We’re thrilled to announce that Daniela, a Toniic member since 2022, has joined the Toniic board!
Passionate about systemic solutions for a healthy and fair future, Daniela is dedicated to incentivizing foundations to align with their impact commitments. Since joining Toniic, she has been an incredible supporter. Her team sponsored part of our London gathering earlier this year, where they facilitated an engaging afternoon focused on the role and challenges of family offices in accelerating impact.
In February, after the launch of the Impact Investing Institute’s report, “Family Offices: A Roadmap to Impact,” Daniela’s team hosted us at their office, providing a valuable space for reflection on the unique challenges faced by Toniic members involved in family offices.
With her kind yet firm dedication to impact, Daniela is an empathetic leader, and we are honored to have her on the Toniic Board. Here’s a ⚡ quick Q&A to get to know Daniela and what fuels her passion.
👋🏼 How would you explain your job/career goals to a 7-year old?
I am trying to make the world a better place by using money to invest in companies and people who are solving some of the world’s biggest problems, such as helping homeless people find housing, or renting mobile phones and game consoles so that they can be used multiple times and using seaweed in packaging, instead of plastic.
✨ What has been some pivotal moments in your career?
Coming from Brazil, I was touched, from a very young age, by inequality and poverty. I started volunteering at the age of 12, but didn’t know how to make that into a career. So a pivotal moment was changing from private equity investing into impact, 22 years ago.
In that, I had many fascinating experiences, such as leading Europe’s first venture philanthropy organisation and co-founding the Education Endowment Foundation, a c.£150m fund from UK’s Department of Education aiming at improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children and young people. Also in broader public policy, I chaired the impact measurement workstream of the G8 Social Impact Taskforce and, as part of another initiative, launched UK government’s first career fund across England, linking schools and employers for those at risk of unemployment.
And of course leading Snowball, which is quite unique as a fund manager. We are owned by not-for-profits, sit at the top 5% of B Corps in governance, and have a systemic view of how finance could work better for the environment and society, which we put into practice ourselves to be the change we want to see. In 2021 Snowball opened to new investors, I hired a team and since, tripled the size of the fund. I am particularly proud of the work I have led on culture, with a focus on increasing the diversity we have at Snowball. Who manages capital matters. We now have over 50% women in our leadership team, board and investment team. We also have good ethnic, neurodiverse, and socio-economic background representation. (👏 bravo for leading by example! )
🗣 What’s one thing you can keep talking about for hours?
I can talk for hours about (and listen to!) inspiring impact stories or about personal growth and learning – I love engaging with people deeply, beyond chit-chat.
🪑 What’s your favourite spot to sit, reflect, think, breathe?
I often go to nature, preferably by the sea, to escape from the big city. There are countless beautiful places by the sea to enjoy, reflect on, and contemplate. Just this past December, my partner and I went to a beautiful island, an ecological reserve in Brazil, called Fernando de Noronha. It was a sea dive for the soul!
🤩 What’s one thing you look forward to in the next 100 days?
We are launching a new fund! Snowball’s private equity fund will invest directly in private companies, alongside our pre-selected specialist fund managers.
Our new co-investment impact fund compares favourably to impact private equity funds, offering better economics, greater diversification and lower manager, sector and vintage risks. This is in addition to our high bar on impact, non-extractive fee commitment and stewardship governance. I am very excited about this, as we select 15-25 companies from a pool of over 150, which are creating meaningful change in the world. Stay tuned for more in the coming months.
📖 What’s current on top of your reads/listens/watch list?
- Just finished the book “From Strength to Strength” (Arthur C Brooks)
- Just started the book “The Promise that Changes Everything” (Nancy Kline)
- Having come from Bhutan recently, I am starting to re-read “Siddharta” (Herman Hesse)
- And watching the series “The New Look” 👜
Daniela’s Bio:
Daniela is a leader known for driving change at the intersection of the commercial and impact worlds, from strategy development through operating execution with almost 20 years of board level experience.
Daniela joined Snowball as its first CEO. Snowball is a purpose-built impact investment company, offering a diversified investment fund that aims to create positive outcomes for people and planet whilst generating sound financial returns. She is also a non-executive director at InterContinental Hotels Group Plc and a Trustee of the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW). Daniela has a Harvard Business School MBA and a BSc in Economics from Unicamp.
Among her various accolades are Fifty Most Influential in Sustainable Finance (2023 – Financial News), top 100 women in engineering (2019 – Financial Times), “20 People who are Changing Brazil and the World for the Better” (2017- Istoé Dinheiro) and 100 people who make Britain a better place (2008 – Independent on Sunday “Happy List”).