Spring 2024 Updates

It’s been a busy and fruitful year so far! After four years of honing in on what our clients most need and refining our unique offerings, Lebec underwent a rebrand, complete with a new logo and look (more details below). We've also welcomed new partners, clients, and friends, so we want to take this opportunity to reintroduce ourselves and share some exciting updates with you.

For those who are new to our work, welcome. Lebec is a women-owned and led firm that specializes in innovative finance and philanthropy. Based in the U.S. and Europe, we exist to help visionary founders, funders, and investors maximize value creation and scale solutions to solve the world’s greatest challenges.

Here's a snapshot of what we've been up to...

Lebec in the World?

May 2024:?

• Engage for Good, Minneapolis: Our founder and CEO Alix Lebec joined an esteemed panel with WORTHI's Myles Worthington and 2Gether-International's Diego Mariscal on the main stage to discuss how brands have the opportunity to activate underestimated audiences with authenticity and consistency. Alix brought a gender lens to the conversation, advocating for the significant and burgeoning influence women wield in fostering prosperous companies, communities, and economies—from consumers to entrepreneurs to business leaders.?
• Elevate Prize Foundation’s ‘Make Good Famous’ Summit, Miami: Alix returned to The Elevate Prize Foundation 's annual summit to deliver another masterclass to the Foundation’s community of grantees and CNN Heroes on the “Social Entrepreneur's Fundraising Experience.” Alix’s unique session included insights on how to build a financially sustainable business model (for non-profit and for-profit entrepreneurs), craft a compelling value proposition, and create a roadmap to unlock diverse funding and revenue streams.
• “Time to Toast” Reception, New York: On the sidelines of the Women Moving Millions Summit and in the spirit of community and relationship building, Lebec co-hosted an event with WxL Partners and Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, bringing together over 70 philanthropists, investors, and founders.?
• Climate Week Miami and Global 30 X 30 Forum, Miami: Alix moderated a session on the Future of Philanthropy, Tech, and Investing to Accelerate Progress Towards the Climate Crisis. Her fellow panelists included Karen Korponai of Konscious Konsulting; Melissa Medina of eMerge Americas and the MEDINA FAMILY FOUNDATION INC; and Marisol Gomez Melzi of Watsco, Inc.

April 2024:?

• "Potential is Waiting” Panel and Dinner with Sentebale & Friends: Lebec had the honor of hosting "Potential is Waiting," a panel and intimate dinner to highlight the work of our client Sentebale, co-founded by the Duke of Sussex and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006. Alix moderated a dynamic conversation with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE , Chair of Sentebale; Hector Mujica , Head of Economic Opportunity, Americas at Google.org; and Sam Bakhshandehpour , President & CEO of José Andrés Group . From their unique perspectives, the panelists discussed how we can help shape a brighter future for youth in Africa and how capital can be creatively dispersed to address global challenges more broadly. Guests gathered at Zaytinya by José Andrés in Miami for the special discussion and dinner.
• You can watch a clip from the panel discussion here and read more about it in PEOPLE Magazine and Marie Claire. Additional press pickup included The Telegraph, Yahoo News, and more.?

March 2024:

• Aspen Ideas Climate Reception with Morgan Stanley, Miami: On the sidelines of the Aspen Ideas: Climate Festival, Lebec, in partnership with Morgan Stanley, brought together Miami’s social impact community at PLANTA South Beach to explore how catalytic philanthropy and impact investing can build a more sustainable, diverse fashion industry—here in Miami and around the world. Moderated by Alix, an inspiring group of impact investors, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders heard from a diverse panel of experts, including: Stacey Boyd , Founder & CEO of Olivela; Sandra Y Sainz Heredia , Managing Director of Sonen Capital; David Sand , Chief Impact Strategist of Community Capital Management; Estefania Lacayo , Co-founder of Latin America Fashion Summit; and Sarah Haacke Byrd , CEO of Women Moving Millions. Following the discussion, guests enjoyed a reception where they unpacked the conversation and made new and fruitful connections with one another.

• Fireside Chat & Reception with Water.org and McDermott Will & Emory, London:?Ahead of World Water Day, Lebec and MWE hosted a fireside chat and reception with Gary White, Co-Founder and CEO of Water.org and WaterEquity. After opening remarks by Lebec Managing Director Rafia Qureshi , MWE Partner Ranajoy Basu moderated a Q&A with Gary about his entrepreneurial journey in the safe water and sanitation sector, the insights he has gained after two decades working to change systems, and how Water.org and WaterEquity are creating a more secure, climate-resilient future through innovative investments in safe water and sanitation.?

February 2024:?

• Women Working for the World (WW4W) Forum, Bogotá: Convened by Juanfe Foundation, WW4W Forum is considered to be one of the most important forums on gender issues and sustainable social development in Latin America. Alix attended as a keynote speaker, speaking on the future of philanthropy and how this capital tool can be harnessed for transformational and catalytic impact.?

Lebec News?

After four years of honing in on what our clients most need, Lebec underwent a rebrand with a refined suite of unique offerings.

With a combined 50 years of experience, we’ve developed a bespoke process called the Lebec Blueprint that showcases how different financial instruments across the capital spectrum can come together to accelerate progress and bring your vision to life. We activate this Blueprint at the intersection of four areas: crafting strategy, formulating winning pitches and value propositions tailored to diverse audiences, creating resilient business models and fund structures, and bringing key stakeholders to the table.

Together, we design and deliver a comprehensive roadmap that takes your organization to the next level and builds a more equitable, successful, and hopeful future.?

Client Highlights?

Meet our most recent clients:

• Reckitt is a mission-driven multinational health and hygiene company pursuing a cleaner, healthier world.?
• The CLEO Institute (Climate Leadership Engagement Opportunities) is a nonpartisan, Latina and women-led organization exclusively dedicated to climate crisis education and advocacy.?
• ACWA Power is the world's largest private water desalination company, a global leader in the clean energy transition, and first mover into green hydrogen with 68 projects across 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

We’ve also renewed our work with valued partners including Water.org, Sanku, and The Elevate Prize Foundation, and led a session on Crafting a World Class Value Proposition with fellows from Acumen Academy.?

On Our Mind:

How do we pursue a portfolio approach to impact in Latin America?

The catalytic nature of philanthropy is incredibly misunderstood—and it is to everyone’s detriment. Most business leaders and investors still draw a strict line between philanthropic endeavors and traditional profit-driven investment. But in making this false separation, they fail to see how philanthropy plays a unique role in de-risking investments in new and unproven markets and attracting other forms of financing to take on the world’s trillion-dollar challenges. Let’s look at Latin America as an example. In a region with untapped potential, philanthropy and other capital tools have a unique ability to transform the status quo.?

Quote of the Day:?

“Investors in the #venturecapital industry do this all the time: you take a huge bet on a founder, millions to billions of dollars, you embrace failure, and you build entire industries. Why aren’t we doing that with social change?” - Alix Lebec

Cheers to continued community and impact -

Your Lebec Team