Former CEO of Business in the Community to Drive Growth of Anthemis Institute’s Academy, Research and Fellowship Programs
LONDON, April 11, 2017 – Anthemis, cultivators of change in financial services, today announced that Stephen Howard, LVO has joined the firm as Board Chairman of the Anthemis Institute.
Stephen joins Anthemis from an eleven-year tenure as CEO of Business in the Community (BITC), one of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organizations of which The Prince of Wales is President. Prior to BITC, Stephen held a number of executive roles in the corporate sector, serving as CEO of Cookson Group, Chief Executive of Novar, and trustee at Big Society Trust.
Stephen also serves as Chairman of Power to Change, an independent charitable trust, and is Chairman of the National Schools Partnership and Thames Reach.
Founded in 2016, the Anthemis Institute’s mission is to help technology and society evolve together, wisely and fairly. The Institute provides a fertile ground for entrepreneurs, academics, business leaders and visionaries to share their skills, rethink the role of innovation and find scalable solutions to the most critical issues facing society.
The Institute consists of three primary parts:
- Academy – delivering immersive courses in digital financial services for industry professionals, students, government agencies and entrepreneurs. The first wave of postgraduate Academy programs are currently in beta with a handful of UK-based educational institutions.
- Research – exploring critical themes and proposing specific solutions to the issues that arise from rapid, unprecedented technological growth. Carlota Perez continues to serve as Anthemis Academic-in-Residence as she conducts research for her next book, coming in 2018, a follow-up to 2002’s Technological Revolutions in Financial Capital.
- Fellowship – a six-month bespoke venture design program that takes promising entrepreneurial talent from idea to venture brief. The first cohort from the newly redesigned Anthemis Fellowship, our fourth cycle of Fellows, graduates later this month.
Key themes for the Institute in 2017 are sustainability; diversity; poverty and financial inclusion; and the future of work.
Stephen Howard, Board Chair of the Anthemis Institute, said: “Anthemis is a truly one-of-a-kind organization in its sector. It was clear to me from my earliest conversations with the team that everyone at Anthemis is committed to bringing lasting, positive change to the financial services industry. I look forward to furthering Anthemis’ mission by expanding our ecosystem to include likeminded charitable partners interested in joining the cause.”
Nadeem Shaikh, Founder and CEO of Anthemis, said: “Stephen’s experience leading Business in the Community – a self-described ‘movement’ of businesses committed to improving their positive impact on society – could not be more aligned with our values. We are lucky to have Stephen on board to help us expand the impact we believe our Institute can make on the world’s most pressing challenges.”
For more information on the Anthemis Institute, and to find out how you can get involved, please contact institute@anthemis.com.