WernerStoate3 at 11:24, 14 October 2025

2025-10-14T11:24:18Z

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{{short description|Indian entrepreneur and business leader}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = Geeta Aiyer
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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1958}}
| birth_place = [[Chennai]], [[India]]
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*[[Delhi University]] ([[Honours degree|Honors]] [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
*[[Delhi University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
*[[Harvard Business School]] ([[Master of Business Administration|MBA]])
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| known_for = Founder and President of Boston Common Asset Management
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'''Geeta Aiyer''' is an Indian [[Entrepreneurship|entrepreneur]], business leader, and [[Activism|social activist]], best known as founder and president of Boston Common Asset Management, a [[Socially responsible investing|sustainable investment]] firm.

== Early life and education ==

Aiyer was born in [[Chennai]], [[India]] in 1958.<ref name="Riding2020">{{Cite news |title=Chief of female-led boutique on the ESG 'tipping point' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/601c6d1c-0fc9-4018-8c7b-26299f98f2b2 |last=Riding |first=Siobhan |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=29 August 2020 |access-date=4 December 2023}}</ref>

Aiyer moved to America in 1983 to attend [[Harvard Business School]].<ref name="Murningham2015">{{Cite news |title=Geeta Aiyer: A life of integrity |url=https://www.baystatebanner.com/2015/09/10/geeta-aiyer-a-life-of-integrity/ |last=Murningham |first=Marcy |work=[[Bay State Banner]] |date=10 September 2015 |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref> She was the second [[Women in India|Indian woman]] to attend to attend the school and graduated with an [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]] in [[finance]] in 1985.<ref name="IndiaNewEngland">{{Cite web |title=In Chai With Manju, Woman of the Year 2014 Geeta Aiyer Talks About Her Selection for IAS, Second Indian Woman to Go to Harvard Business School and Entrepreneurial Journey |url=https://indianewengland.com/in-chai-with-manju-woman-of-the-year-2014-geeta-aiyer-talks-about-her-selection-for-ias-second-indian-woman-to-go-to-harvard-business-school-and-entrepreneurial-journey/ |website=IndiaNewEngland.com |date=8 May 2015 |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref> Aiyer also has a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] [[With honors (academic)|with honors]] as well as an [[Master of Arts|MA]] degree from [[Delhi University]], India.<ref name="Endowments">{{Cite web |title=Geeta Aiyer |url=https://www.intentionalendowments.org/geeta_aiyer_bio |website=InternationalEndowments.org |access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref>

== Career ==

After graduating from Harvard, Aiyer started with [[Cambridge Associates]] as a consultant. She also founded the company East India Spice, her first entrepreneurial venture.<ref name="Murningham2015" />

In 1988, Aiyer became an analyst and portfolio manager at the [[United States Trust Company]] of Boston. She advised executives of the [[Albertsons]] supermarket chain after they had lost a $108 million lawsuit over denying female employees [[promotion (rank)|advancement opportunities]]. Aiyer "demonstrated to Albertsons that unfair employment practices were a financial liability", resulting in the company making a commitment to gender equity moving forward.<ref name="Harvard">{{Cite web |title=Holding Business to Account |url=https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=8018 |website=[[Harvard Business School]] |date=29 January 2021 |access-date=4 December 2023}}</ref>

In 1994, Aiyer founded Walden Capital Management, using the revenues made from running her first company. Aiyer cites pursuing "dual goals of financial return and social change on behalf her clients" as a driving principal behind establishing a firm focused on [[responsible investment]].<ref name="Riding2020" /><ref name="Blahnik2000">{{Cite news |title='Socially responsible' mutual fund branches into international investing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/195638387/?terms=%22Geeta%20Aiyer%22&match=1 |last=Blahnik |first=Mike |work=[[Star Tribune]] |date=8 April 2000 |access-date=8 December 2023}}</ref>

From 1998 to 2002, Aiyer was president of Walden Asset Management.<ref name="Riding2020" />

