June 27, 2023

Jennifer Grancio of Engine No.1 - Shaping a Sustainable Future Through Activist Investing

26 minutes

Activist investing embodies a powerful call to action, urging investors to engage actively and purposefully in shaping the corporate world. This approach presents a unique opportunity to tackle pressing societal challenges, celebrate transformative opportunities, and drive a more sustainable and prosperous future for both investors and society as a whole. By embracing the total value framework and wielding the power of shareholder votes, investors can foster positive change that transcends mere financial gains.

In this episode, Rusty and Robyn talk with Jennifer Grancio, CEO of Engine No. 1. In her role, Jennifer guides the firm’s strategy and vision. Before Engine No. 1, Jennifer founded an advisory firm where she worked closely with CEOs to accelerate growth. She also served as a founding member of BlackRock's iShares business, where she led European, U.S., and global distribution and drove the growth of the global ETF industry and iShares’ leadership role. During her tenure at BlackRock, she led teams across wealth, personal, technology, and venture investing.

With over 25 years of experience scaling businesses across financial services, Jennifer talks about activist investing and why it is good for investors and society. She also shares the power of shareholder votes and the reindustrialization of North America.

Key Takeaways

[02:56] - Jennifer's career background and how she got to Engine No. 1.

[05:53] - How Engine No. 1 won a proxy battle with Exxon.

[08:28] - How Engine No. 1's total value framework works.

[10:12] - Why investors need both good index funds and active thematics.

[11:47] - How VOTE uses shareholder votes to drive long-term value.

[13:33] - Engine No. 1's proxy voting committee and its custom voting framework.

[16:00] - The reindustrialization of North America.

[19:37] - Jennifer's favorite investment idea.

[20:24] - How Jennifer maintains her physical and mental well-being.

[20:55] - The people Jennifer is thankful for on a professional level.

[22:19] - Jennifer's content recommendations.

[23:19] - A look at Jennifer's team at Engine No. 1.

Quotes

[05:23] - "We saw an opportunity to build a firm that was looking forward in time to ensure that the average investor and wealth portfolios could take advantage of some of these megatrends. So, Engine No. 1 was built to let people access wealth creation and economic opportunity and some of these huge themes that will unfold over the next 20 years." ~ Jennifer Grancio

[09:59] - "The total value framework is an approach that goes deep and is very specific with these big public companies on their material risks because that's an important consideration as an investor." ~ Jennifer Grancio

[20:02] - "We could be very sad about our world and some of the challenges ahead, or we can celebrate and take advantage of some of the opportunities. So there's a huge opportunity for jobs, economic wealth creation, and reassuring of jobs and manufacturing back to the U.S. and North America." ~ Jennifer Grancio

Links

Jennifer Grancio on LinkedIn

Engine No. 1

It's The End of The World As We Know It by R.E.M.

BlackRock

ExxonMobil

The End of the World Is Just The Beginning

Eli Horton

Molly Landes

Yasmin Dahya Bilger

Jason LaMacchia

Yusuf George