Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss (born July 28, 1956)[1] is an American economist and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of RockCreek, an investment firm that she founded in 2003. Since the firm's inception, it has invested over $15 billion in woman-owned and minority-owned firms.[citation needed]
Beschloss was born in Tehran, Iran in 1956. Her father, Mohammad Mashayekhi, was a prominent education reformer and president of a national teacher training university during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi despite his political leanings towards liberal democracy and Mohammad Mosaddegh.[2]
Her father was initially barred from leaving the country following the overthrow of the shah during the 1979 revolution, but Mashayekhi's family came to the United States in the 1980s, settling in the Washington, D.C. area and becoming American citizens.[3]
She led the World Bank's energy investments and policy work on areas including renewable energy, power and infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions. In 1987, Beschloss also worked at Shell International Group Planning in London, and later became a managing director and partner of the Carlyle Group.[10]
Beschloss founded the investment firm RockCreek Group in 2003.[11] As of 2019, it managed over $14 billion in investments. The firm was an early adopter of investments based on environmental, social, and corporate governance.[12]
She is the co-author of The Economics of Natural Gas (Oxford) and has written numerous journal articles on climate, finance, renewable energy and impact investment, published by Chatham House and The Globe and Mail, among others.[19][16][20] She advises governments, central banks and regulatory agencies on public and financial policy.
Beschloss was chosen by the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its list of "Great Immigrants, Great Americans 2020" and has received the Institutional Investor Lifetime Achievement Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award.[3][10]
Beschloss is a member of the Advisory Board for CNBC's 2022 Delivering Alpha Investor Summit.[21]
^"Afsaneh Beschloss Founder and CEO, The Rock Creek Group". Milken Institute. April 30, 2017.
^"Establishing the Margaret MacMillan North American Studies Programme at St. Antony's College in Oxford" (PDF). St. Antony's College. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
^"BusinessWeek profile on Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss". Retrieved April 5, 2011.[dead link]
^Ramiz, Michelle (2020-08-05). "Afsaneh Beschloss guides investment in greener futures". Hayat Life. Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^ ab"Afsaneh Beschloss". Gavi. 2020-01-27. Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"Global Leaders for Tomorrow Class of 1994" (PDF). World Economic Forum; Wayback Machine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
^ ab"Afsaneh Beschloss". RFK Human Rights. 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^Kapadia, Reshma (December 4, 2020). "Climate Change Is the Biggest Investment Opportunity Post-Covid, the CEO of RockCreek Says". Barron's.
^Delevingne, Lawrence; Kerber, Ross (November 6, 2019). "RockCreek CEO looks for profit in renewables, affordable housing". Reuters.
^"Dana–Farber Cancer Institute appoints six new members to Board of Trustees". Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. 2018-02-21. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"Afsaneh Beschloss". Center for Global Development. 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^ abBeschloss, Afsaneh (2018-06-10). "Business must take up the fight against inequality". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"A new globalisation: Managing uncertainty" (PDF). International Economic Forum of the Americas. 2018. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
^"Afsaneh Beschloss and Kevin J. Maroni Join National Geographic Society Board of Trustees". National Geographic Society Newsroom. 2019-04-02. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^Julius, Dame DeAnne (2021-10-27). "Can the G20 agree a global carbon price?". Chatham House. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"Biosketch of Afsaneh Beschloss". Retrieved 2012-02-27.
^ abcAltman, Alexandra (2015-06-30). "Institute for Advanced Study Appoints Three New Trustees - Press Release". Institute for Advanced Study. Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"Blum Center Welcomes New Board Members Michelle Nunn and Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss". Blum Center for Developing Economies. 2020-04-09. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss". Council on Foreign Relations. 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"DC Resident Named to Georgetown University's Board of Directors". Georgetown University. 2020-10-16. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"Afsaneh Beschloss". PBS. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
^PBS Foundation Board of Directors Elects Afsaneh Beschloss as Chair PBS, press release of September 30, 2020.
^"Afsaneh Beschloss" (PDF). Center for Development Economics at Williams College. June 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
^"Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
^"2002 Annual Report" (PDF). Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
^"Our Board Chair". World Wide Web Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
^"Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss - $12,300 in Political Contributions for 2008". CampaignMoney. 2013-01-21. Archived from the original on 2013-06-21. Retrieved 2022-06-30.