Joanne Norris, Director of Social Returns
Magnus Sandberg, Director of Investments
Karim Harji, Manager / Partnership Development
Sean Van Doorselaer, Special Advisor
Bill Young, President
Bill is the founder of Social Capital Partners, a non-profit social finance company he started in 2001. Prior to founding SCP, Bill spent twenty years in the private sector leading high growth, entrepreneurial organizations. He was CEO of Hamilton Computers, a publicly traded computer company, which grew from $15 million in revenue to $250 million under his leadership and was sold to GE Capital. Bill was also the CEO and subsequently the Chairman of Optel Communications Corp (later Axxent) which was a leading CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) in the Canadian telecommunications market when he left in 2000.
Bill began his career as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He currently sits on the Boards of Inner City Renovations Limited, Ecotrust Canada Capital, Vartana Inc, Renaissance Quebec, and the Advisory Board of the Coady Institute.
Joanne Norris, Director of Social Returns
Joanne is the founding Director of Social Returns at Social Capital Partners (SCP) - a private social finance organization established in 2001. SCP invests in Canadian businesses that integrate a social mission into their human resource strategy. Joanne works with SCP portfolio management teams to develop and execute on their social mission strategy. Joanne also leads the SROI - social return on investment- portfolio analysis of all SCP investments and works collaboratively with SCP's President, Director of Investments and Partnership Manager on overall SCP strategy, operations and deal flow due diligence.
Before joining SCP, Joanne worked domestically and internationally with government and non-government organizations such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Canadian Business Resource Centre and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. Joanne has also worked as a business consultant and trainer for start up entrepreneurs.
Internationally, Joanne has worked on projects in India, Ukraine, Cuba, Indonesia, Mexico and Ecuador. She has written and published on issues concerning employment, entrepreneurship, tourism and gender relations.
Joanne was a founding board member of the Canadian Community Investment Network and former Vice President of World Literacy of Canada (WLC), a Toronto-based NGO supporting literacy and community development in Canada and South Asia.
Joanne has an MA in International Development Studies from the University of Guelph and a BA in Sociology from the University of Victoria.
Magnus Sandberg, Director of Investments
Magnus brings a wealth of experience from the private sector, most recently in his role as divisional director , managing operations and acquisitions for Constellation Software, Canada’s 5th largest software company.
A native of Sweden, Magnus has worked and lived in numerous countries throughout the world including Australia, The United States and Austria in his previous roles with a Fortune 500 company and as a management consultant with Accenture. Magnus has also had a go as a social entrepreneur, launching a new business model that utilized art to raise awareness of social injustice. Magnus holds a Masters in Engineering and a business degree.
Karim Harji, Manager / Partnership Development
Karim Harji is the Manager for Partnership Development at Social Capital Partners, a social finance organization which provides growth financing and advisory services to businesses that integrate a social mission into their operations. Prior to joining SCP, he was a management consultant at Aperio, where he advised social sector clients on strategy, business planning, partnerships and social enterprise. Karim is also a Senior Research Associate at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation at Carleton University, with interests in corporate social responsibility and social finance.
He founded socialfinance.ca, an online platform for the community of people and organizations that are actively trying to advance the development of a social finance marketspace in Canada. Karim also advises the Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation, and is a member of the Emerging Leaders Committee of the Canadian Community Economic Development Network. Karim previously worked as a Social Finance Program Officer at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, where he explored innovative ways in which corporations engage with, and invest in, communities. He also worked with the Community Economic Development Technical Assistance Program (CEDTAP) on issues related to social impact assessment, blended value, and program evaluation. Other work experience includes human rights at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), microfinance in Pakistan, and community health in Kenya.
Karim holds a Masters degree in Public Administration with a focus on International Development from Carleton University, and an undergraduate degree in Economics from McMaster University.
Sean Van Doorselaer, Special Advisor
Sean is the Managing Director of OPK Capital, an investment fund looking to acquire and run a mid-sized private company in the Greater Toronto region. Prior to starting OPK, Sean was the Vice President of Social Capital Partners and was with SCP from its inception in 2001 until the summer 2006. He remains actively involved as a special advisor to the organization.
Before joining SCP, Sean spent four years as a management consultant with The Monitor Group, an international strategy-consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge Massachusetts. During his time with Monitor Sean provided strategy advice to top-level executives in Fortune 1000 companies and the nonprofit sector. Sean holds an MBA from Queen's University and an undergraduate degree in business administration from the Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario), where he was the gold medalist.