SVX is delighted to welcome Richard Muller to the SVX family in the role of Senior Advisor and Peer Leader, Impact United. We are absolutely thrilled to have him on board.
As an MBA graduate from the University of Western Ontario and a BA graduate from the University of British Columbia, Richard has been interested and involved throughout his career in increasing both individual and institutional capital committed to impact investing. He helped launch Ethical Funds across the Canadian credit union system to provide members with a socially-responsible investment alternative to conventional mutual funds. He has also worked directly with portfolio companies funded by the Vancity Community Foundation operated by Vancity Savings Credit Union, one of the largest community-based financial institutions in the world.
Richard is also the Chief Collaboration Officer for Toniic, a global membership community comprised of active impact investors — high net-worth individuals, family offices and foundations — from more than 25 countries. Richard oversees all business development, partnership and sponsorship activities, as part of the senior management team.
Richard operates a private equity and management consulting firm focused on mission-based organizations and social enterprises. Prior to founding his current company, Richard held a number of senior management positions for over ten years across North America with Young & Rubicam (Y&R), a leading global advertising and communications firm. He began his stint with Y&R after he and a group of partners sold their database marketing company to the agency in 1999. Before that, Richard had also successfully started and managed a marketing research company, serving the needs of community-based financial institutions across Canada.
Even though we are operating in a primarily virtual world, we wanted to provide an opportunity for you to get to know him a little bit better. We’ve prepared five key questions for you to get to know our new colleague:
When you were ten (10) years old, what did you want to be when you grew up?
At ten (10), I was consumed with sports — mostly football and hockey. I wanted to be the next Bart Starr or Gordie Howe. So I am really dating myself with this answer…
What SDG is most important to you and why?
From an investing standpoint, I would say SDG#10 — Reducing Inequalities. I look for entrepreneurs and companies that are trying to help people overcome obstacles and barriers in reaching their full potential. From a philanthropic standpoint, it would be SDG#4 — Quality Education. That is something very important to my wife and me
What is the last book you read (that wasn’t about impact investing)?
I am currently reading Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” Once we are back to being able to meet in person, I look forward to impressing friends and family over dinner or drinks with interesting but useless trivia gleaned from reading this!
Who is one person you admire in the world of impact investing and/or social and environmental justice?
I will say one couple: Charly and Lisa Kleissner. They have inspired me to take a “full-self” approach to impact investing — it’s not just about investing but how you live your values in other areas as well.
Why is impact investing important to you?
As an impact investor, I can not only deploy my capital with purpose, but also contribute my time and experience to supporting entrepreneurs and companies that are helping solve social and environmental issues.
The SVX team eagerly looks forward to working together with Richard on all the projects to come in 2021!
