Nature Conservancy CEO to Speak on Marrying Capitalism and Environmentalism, Oct. 31

Mark Tercek believes in capital. For the first part of his career at Goldman Sachs, that meant capital for financial investments. Today, as CEO of The Nature Conservancy, he puts the emphasis on "natural capital" as a vocal champion of valuing nature for its own sake and for what it provides humans: clean air and water, productive soils, and stable clients.

Tercek will speak about his unique career path and how he leads his organization’s work in marrying two unlikely bedfellows—environmentalism and capitalism—in a talk at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 31 in the Wells Fargo Room. The event is co-hosted by the Dean's Speaker Series, Center for Responsible Business, and the Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative. Registration will be available on the Dean’s Speakers Series website as the date approaches.

Tercek spent 24 years at Goldman Sachs before taking the helm of The Nature Conservancy, a global conservation organization. He managed several of Goldman Sachs' key units, including corporate finance, equity capital markets, and Pine Street, the firm’s leadership development program. After two decades as an investment banker, Tercek was tapped to develop the firm’s environmental strategy and to lead its Environmental Markets Group.

Growing up as a city kid in Cleveland, Ohio, Tercek was a late-bloomer to conservation. It was becoming a parent that sparked his passion for nature. “I want to be able to look my kids in the eye and tell them I did all I could to leave the world a better place," he says on the conservancy's website.

Inspired to help businesses, governments, and environmental organizations work together in innovative ways, Tercek left Goldman Sachs in 2008 to lead The Nature Conservancy. He is the author of the bestselling book Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.

This Dean's Speaker Series event is made possible in part by the Mary Josephine Hicks Distinguished Speaker Series Fund.

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