High Net Purpose

What if teaching kids about money was the smartest economic policy we have? Louise Hill did not set out to build a fintech. She set out to solve a problem in her own home. Watching her young children spend money they could not really see, she realised there was nothing to teach the next generation how to handle money in a digital world. That gap became GoHenry, the app that has helped millions of...

Welcome to the hotseat where Joe McCarthy sits with Sir Ronald Cohen, co-founder of Apax Partners, Chair of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment, and author of IMPACT . Sir Ronald is widely regarded as the father of both European venture capital and impact investing. He arrived in London as an 11-year-old refugee from Egypt speaking almost no English, made his way to Oxford and Harvard,...

Two-time Pulitzer finalist on the scientist who won the Nobel Prize and may not be able to stop what he started. What if the person trying to make artificial intelligence safe is also one of the people racing to build it? In this episode of High Net Purpose, Joe McCarthy sits down with Sebastian Mallaby, bestselling author and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, whose latest book explores Demis Hass...

For the past two years, High Net Purpose has been a series of conversations about other people’s purpose. What we didn’t expect was how much those conversations would change us.   In this episode, we’re taking a break from the usual format to look back at the moments from the first 26 episodes that most influenced our thinking - and ultimately shaped Islandbridge’s journey to becoming the Pur...

The most enduring companies aren’t just built on strategy, they’re built on culture.   For over two decades, Ric Lewis, founder of Tristan Capital Partners, has been showing what that really looks like. His firm has grown into one of Europe’s leading real-estate investment platforms, managing over $16bn in assets. Ric was also ranked #1 on the Powerlist 2019, recognising him as the UK’s most...

What if the only way to save nature was to run it like a business? In this episode, we sit down with Peter Fearnhead, CEO and co-founder of African Parks, the organisation protecting more of Africa’s wild landscapes than any other. Under his leadership, African Parks now manages 24 national parks across 13 countries, covering over 20 million hectares - a model that proves conservation can be finan...

The next wave of billion-dollar companies aren’t being built in Silicon Valley – but everywhere else. For nearly three decades, Linda Rottenberg co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, has been at the centre of that shift. Known as “The Entrepreneur Whisperer,” she’s backed over 350 companies (64 of them unicorns), created “mafias” of founders paying it forward, and built a global movement that’s reshapin...

What if compassion wasn’t just a virtue, but a science that could rewire your brain, reduce stress, and even extend your life expectancy? This conversation is one of our earliest recordings, now released for the first time, with the late Dr. James Doty: Stanford neurosurgeon, New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, and founder of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and...

Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT—but what if the real threat from AI is happening elsewhere? Kristian Rönn is the co-founder of Lucid, a company helping governments track the movement and usage of AI chips globally. He previously founded Normative, the carbon accounting platform that helped shape EU and UK climate disclosure rules—and began his career researching existential risk at Oxford’s Futur...

What if the most powerful secrets shaping our world were hidden in plain sight? Annie Jacobsen is America’s most fearless investigative journalist. A seven-time bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist, she’s spent decades uncovering the truth behind the CIA, covert military operations, nuclear war planning, and the government’s deepest classified programs - from Area 51 to assassination mis...

What if everything you’ve been told about living longer was wrong? Dan Buettner has spent decades uncovering the truth. He’s the mastermind behind Blue Zones - the five places in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives on Earth. His discovery of the Blue Zones sparked a global movement. Since then, he’s written four New York Times bestselling books, starred in a hit Netflix serie...

At 25, Martha Lane Fox co-founded the early internet disruptor lastminute.com and became one of Britain’s first true digital pioneers. But it was surviving a near-fatal accident that truly reshaped her life and sense of purpose. Today, Martha leads far beyond technology. She is President of the British Chambers of Commerce, a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, Chancellor of The Open University...

Andrew White is the founder of FundApps, one of Europe’s most under-the-radar success stories.   Bootstrapped from a spare bedroom above a London pub, FundApps now monitors over $27 trillion in assets daily - roughly 17% of the world’s total AUM.   Today, it’s a global reg-tech powerhouse, trusted by 5 of the world’s 10 largest hedge funds and several of North America’s biggest pension f...

