2024 CSTA Conference

In late 2023, Bart Houlahan became a partner at Irrational Capital, an investment research firm that believes that companies that treat their people well will outperform in the equity markets. Irrational Capital has pioneered the Human Capital Factor, a new investment factor that is connected to future equity value creation. Prior to Irrational Capital, Bart co-founded B Lab in 2006, the non-profit organization behind the B Corp movement. There are now 8,500 Certified B Corporations in 93 countries and more than 150 industries. More than 300,000 businesses have used B Lab’s B Impact Assessment to manage their social and environmental performance, and the organization has passed legislation in 53 jurisdictions creating a new legally-recognized corporate form, the Benefit Corporation. