Ricardo Bayon

Ricardo Bayon is a founder and partner of Encourage Capital, a new breed of asset management firm focused on profitable and strategic investments to solve critical social and environmental problems. Encourage Capital seeks to build a community of investors, foundations, market leading companies, governments and non-profits who are working together to address some of the world’s most challenging issues while generating financial returns for its investors. Prior to Encourage Capital, he co-founded EKO Asset Management Partners, an investment management and advisory firm, and Ecosystem Marketplace, a web site and information/analysis service covering emerging environmental markets. For nearly two decades, he has specialized on issues related to finance, banking, and the environment. He has done work for a number of organizations, including Insight Investments, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy, and Domini Social Investment, among others. His articles have appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, and the International Herald Tribune. He was born in Bogota, Colombia, and is currently based in San Francisco.