In 2003, Aiyer founded Boston Common Asset Management as an employee-owned sustainable investment firm.<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite news |title=Geeta Aiyer |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/geeta-aiyer/?sh=227b0b5f7149 |work=[[Forbes]] |access-date=7 December 2023}}</ref> Aiyer has served as its president since 2003, overseeing $5 billion in assets under management. Boston Common is known for practicing [[ethical investing]], making investments in line with [[environmental, social, and corporate governance]] (ESG) goals.<ref name="Murningham2015" /><ref name="Time100">{{Cite magazine |title=Geeta Aiyer: President and founder, Boston Common Asset Management |url=https://time.com/collection/time100-climate/6332931/geeta-aiyer/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=16 November 2023 |access-date=3 December 2023}}</ref>

Boston Common joined a group of other [[impact investing|impact investors]] to pressure the [[Washington Redskins]] to change the name of their football team due to [[Washington Redskins name controversy|racial concerns]] over their name, a campaign that ran over the course of 12 years. The team changed its name in 2020 following the [[murder of George Floyd]]. Aiyer remarked: "There comes a tipping point when, after a company has been fighting you, they suddenly let go because it becomes obvious to them that it’s not worth continuing the fight."<ref name="Riding2020" /><ref name="Harvard" />

Aiyer is currently a member of [[Boston University]]'s Impact Measurement & Allocation Program's advisory board.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current Board Members |url=https://www.bu.edu/imap/affiliation/boardmember-current/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=[[Boston University]]}}</ref>

== Activism ==

Aiyer founded the [[nonprofit organization]] Direct Action for Women Now (DAWN), which advocates for victims of [[Gender-based violence in India|gender based violence in India]].<ref name="IndiaNewEngland" /><ref name="Endowments" />

== Awards and honors ==

*In 2010, Aiyer was awarded the Highest Leaf Award by the [[The Women's Venture Fund|Women's Venture Fund]]<ref name="Endowments" />
*In 2014, India New England named her Woman of the Year<ref name="IndiaNewEngland" />
*In 2017, Aiyer was the recipient of the Joan Bavaria Award at the CERES conference<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geeta Aiyer |url=https://www.bu.edu/imap/profiles/geeta-aiyer/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=[[Boston University]]}}</ref>
*In 2020, Aiyer was inducted into YW Boston's Academy of Women Achievers, honoring her dedication to "eliminating racism and [[empowering women]]"<ref name="YWBoston">{{Cite web |title=Meet Geeta Aiyer, 2020 Academy of Women Achievers Awardee |url=https://www.ywboston.org/2020/06/meet-geeta-aiyer-2020-academy-of-women-achievers-awardee/ |website=YWBoston.org |date=26 June 2020 |access-date=6 December 2023 |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203024249/https://www.ywboston.org/2020/06/meet-geeta-aiyer-2020-academy-of-women-achievers-awardee/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*In 2021, Aiyer was named to the [[Boston Business Journal]]'s 2021 Power 50: The Movement Makers for being a "pioneer in impact investing"<ref name="Jones2021">{{Cite web |title=Meet the 2021 honorees of the BBJ's Power 50: The Movement Makers |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2021/11/18/meet-the-2021-honorees-of-the-bbjs-power-50-the.html |website=[[American City Business Journals]] |last=Jones |first=Carolyn M. |date=18 November 2021 |access-date=7 December 2023}}</ref>
*In 2023, Aiyer was included by [[Time (magazine)|Time]] into the first [[Time 100|TIME100]] Climate list, recognizing the 100 most innovative leaders driving business [[climate action]]<ref name="Time100" />

== References ==

{{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyer, Geeta}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Chief executives in the finance industry]]
[[Category:Delhi University alumni]]
[[Category:Financial company founders]]
[[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]]
[[Category:Indian investors]]
[[Category:Indian women activists]]
[[Category:Indian women chief executives]]
[[Category:Indian chief executives]]
[[Category:Indian women company founders]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Chennai]]
[[Category:Women investors]]

Geeta Aiyer - Revision history

WernerStoate3 at 11:24, 14 October 2025