Meet Renee Beaumont, Strategic Advisor to ReGen Ventures
Renee is a Canadian New Yorker with a deep commitment to equality, inclusion and honesty. Throughout her career she has been a national team volleyball player, a lawyer, an investor, an advocate and a fundraiser. Currently she acts in an advisory capacity to startups and venture funds, with a focus on conscious capitalism. Renee has joined ReGen Ventures as a member of our advisory board and we have been inspired by her passion for intentional, impactful contribution and philosophy of radical kindness. Welcome Renee!
Describe your experiences in traditional finance at Goldman Sachs and then your shift into sustainable finance at Generation Investment Management? What drew you to a more sustainable approach to investing?
I enjoyed my time at Goldman, for the first few years I felt like I got smarter everyday. I got to work with and alongside really smart people from around the world. I really appreciated the culture of teamwork and of excellence.
My move into sustainable finance was somewhat of a happy accident. I had been getting frustrated with traditional finance, I felt like I wasn’t adding much value to the world and I was planning to leave finance all together and do something that I felt had a more positive impact and was more aligned with how I lived my life outside of the office and then a friend introduced me to Generation.
When I first joined Generation, I felt like I was finally able to marry what I did with how I lived my life and what I valued. It was an amazing feeling. For many, this may seem obvious, but for me the concept of having a job doing something deeply aligned with my values and how I lived, and wanted to live, was somewhat of a revelation. For most of my career my mindset had been, make money and then give it to causes I cared about. But that is no longer enough for me. And don’t get me wrong, there will always be a place for philanthropy, however I now know that what I do everyday can be completely aligned with the causes I care about. It took me a while but I finally got there….
Everything I do now — how I spend my time and with whom, where I allocate my capital — I try to do with intention and to be very conscious of the impact that my actions have and will have. I feel incredibly lucky to have this flexibility in my life and to get to work with the funds and the companies that I am currently working with.
You do a lot of advisory work with early-stage companies and funds. What in particular do you love about early-stage investing?
I love the ambition, the hustle, the focus on, and the belief in the prospect of changing the world for the better. I love the optimism around making real systemic change in a multitude of areas. I also find it deeply inspiring. Young entrepreneurs working on solving big problems gives me hope for all of our futures.
In your words, how is ReGen’s investment thesis and approach differentiated? What drew you to join us as an advisory partner?
What I find particularly compelling about what ReGen is focused on is the fact that it is taking the world of sustainable investing to the very necessary next level. Sustainable is no longer enough to solve the human and planetary issues we face. We need real regenerative change and that is what ReGen is all about. Investing into companies and backing entrepreneurs that are solving for the worlds’ real needs.
I joined the advisory board because I fundamentally believe in ReGen’s mission and I really like the team. Everyone is smart, authentic and just an all-around good human who believes in the importance of the mission at hand.
Tell us about your philosophy of Radical Kindness? How can we all practice it a little more intentionally?
I feel like over the last number of years, the world, particularly the United States, has become more polarized and shall we say “radicalized”. So I wanted to reclaim the word radical and make it into something positive. What if we were radically kind, inclusive, aware, open, thoughtful… you pick what word resonates for you. Just think what we could all accomplish and solve for if we were able to stop “othering” people and to start putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and see the world from their eyes… just imagine. I do recognize that it may be a bit “polyanna-ish” but I fundamentally believe in our capacity as humans to evolve into something better than how we currently behave. I believe in the power of compassion. And it can begin with a single, simple act of “radical” kindness.
