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Bruce Usher

Bruce Usher
Co-Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise; Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director; Professor of Professional Practice
Tamer Center for Social Enterprise
Areas of Expertise
Climate
Contact
Office: 391 Kravis
Phone: (212) 8547631
E-mail: [email protected]
Links
Personal Website
Curriculum Vitae

Bruce Usher is a Professor of Professional Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. The Tamer Center educates on the use business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and management tools to address social and environmental challenges. Professor Usher teaches courses on climate change, finance and business, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom, the Lear Award, and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

Professor Usher is also on the Columbia Climate School faculty, and on the Executive Committee of the Earth Institute. He chairs Columbia University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, advising the university trustees on ethical and social issues that arise in the management of investments in the university’s endowment. In 2016, Professor Usher established the Columbia University Scholarship for Displaced Students, providing an opportunity for refugees to complete their higher education. This scholarship program is now managed by the Columbia Global Centers.

In 2019, Professor Usher published Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century, the first in the Earth Institute’s sustainability series of books. His latest book, Investing in the Era of Climate Change (Columbia University Press), was published in 2022. Professor Usher has written numerous cases for use in business school courses, with a primary focus on climate change and business.

Prior to joining Columbia University, Professor Usher was CEO of EcoSecurities Group plc, which developed greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in developing countries. EcoSecurities completed an IPO in 2005 and was acquired by JPMorgan in 2009. He was previously the co-founder and CEO of TreasuryConnect, which provided electronic trading solutions to banks and was acquired in 2001. Prior to that, he worked in financial services for twelve years in New York and Tokyo. Professor Usher is an active investor and advisor to entrepreneurial ventures focused on climate change and clean energy, and is Chair of the Tamer Fund for Social Ventures. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Education
BComm, Queens University, 1986; MBA, Harvard, 1992

All Activities

  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Awards and Honors
  • Press
  • Journal articles
  • Working papers
  • Articles
  • Books
  • Chapters
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Usher, Bruce
. “Real Progress on Emissions Can Lead to a Global Pact.”
NYTimes.com
. September 29, 2014.
Read More about Real Progress on Emissions Can Lead to a Global Pact
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Usher, Bruce
. “The U.S. as a Climate Change Leader?”
Huffington Post
. September 23, 2014.
Read More about The U.S. as a Climate Change Leader?
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Usher, Bruce
. “Savvy Risks, Sustainable Rewards.”
Ideas at Work
. July 18, 2014.
Read More about Savvy Risks, Sustainable Rewards
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Usher, Bruce
. “On Global Warming, Start Small.”
The New York Times
. November 27, 2010.
Read More about On Global Warming, Start Small
Type
Newspaper/Magazine Article
Usher, Bruce
. “Red China, Green China.”
The New York Times
. May 10, 2010.
Read More about Red China, Green China
Type
Chapter
Usher, Bruce and Albert Gore III
. “The Spectacular Growth of Solar PV Leasing.” In
Renewable Energy Finance: Powering the Future
, edited by
Charles W. Donovan
,
307
-
324
.
Hackensack
:
World Scientific Publishing
, 2015.
Read More about The Spectacular Growth of Solar PV Leasing
  • Courses
  • Case Studies
Type
Course
B8355: Impact Investing
View Course on Impact Investing
Type
Course
B8363: Climate Finance
View Course on Climate Finance
Type
Course
B8767: Investing in Social Ventures
View Course on Investing in Social Ventures
Type
Course
B8320: Climate Tech
View Course on Climate Tech
Type
Course
B8585: Bridging the American Divides
View Course on Bridging the American Divides
Type
Course
B8705: Business and Climate Change
View Course on Business and Climate Change
Type
Case Study
Wagner, Gernot and Bruce Usher
. The Cost to Achieve Net-Zero . 
New York, NY
:
Columbia CaseWorks
, 2022.
Read More about The Cost to Achieve Net-Zero
  • Awards & Honors
  • In the Media
  • Ideas
  • Research In Brief
  • Press Releases
Type
In the Media

Climate Bill Said to Put Emission Goals in 'Striking Distance'

Roll Call
Type
In the Media

The Tax Rule That Inspired Billionaires and Movie Stars to Back Climate Moonshots

Bloomberg News
Type
In the Media

Wind and Solar Producer Tops Exxon as Most Valuable U.S. Energy Company

CBS News
Type
In the Media

Flurry of climate change reports have ominous message: 'We are heading in the wrong direction'

USA Today
Type
In the Media

Global Diplomats Are Talking about Climate Change - Again. Does It Do Any Good?

USA Today
Type
In the Media

Professor Bruce Usher on Books for Budding Social Entrepreneurs

Columbia
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