Skollar 2006/07
A dynamic leader driven by curiosity and innovation, Eugénie Fitzgerald’s focus has been on designing and implementing inventive solutions to complex problems. Before completing her MBA at the University of Oxford she focused on business development, program design and management, building the financial security of low-income individuals in the US. She spent eight years within two social enterprises, leading programs through periods of change and growth and fostering partnerships between nonprofits, government, the City College system and the business community. For her work she was awarded with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Certificate of Honor for work in homelessness and the TIHDI recognition for commitment to creating employment for homeless and disabled people. Eugénie’s prior work was on environmental issues, leading project work designing and implementing hazardous waste recycling programs in rural Canadian communities. She has always drawn inspiration from her active civic engagement, event production, design work, photography and video production.
Eugénie decided to pursue her MBA in order to develop her strengths, namely her strategic thinking and financial acumen, and to round out her experience by developing a solid foundation in business and exposure to capital markets. She chose the University of Oxford because of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, which allowed her to balance world-class business education with a unique opportunity to study innovative market-based solutions to social problems. She wanted to learn tools to make her more effective in both developing and investing in social and environmental businesses, and in fostering private-public partnerships to create social impact. She was also attracted to the international focus of the program. “I was thrilled that my classmates were from 40 different countries - at any given moment I could be learning best practices or brainstorming with peers from across the globe.” She leveraged this global community to develop a business plan in Romania, designing a web 2.0-based direct trade model for rural artisans. “Even within this group of five we enjoyed diversity, as we were from India, Pakistan, Romania, the UK and Canada. As a whole, our class formed a tight and supportive community that I continue to draw from today.”
One of Eugénie’s highlights was spending the summer researching environmental investment opportunities while working at the hedge fund Man Investments. “This gave me direct exposure to cutting-edge investment professionals, a unique opportunity for someone without a background in financial services”. This project allowed her to build off of her course work in private equity, and to follow her curiosity about the role of social finance and the capacity of venture capital and investment principles to foster tangible social impact.
After graduating in the fall of 2007 she maintained this momentum and focus on social finance by providing advisory and project management services. This has included developing analysis and recommendations regarding the opportunity for a nonprofit to raise, market and manage an endowment with strategic investing that could further its mission. She is wrapping up the launch of a new business model that connects low-income employees to community and private benefits and their employers to hiring tax credits. Other projects include leading a public-private partnership within San Francisco, collaborating with the Mayor's office, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and key companies in the Bay Area. She is also consulting with a few smaller social enterprises and nonprofits, conducting feasibility studies, analyzing financial health and leading strategic restructuring for them in this economic downturn. She remains a keen follower and occasional participant in innovations in social finance.