‘Social investment is not going to solve everything’ – Alastair Davis, CEO of Social Investment Scotland

Alastair Davis has been the CEO of Social Investment Scotland, one of Scotland's best known social investors, for 15 years. As the organisation celebrates its 25th birthday, he talks to host Tim West about Scotland’s pioneering journey in community finance, and the essential place of SIS within it as a connector between capital and communities. But he is mindful not to suggest that social investment is going to be a silver bullet for all of society’s ills. Instead, he calls for a “more measured conversation about the art of the possible”.

Organisations are made up of people with their own stuff going on that doesn’t leave them when they turn up for work every day

He reflects on his personal journey, from a working-class upbringing near Glasgow to Harvard Business School and a career dedicated to community finance. His leadership style, he says, is one where personal circumstances matter: “Organisations are made up of people with their own stuff going on that doesn’t leave them when they turn up for work every day.” Recognising this, he has encouraged policies that enable employees to take decent breaks away from the business – starting with himself.

But this doesn’t stifle his ambition: “I am incredibly ambitious for not only myself but the organisation... I know that I do work at pace... sometimes I know that I can run away with things, and [my team] have to try and keep up.”

Listen to the podcast to hear Alastair Davis speak about:

• Why it’s essential for SIS to focus on its core mission to ‘connect capital with community’
• His managerial style – a focus on individual circumstances and need for time off, while being ambitious for the organisation
• How taking breaks “away from the business” helped him find clarity