Nicola Galombik, Executive Director of Yellowwoods Holdings (owners of Nando’s restaurants, Hollard insurance, Spier wines and many others), joins Alberto Lidji to discuss achieving ESG impact.
A must-listen episode for anyone who is interested in integrating ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) into their investments and taking an active, strategic approach to ensuring investee and portfolio companies drive forward the Global Sustainability Agenda.
Yellowwoods is an investment firm and business-builder. They are driven by purpose and we explore how they’re leveraging a range of tools, including procurement, supply chains, youth and inclusive employment initiatives, and regenerative agriculture to drive impact across entire industries.
All of Yellowwoods’ businesses were born in South Africa and many are now global multinationals and household names.
This episode inspires, informs and serves as a call to action for investors and grant-makers alike to leverage commercial models and multi-sectoral partnerships for good.
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About Nicola Galombik
Nicola is a business leader and social innovator with decades of experience in driving shared value in business and multi-sector partnerships for systems change and inclusive economy.
As Executive Director of Yellowwoods Holdings, she leads the investment group’s efforts to drive positive change through its portfolio of businesses that include financial services (e.g. Hollard Insurance), restaurants (e.g. Nando's) and eco-tourism and conservation (&Beyond) businesses.
Nicola also leads Yellowwoods’ Impact catalyst in Sub-Saharan Africa spanning financial inclusion, climate and biodiversity and inclusive value chains. Under her leadership, Yellowwoods has also incubated a portfolio of non-profit social enterprises that drive system-scale change through a combination of innovative financing, solution innovation and coalition building.
These include SmartStart Early Learning, Bond4Jobs, and the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator for which she won the Skoll Award in 2019. Nicola recently received the World Economic Forum Schwab Foundation award for Corporate Social Entrepreneurship.
She is a McNulty Prize awardee for her work in the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a member of the Ministerial Task Team on Post School Education and Skills in the context of 4IR and sits on the Advisory Board of Africa Leadership Group.
Nicola’s diverse career prior to Yellowwoods includes being a business entrepreneur, management consulting, senior executive positions in television broadcasting, policy and regulation and in education, being a documentary filmmaker and an anti-apartheid activist. Nicola was a Fulbright Scholar and holds an MA from New York University. She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.