Edward Dugger III

I'm Edward Dugger III, formerly an impact investment venture capitalist, currently an energy efficiency entrepreneur and always an advocate for business as a positive force for people, planet AND prosperity. I bridge disparate groups, whether they be business or social networks or communities, to forge new areas for collaboration and mutual progress. Pioneering has been my life's work; its part of my DNA.

At the age of 27, I Edward Dugger III, became CEO of one of the larger venture capital firms in the nation, backed by such directors as the CEO of Morgan Stanley and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of JP Morgan as well as such investors as American Express, Travelers and IBM. Although we made traditional investments in growth industries, we also targeted them to consciously expand business opportunities for entrepreneurs of color. As a result, we provided the footings for over $1 billion of financing to this underserved market, generated more in accumulated wealth and forged a pathway for future impact investors. I leveraged my successes as a VC to build bridges among disparate business communities. While a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, I collaborated with the Bank to convene several business leadership forums addressing key business development issues. Each forum attracted over 100 of Boston's business leaders representing the full spectrum of businesses. After harvesting the venture funds, I partnered with the CEO of State Street Corporation to form The Business Collaborative (TBC), a unique business community initiative that created a more robust B2B market among major corporations and businesses of color in Massachusetts. TBC also provided businesses with strategic planning, financial advisory and business development services. Among the corporations participating were Staples, Stop and Shop, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MA and Sovereign Bank. In response to our nation’s economic crisis, I formed the National Institute for a Sustainable Economy LLC or NISE! NISE! has pursued its mission of business innovation in the area of energy efficiency and in 2010, NISE! was the recipient of the Mass. Clean Energy Center Innovation Grant for Energy Efficiency in Residential Homes. In 2012 NISE! launched a unique pilot demonstrating the integration of information technology and behavior change strategies to conserve electricity in large residential complexes.