The next generation face a challenge their parents never did, a digital childhood that shapes their future. Alexandra Evans has spent her career fighting to make the digital space safer. From shaping human rights law at Mishcon de Reya to leading policy at TikTok and the British Board of Film Classification, she’s been at the forefront of child safety in a world where technology is evolving faster...

What does it take to fix a food system that’s making us, and the planet, sick?   Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of LEON, architect of the National Food Strategy, and author of the Sunday Times bestseller Ravenous , is doing just that. From launching a fast-food revolution to shaping the UK’s policies on food, health, and sustainability, Henry’s career is a masterclass in bold ideas and transforma...

00:00 – Welcome to High Net Purpose 00:33 – Meet David Claydon: From Banking to Climate Strategy 00:49 – His Unusual Journey Through Finance and Government 01:18 – Why Business Must Lead on Decarbonization 01:34 – How Family-Owned Firms Could Drive Climate Action 01:57 – David’s Purpose: Capital, Policy & Long-Term Impact 03:48 – From Wall Street to Westminster 06:02 – Founding Macro Advisory...

What if building a multi-billion-dollar company started with just €5,000, a vision for better mobility, and a relentless commitment to resourcefulness?   Markus Villig, Founder of Bolt, is Europe’s youngest self-made billionaire. From humble beginnings in Estonia, Markus transformed a small idea into a global powerhouse valued at $8 billion. Bolt now serves over 200 million customers across 5...

What if we told you that your brain has the power to completely transform how you think - at any age? We travel to Dublin and sit down with Professor Ian Robertson, a world-leading neuroscientist who has dedicated his career to helping individuals harness control over their mental processes. He is also a professor of psychology at Trinity College Dublin, where he draws on his ground-breaking resea...

In this episode, we talk with Vicky Reynal, the UK’s first financial psychotherapist, who has pioneered a unique approach combining psychodynamic therapy with financial counselling. Her acclaimed book, "Money on your Mind," is now translated into eight languages and sold in over 20 countries.   Vicky’s story spans an Ivy-League education, an MBA from London Business School, and a career acros...

In this month's episode, Joe McCarthy sits down for a thought-provoking conversation with Diego Piacentini, a global leader in the technology and business world whose journey from Apple to Amazon, to Government to Investor is nothing short of extraordinary. Recorded at Islandbridge’s offices in London, this conversation takes you behind the scenes of some of the most influential companies of our t...

In this month's episode, Joe McCarthy sits down for a high-energy conversation with Dave and Steve Flynn from The Happy Pear at Islandbridge's office in London.   The dynamic duo ignited their plant-powered revolution in 2004, and what started as a humble local veg shop has exploded into a global phenomenon. Fast forward 20 years, and The Happy Pear now boasts a vibrant café and bakery in Gre...

David Miliband is President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Named in Fortune's list of the World's Greatest Leaders, and Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy, David’s career is nothing short of extraordinary. From serving as the youngest Foreign Secretary in the United Kingdom since 1935, to leading one of the world’s most influential humanitarian organizations, he has in...

Venture into the realm of biotech entrepreneurship with Geoffrey von Maltzahn, the mastermind behind a multitude of ground-breaking companies that fuse biology and data science to revolutionize human health and sustainability. Named among Bloomberg's 50 Ones to Watch, Business Insider's 30 Biotech Leaders under 40 and noted as one of Codex's World's Top 50 Innovators, Geoffrey stands as a prominen...

We head to San Francisco and sit down with Tom Steyer, Wall Street giant and visionary behind Galvanize Climate Solutions and Farallon Capital Management. Transitioning from finance to climate activism in 2012, he safeguarded California's Global Warming Solutions Act and founded NextGen America, rallying record youth voters. Co-founder of Beneficial State Bank and TomKat Ranch, Steyer champions su...

Sir David King is the former Chief Scientific Adviser for the UK government and co-founder of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, renowned for his pivotal role in shaping climate policy. We uncover Sir David's remarkable journey, from merging academia and government to drive scientific policy integration, to navigating the complexities of international diplomacy in securing landmark agreements like...