Capitalism has arguably accelerated many of the world’s problems, from climate change to economic exclusion. What role can—and should—it play in accelerating solutions? Halla Tómasdóttir of The B Team offers up a new spin on capitalism: one driven not only by short-term profit, but also by the wellbeing of people and the planet. She’s working within the profit-driven system, from the top down, on what she calls “radical collaboration” between the private sector, civil society, and governments.
Halla helped to found a university, launched her own investment firm, ran for president of her home country of Iceland, and is no stranger to the silo effect between sectors. Now, as CEO of the B Team, which she describes as “a group of courageous business and civil society leaders working together to transform business for a better world,” she’s rallying companies across disciplines to collaborate on solutions to the globe’s most pressing problems. She speaks with Nguhi—a self-described skeptic of capitalism—about the potential for change in a system largely responsible for the things that need changing.
Learn more about B Team and check out Halla’s three (!) TED Talks: A feminine response to Iceland’s financial crash (TED 2010), It’s Time for Women to Run for Office (TED 2016), and The Crisis of Leadership and the New Way Forward (TED 2019).
For more on Iceland’s recovery after the 2008 financial crash, read: How Iceland’s reaction to the 2008 crash made it the best place in the world to be a woman (Business Insider). Check out one of Halla’s favorite poems, “Love Letter to the World” by Rupi Kaur. View the episode transcript here.
