Sands Capital and Darden Partner to Host Sustainable Investment Symposium

October 2022

Sands Capital and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business proudly co-hosted their first Sustainable Investment Symposium on October 18 and 19.

Sands Capital and Darden aimed to bring together a group of forward-looking corporations, investors, and industry observers to consider approaches to deal with some of the greatest challenges of our time. We did this against a backdrop of evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, that have called into question public and private commitments to tackle these issues, and the challenges regulators face in creating new guidelines around them.

Over the course of the symposium, we hosted a range of keynote speakers and panels. Topics included deconstructing net-zero resilience, managing hidden risks in today’s supply chains, data governance and digital ethics, the asset owner perspective, and ESG in private equity. Investors and others had an opportunity to hear views from representatives of some of the businesses in which Sands Capital invests, including Nike, Credo AI, ServiceNow, and Entegris.

Speakers and attendees also had the opportunity to connect on the wide range of issues discussed throughout the event and to engage on opportunities for future learning and collaboration.

In opening the symposium, Sands Capital Chief Investment Officer and CEO Frank Sands said he believed that truly great businesses provide a net positive for society.

“We believe many of the best investment opportunities sit at the intersection of change and innovation and aim to solve some of society’s most difficult challenges,” Sands said. “In our case, stewardship means creating a two-way dialogue with our companies in which together we look around corners in an effort to discover and understand the challenges of today and tomorrow, whether that includes climate change, rapid digitalization, talent shortages, or changing attitudes toward corporate governance.”