Howard W. Buffett
Howard W. Buffett is an Associate Professor and Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs . He chairs the advisory board for Columbia University’s Research Program on Sustainability Policy and Management, and he serves on the management advisory board for the university’s Earth Institute. After formulating the research framework for the social value investing approach, Buffett coauthored Social Value Investing: A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships (Columbia University Press, 2018), which analyzes innovative collaboration from across sectors and outlines a new methodology to measure social and environmental impact called Impact Rate of Return.
Before joining Columbia's faculty, Buffett was the Executive Director of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which distributes over $150 million annually to strengthen food security for vulnerable populations throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He coauthored the New York Timesbest-seller 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World (Simon & Schuster, 2013), which examines the foundation’s work to address global hunger and food systems challenges.
Prior to that, Buffett oversaw economic stabilization and redevelopment programs in Afghanistan and Iraq while at the U.S. Department of Defense. For his work in Afghanistan he received the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award—the highest-ranking civilian honor presented by the Joint Chiefs of Staff requiring the request and approval of the Combatant Commanders. Previously, Buffett served as a Policy Advisor for the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he coauthored the president’s cross-sector partnership strategy. He also managed the White House Partnerships for Innovation interagency working group. Before joining the White House, Buffett was a member of the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform policy working group for the 2008-09 Presidential Transition Team.
Buffett earned an MPA in Advanced Management and Finance from Columbia University and a BS from Northwestern University. He is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on a number of corporate advisory boards, including Toyota Motor North America. He also chairs the Advisory Council for Harvard University’s International Negotiation Program, and is an advisor to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
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Publications
Social Value Investing: A Management Framework for Effective Partnerships (2018)
Innovating U.S. Strategic Command’s Deterrence and Assurance Operations (2017)
How Partnerships Can Create Resilient Food Supply Chains (2016)
40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World (2013)
MCC's Impact Evaluations Challenge Us All to Do Better (2012)