Honoring the Memory of Andrew Kassoy, B Corp Movement Leader
Veris mourns the loss of Andrew Kassoy, a visionary leader who inspired and profoundly shaped the global B Corp movement. His passing, after a courageous battle with cancer, is felt deeply across the impact sector.
In the early 2000s, Andrew, alongside his close friends Bart Houlahan and Jay Coen Gilbert, imagined a world where businesses and investors could drive transformative change across our economy for the benefit of all people, communities, and our planet. This bold vision led the three of them to establish B Lab in 2006, a pioneering non-profit dedicated to certifying and supporting B Corporations—companies committed to creating an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.
Today, B Lab’s legacy includes nearly 10,000 Certified B Corps spanning 103 countries, united by a mission to redefine success in business to benefit all stakeholders, not just shareholders.¹ As a B Corp, Veris is proud to be part of the movement that Andrew envisioned and nurtured. Veris Partner and Senior Advisor Nicole Davis previously wrote a post sharing a few of the many reasons why Veris is a B Corp, noting that certification “offers a variety of benefits, not only to the companies that go through the process, but also to the employees who work for them, the communities they are part of, and to the environment.”²
Andrew’s journey to founding B Lab began with a successful career in private equity and real estate, where he sought deeper alignment between capital and values. He understood profoundly the transformative power capital markets could hold, envisioning innovative legal frameworks, accountability standards, and performance metrics essential for aligning investments with positive social and environmental outcomes.
In an influential 2007 essay, Declaration of Interdependence: Reconciling profit and purpose (recently republished by ImpactAlpha), Andrew articulated his vision: “to build a marketplace where it is possible for individuals to do the right thing.”³ Recognizing the necessity of clear, robust standards for socially responsible business, he dedicated his life’s work to making this vision tangible, inspiring countless others to join him.
In a video he filmed with his B Lab Cofounders at the very end of his life, Andrew eloquently described the concept of a “community of care” at the heart of his life’s work: “We have built into the very institution itself—the idea of care as the opposite of carelessness. It’s embedded in our standards, and in Benefit Corporation legislation itself. You’re not just here to do good; you’re here to care for your workers, your community, your planet.”⁴
We are keeping Andrew Kassoy’s family in our thoughts as we honor his extraordinary legacy. All of us at Veris are grateful for Andrew’s unwavering commitment to building a more just and sustainable world and believe that his vision and achievements will continue to inspire generations to come.
