BOSTON, MA—September 9, 2020—The Bridgespan Group today announced that Matt Bannick, former managing partner of the Omidyar Network, has been named a Bridgespan Fellow.
In this role, Bannick will work with Bridgespan’s impact investing team as an adviser, supporting the team in an analysis of impact investments that accept higher perceived risk and/or below-market returns in order to generate positive impact and produce results that attract private investors (investments sometimes referred to as “catalytic capital”). As demonstrated by past and current catalytic investments, these sources of capital can help move the needle on critical social challenges, including those related to economic, racial, climate, and health inequities globally.
He will also coauthor an article from upcoming research with Bridgespan, which will build on previous work by Omidyar Network (ON) and explore current giving trends in the impact investing market, including best practices.
As ON’s managing partner for 12 years, Bannick was responsible for building Omidyar Network into one of the premier early stage impact investors. Omidyar Network pioneered a “flexible capital” approach to philanthropy, enabling the firm to either provide grant and/or investment capital to innovative impact-driven organizations. Under Matt’s leadership, Omidyar Network invested more than $1.3 billion in pursuit of its mission: To create opportunity for individuals to improve their lives, and the lives of their family, their community and society, with the objective of social impact at scale.
Bridgespan Partner Michael Etzel, who will be working closely with Bannick, said, “I cannot think of a person better positioned to push our thinking and influence impact investor practice than Matt. A highly accomplished impact investor, he brings a wide range of executive, international, and multi-sector experience to the table, from the private sector to his teaching experience at Stanford and his service on multiple boards of organizations with social impact missions.”
Said Bannick, “While at ON I had several opportunities to collaborate with Bridgespan as a client. Bridgespan has not only delivered exceptional value to its clients, it has also brought great insight to the philanthropic community and helped build the field. I see this fellowship as an opportunity to partner with a leading thought leader in impact investing and to find creative ways to unleash more capital for social good.”
Before joining ON, Bannick was a member of eBay Inc.’s executive staff for eight years. As the general manager and later as president of eBay International, he was largely responsible for building eBay’s global footprint. Matt also served as the president of PayPal after its acquisition by eBay, integrating PayPal into the eBay platform and expanding PayPal beyond the eBay platform and internationally.
Bannick has held board positions at Bridge International Academies, d.light design, Endeavor, the GIIN, Landesa, the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, and the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED). He also teaches a course on new business models in emerging markets at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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About The Bridgespan Group
The Bridgespan Group (www.bridgespan.org) is a global nonprofit organization that collaborates with mission-driven organizations, philanthropists, and investors to break cycles of poverty and dramatically improve the quality of life for those in need. With a presence in Boston, Mumbai, New York, Johannesburg and San Francisco, Bridgespan’s services include strategy consulting, leadership development, philanthropy and nonprofit advising, impact investing strategy and diligence, and developing and sharing practical insights.
