Bruce M. Usher
Co-Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise; Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director; Professor of Professional Practice
The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise
BComm, Queens University, 1986; MBA, Harvard, 1992
Office:
391
Kravis
Phone:
212-854-7631
E-mail:
[email protected]
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae
Biography
Bruce Usher is a Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. The Tamer Center educates leaders to use business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and management tools to address social and environmental challenges, and has grown into one of the largest centers at Columbia Business School. Professor Usher teaches on the intersection of finance, social and environmental issues, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom, the Lear Award, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
Professor Usher is also a member of the Columbia Climate School faculty and on the Executive Committee of the Earth Institute. He chairs Columbia University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, advising the university trustees on ethical and social issues that arise in the management of investments in the university’s endowment. In 2016, Professor Usher established the Columbia University Scholarship for Displaced Students, providing an opportunity for refugees from anywhere in the world to complete their higher education. This scholarship program is now managed by the Columbia Global Centers.
In 2019, Professor Usher published Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century, the first in the Earth Institute’s sustainability series of books. His latest book, Investing in the Era of Climate Change (Columbia University Press), will be published fall 2022. Professor Usher has written numerous cases for use in business school courses, with a primary focus on climate change and business.
Prior to joining Columbia University, Professor Usher was CEO of EcoSecurities Group plc, which developed greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in developing countries. EcoSecurities completed an IPO in 2005 and was acquired by JPMorgan in 2009. He was previously the co-founder and CEO of TreasuryConnect, which provided electronic trading solutions to banks and was acquired in 2001. Prior to that, he worked in financial services for twelve years in New York and Tokyo. Professor Usher is an active investor and advisor to entrepreneurial ventures focused on climate change and clean energy, and is Chair of the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures. He earned an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School.
Teaching
Spring 2022
Impact Investing
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Spring 2021
Impact Investing
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Fall 2021
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Bridging the American Divides
(MBA)
Spring 2020
Impact Investing
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Fall 2020
Finance & Sustainability
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Bridging the American Divides
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Spring 2019
Impact Investing Seminar
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Summer 2019
Fall 2019
Bridging the American Divide
(MBA)
Finance & Sustainability
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Bridging the American Divide
(MBA)
Spring 2018
Impact Investing Seminar
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Fall 2018
Finance & Sustainability
(MBA)
Climate Finance
(MBA)
Investing in Social Ventures
(MBA)
Bridging the American Divide
(MBA)
Columbia Caseworks cases
Impact America
(2022)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Oil and Gas “Super Majors” and the Transition to Net Zero
(2022)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher, Shivaram Rajgopal
Columbia Divestment
(2022)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
The Cost to Achieve Net-Zero
(2022)
Coauthor(s): Gernot Wagner, Bruce Usher
Green Bond Research Note
(2021)
Coauthor(s): Geoffrey Heal, Bruce Usher
ELP Greenport Solar
(2020)
Coauthor(s): Geoffrey Heal, Bruce Usher
Ørsted’s Offshore Wind Farms
(2020)
Coauthor(s): Geoffrey Heal, Bruce Usher
Water.org: Financial Innovation for Impact
(2020)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
MyAgro: Planting the Seeds of Opportunity
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
SunCulture: The Opportunity and Challenge of Investing in Kenya
(2019)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Shift Capital: Transforming the Kensington Neighborhood
(2018)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Kingo: Growth Opportunities in Off-Grid Renewable Energy
(2018)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
From Pioneer to Pariah: SunEdison, Inc., and the Global Solar Photovoltaics Industry
(2017)
Coauthor(s): Geoffrey M. Heal, Bruce Usher
Investing in Financial Inclusion & the Bottom of the Pyramid
(2017)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher, Sam Michelman
Architects of the Future? Tesla, Inc., Energy, Transportation, and the Climate
(2020)
Coauthor(s): Geoffrey Heal, Bruce Usher
Pattern Energy and the YieldCo Sector
(2016)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Stanford Dumps Coal
(2015)
Coauthor(s): Andrew Ang, Bruce Usher
EasyPay: An Alternative Loan for the Underbanked
(2014)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
E+Co: A View from the Boardroom
(2013)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Keystone Solar
(2013)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
The Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm
(2012)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Research
Chapters
The Spectacular Growth of Solar PV Leasing
In Renewable Energy Finance: Powering the Future
(2015)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher, Albert Gore III
Web-only articles
Real Progress on Emissions Can Lead to a Global Pact
In NYTimes.com
(2014)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
The U.S. as a Climate Change Leader?
In Huffington Post
(2014)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Ideas and Insights
In The Media
Private Equity Firms Seek Piece of the Impact Investment Action
At Columbia’s $600 Million Business School, Time to Rethink Capitalism
Bystanders No More, America’s CEOs Must Pay Attention to Societal Divides
Global Diplomats Are Talking about Climate Change — Again. Does It Do Any Good?
Climate Bill Said to Put Emission Goals in ‘Striking Distance’
Press Releases
Magazine articles
Savvy Risks, Sustainable Rewards
In Ideas at Work
(2014)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Newspaper articles
On Global Warming, Start Small
In The New York Times
(2010)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher
Red China, Green China
In The New York Times
(2010)
Coauthor(s): Bruce Usher