Have you wondered what it’s like to be a member of the Thinking Ahead Institute? Perhaps you’re curious to find out more about the kind of work we collaborate with our members on? Our new monthly member spotlight series celebrates our valuable member base and showcases our collaborative work, from working groups to global studies.
For the third in our membership spotlight series, we caught up with Yolanda Blanch Ruiz, Chairperson at Pensions Caixa 30, who has been a member of Thinking Ahead for almost 10 years.
What has kept you renewing your membership with us each year?
To maintain regular contact with other international pension funds so that we can understand the key topics currently on their agenda. Also, to receive the insights from the TAI team on investments, governance and sustainability. At PC30 we believe that sharing and continuous learning is essential for the long-term success and resilience of the fund, being a part of this community holds us to account on both of these points.
What have you found to be most valuable?
Where do I start? There are a few areas I would highlight. First, the opportunity for networking, building meaningful connections and exchanging ideas with professionals across different areas. The quality of conversation has been vital over the years and has helped to challenge our thinking at the fund. Second, working in a collaborative culture has fostered knowledge sharing and teamwork, which are essential for achieving common objectives. I like to think about it as the ‘C team’: Collaboration, Communication and Trust (Confianza in Spanish). Finally, gaining insights into emerging industry trends, such as the Total Portfolio Approach (TPA), which has allowed us to be on the front foot with innovative ideas and thinking.
The quality of conversation has been vital over the years and has helped to challenge our thinking at the fund.
What has been your favourite event or project and how has it changed the way you work?
We did a project together on Collaborative Culture and ‘Superteams’, using TAI’s research on the topic and was one of the information sources we used ultimately helped us to shape how we now plan and conduct meetings today. The System Thinking module also proved to be extremely valuable and is still not in the mainstream yet. It inspired me to revisit The Fifth Discipline, and it has opened new perspectives and paths, for example the MIT course “Leading from an emergent future” which I enrolled in earlier this year and is aligned to TAI’s work towards a better and more sustainable future.
Finally, what’s on your shelf? Tell us what you’re either reading, watching or listening to.
In terms of topics currently on the table for the fund, we have the optimal geographic allocation of the portfolio, life-cycle analysis and optimal exposure to alternative investments. On a more personal level, one of the books that impacted my way of thinking the most is “The fifth Discipline”. It opens a new way of looking at everything in the sense that it merges personal mastery with team work and system thinking and leadership. It talks about giving results and at the same time building a better future.
