Jed Emerson is a pioneering global leader in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, and strategic philanthropy with over 30 years of experience shaping how capital addresses social and environmental challenges. He is widely recognized as the originator of the "blended value" concept, which fundamentally reframes investment strategy by integrating social, environmental, and economic returns into a unified value proposition. As Chief Impact Officer at AlTi Tiedemann Global and founder of Blended Value Group, Emerson advises family offices, investment firms, and foundations on deploying capital effectively across diverse asset classes to achieve measurable financial and social impact.
Emerson's intellectual contributions have been transformative in the impact investing field. In the late 1990s, he convened what is believed to be the first working group to formalize a methodology for calculating Social Return on Investment (SROI)—a framework now widely used to quantify how financial investments generate social and environmental benefits. He introduced the concept of Total Portfolio Management, which advocates for deploying capital across an array of asset classes and strategies, from philanthropic to market-rate investments, with different expectations for returns depending on the type and scale of impact sought.
Beyond his advisory work, Emerson has been a prolific author and educator. He co-authored the first book on impact investing and has published six additional books on the subject. He taught the inaugural course on social entrepreneurship at Kellogg Business School and held faculty appointments at Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford Universities. His contributions to the field have earned him recognition as one of the 50 Most Influential People in the Nonprofit Sector, a distinction he received twice from the NonProfit Times.
Current Role: Chief Impact Officer, AlTi Tiedemann Global (formerly Tiedemann Advisors); Founder, Blended Value Group; Senior Fellow, Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth, University of Zurich
Affiliations: AlTi Tiedemann Global, Blended Value Group, University of Zurich, Impact Assets (Senior Fellow), Confluence Philanthropy (Management Board)
Location: International; based in Switzerland with global advisory practice
Early Career & Founding Work (1980s-1990s): Emerson began his career as a social worker and served as founding director of Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco, creating one of the nation's leading street outreach and service programs for homeless and runaway youth. He went on to co-found the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) and its predecessor, the Homeless Economic Development Fund (HEDF), serving as director and president from 1989 to 2000. As one of the first venture philanthropy funds, REDF pioneered innovative approaches to strategic giving and social entrepreneurship.
Intellectual Leadership (Late 1990s-2000s): In the late 1990s, Emerson conceptualized and introduced "blended value"—the framework asserting that all capital creates a blend of economic, environmental, and social returns, with true value maximization requiring consideration of all three dimensions. He also spearheaded the development of Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology and established the Total Portfolio Management approach to impact investing, which has become foundational to the field.
Academic Career: Emerson taught the first-ever course on social entrepreneurship at Kellogg Business School and held faculty appointments as clinical professor at NYU-Abu Dhabi and visiting scholar positions at Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Oxford University's Saïd Business School.
Current Leadership (2021-Present): In 2021, Tiedemann Advisors appointed Emerson as Managing Director and Global Lead of Impact Investing. He has since risen to Chief Impact Officer, overseeing the firm's impact investing strategy and practice across $3.5+ billion in committed client assets. Emerson also serves as Senior Strategic Advisor for AlTi Tiedemann Global and Senior Fellow with Impact Assets, a $3 billion nonprofit financial services firm.
Recognition: Selected twice by the NonProfit Times as one of the 50 Most Influential People in the Nonprofit Sector; authored the award-winning first book on impact investing, "Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference" (2012 Nautilus Gold Book Award winner)
Website: https://www.blendedvalue.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jedemerson/