Positive Leadership

A Defiant Optimist Transforming Global Finance (with Durreen Shahnaz)

Jean-Philippe Courtois Season 10 Episode 19

This week on the Positive Leadership Podcast, I amjoined by Professor Durreen Shahnaz, a pioneering social entrepreneur, impact investor, and relentless advocate for women’s empowerment. 

From growing up in a post-war Bangladesh to becoming the first Bangladeshi woman on Wall Street, Durreen’s journey defies conventions. She left investment banking to join Grameen Bank, and went on to found Impact Investment Exchange (IIX)—home to the world’s first social stock exchange and the groundbreaking Women’s Livelihood Bond

In this powerful conversation, Durreen shares: 

  • How her upbringing shaped her belief in using finance for good 
  • What it means to be a defiant optimist in a system built for exclusion 
  • The bold vision behind IIX and the practical ways it's transforming lives across the Global South 
  • How young leaders can challenge the status quo and lead with purpose 

Durreen’s work has shifted the paradigm of global finance—proving that profit and purpose can coexist, and that real change comes from the margins. 

🎙️ Want more inspiring stories of courageous leadership and positive change? 
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