Cathy Clark

Named social innovation thought leader of the year and top female faculty influencer in business and society, Cathy Clark has over 30 years of experience in using business for good. She is an award-winning professor who has taught at Duke University, UNC, and Columbia Business Schools, and has been a professional investor, philanthropist, researcher, and consultant. Her focus: helping entrepreneurs and investors impact the world. 

Cathy serves as Faculty Director for CASE at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and for the CASE i3 Initiative on Impact Investing. 

Cathy is a serial entrepreneur, collaborative partner, and pioneering influencer. In 2001, she taught Columbia Business School’s first course in social entrepreneurship. In 2007, she helped create the standards for B Corporations, which have been used by over 250,000 companies, including the thousands who are now certified or legally incorporated globally as B Corporations or public benefit corps. In 2011, she founded CASE i3 at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, launching the first 2-year MBA fellowship in impact investing. In 2013, she served on the G8 Task Force on Social Impact Investing US National Advisory Board and completed the first study on high performing impact investment funds. Her co-authored book, The Impact Investor, reached #18 in finance textbooks on Amazon. Her online courses have since reached over 30,000 learners. 

Prior to her academic career, Cathy was an impact investor at Flatiron Partners, a grantmaker and PRI investor at the Markle Foundation, and a policy convener at the Aspen Institute She has written or co-authored over 60 publications and is a dynamic, sought-after speaker. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from the University of Virginia.  Her full CV is available here