Key Takeaways
- • Sandra Urie '85, Chairman Emeritus of Cambridge Associates and an ICF Advisory Board member, spoke to asset management students in Professor William Goetzmann's Yale MBA for Executives program.
- • Urie has spent a 36-year career at Cambridge Associates and, after retiring, continues working there in a meaningful capacity focused on ESG and impact investing.
- • Cambridge Associates has grown substantially while maintaining a mission-aligned culture and a leadership position in ESG efforts across a wide range of environmental and socially responsible investment themes.
- • Cambridge Associates' diverse manager program aims to identify talented managers from underrepresented populations by addressing unconscious bias and changing recruiting and internship approaches.
Summary
Sandra Urie '85, Chairman Emeritus of Cambridge Associates and a member of the ICF Advisory Board, recently spoke with asset management students in Professor William Goetzmann's Yale MBA for Executives program at Yale School of Management. She opened with an overview of her professional background and her reasons for applying to Yale SOM. According to her account, Yale SOM was the only business school she applied to, drawn by its "non-traditional approach and uniqueness." She also wanted to work for a mission-driven organization, and believed Yale SOM would equip her with the skills to be successful and make a difference.
Urie began her career at Cambridge Associates after completing her degree and has spent 36 years with the firm. Although she retired a few years ago, she continues to work at Cambridge Associates in a meaningful capacity, focusing on ESG and impact investing. She described how the firm has evolved since she joined, noting that despite significant growth it has remained mission-aligned, a quality she considers very important. She credited the company with leadership in its ESG efforts, which span a broad range of environmental and socially responsible investment themes.
During the talk, Urie also highlighted Cambridge Associates' diverse manager program. Quoting her remarks, she said, "Talent resides everywhere. Opportunity doesn't." The firm created the program to identify strong managers from underrepresented populations. According to the article, Cambridge Associates is working to address unconscious bias and to expose and engage potential managers through new recruiting and internship approaches.
The session concluded with a question-and-answer period in which students asked about responsible investing, the diverse manager program, and Urie's experiences in investment management.
Urie began her career at Cambridge Associates after completing her degree and has spent 36 years with the firm. Although she retired a few years ago, she continues to work at Cambridge Associates in a meaningful capacity, focusing on ESG and impact investing. She described how the firm has evolved since she joined, noting that despite significant growth it has remained mission-aligned, a quality she considers very important. She credited the company with leadership in its ESG efforts, which span a broad range of environmental and socially responsible investment themes.
During the talk, Urie also highlighted Cambridge Associates' diverse manager program. Quoting her remarks, she said, "Talent resides everywhere. Opportunity doesn't." The firm created the program to identify strong managers from underrepresented populations. According to the article, Cambridge Associates is working to address unconscious bias and to expose and engage potential managers through new recruiting and internship approaches.
The session concluded with a question-and-answer period in which students asked about responsible investing, the diverse manager program, and Urie's experiences in investment management.
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