ESG 'tipping point' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/601c6d1c-0fc9-4018-8c7b-26299f98f2b2 |last=Riding |first=Siobhan |work=Financial Times |date=29 August 2020 |access-date=4 December 2023}}
Aiyer moved to America in 1983 to attend Harvard Business School.{{Cite news |title=Geeta Aiyer: A life of integrity |url=https://www.baystatebanner.com/2015/09/10/geeta-aiyer-a-life-of-integrity/ |last=Murningham |first=Marcy |work=Bay State Banner |date=10 September 2015 |access-date=5 December 2023}} She was the second Indian woman to attend to attend the school and graduated with an MBA in finance in 1985.{{Cite web |title=In Chai With Manju, Woman of the Year 2014 Geeta Aiyer Talks About Her Selection for IAS, Second Indian Woman to Go to Harvard Business School and Entrepreneurial Journey |url=https://indianewengland.com/in-chai-with-manju-woman-of-the-year-2014-geeta-aiyer-talks-about-her-selection-for-ias-second-indian-woman-to-go-to-harvard-business-school-and-entrepreneurial-journey/ |website=IndiaNewEngland.com |date=8 May 2015 |access-date=5 December 2023}} Aiyer also has a BA with honors as well as an MA degree from Delhi University, India.{{Cite web |title=Geeta Aiyer |url=https://www.intentionalendowments.org/geeta_aiyer_bio |website=InternationalEndowments.org |access-date=6 December 2023}}
Career
After graduating from Harvard, Aiyer started with Cambridge Associates as a consultant. She also founded the company East India Spice, her first entrepreneurial venture.
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.{{Cite web |title=Holding Business to Account |url=https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=8018 |website=Harvard Business School |date=29 January 2021 |access-date=4 December 2023}}
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.{{Cite news |title='Socially responsible' mutual fund branches into international investing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/195638387/?terms=%22Geeta%20Aiyer%22&match=1 |last=Blahnik |first=Mike |work=Star Tribune |date=8 April 2000 |access-date=8 December 2023}}
From 1998 to 2002, Aiyer was president of Walden Asset Management.
In 2003, Aiyer founded Boston Common Asset Management as an employee-owned sustainable investment firm.{{Cite news |title=Geeta Aiyer |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/geeta-aiyer/?sh=227b0b5f7149 |work=Forbes |access-date=7 December 2023}} 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.{{Cite magazine |title=Geeta Aiyer: President and founder, Boston Common Asset Management |url=https://time.com/collection/time100-climate/6332931/geeta-aiyer/ |magazine=Time |date=16 November 2023 |access-date=3 December 2023}}
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."
Aiyer is currently a member of Boston University's Impact Measurement & Allocation Program's advisory board.{{Cite web |title=Current Board Members |url=https://www.bu.edu/imap/affiliation/boardmember-current/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Boston University}}
Activism
Aiyer founded the nonprofit organization Direct Action for Women Now (DAWN), which advocates for victims of gender based violence in India.
Awards and honors
- In 2010, Aiyer was awarded the Highest Leaf Award by the Women's Venture Fund
- In 2014, India New England named her Woman of the Year
- In 2017, Aiyer was the recipient of the Joan Bavaria Award at the CERES conference{{Cite web |title=Geeta Aiyer |url=https://www.bu.edu/imap/profiles/geeta-aiyer/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Boston University}}
- In 2020, Aiyer was inducted into YW Boston's Academy of Women Achievers, honoring her dedication to "eliminating racism and empowering women"{{Cite web |title=Meet Geeta Aiyer, 2020 Academy of Women Achievers Awardee |url=https://www.ywboston.org/2020/06/meet-geeta-aiyer-2020-academy-of-women-achievers-awardee/ |website=YWBoston.org |date=26 June 2020 |access-date=6 December 2023 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203024249/https://www.ywboston.org/2020/06/meet-geeta-aiyer-2020-academy-of-women-achievers-awardee/ |url-status=dead }}
- In 2021, Aiyer was named to the Boston Business Journal's 2021 Power 50: The Movement Makers for being a "pioneer in impact investing"{{Cite web |title=Meet the 2021 honorees of the BBJ's Power 50: The Movement Makers |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2021/11/18/meet-the-2021-honorees-of-the-bbjs-power-50-the.html |website=American City Business Journals |last=Jones |first=Carolyn M. |date=18 November 2021 |access-date=7 December 2023}}
- In 2023, Aiyer was included by Time into the first TIME100 Climate list, recognizing the 100 most innovative leaders driving business climate action
References
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Category:Chief executives in the finance industry
Category:Delhi University alumni
Category:Financial company founders
Category:Harvard Business School alumni
Category:Indian women activists
Category:Indian women chief executives
Category:Indian chief executives
Category:Indian women company founders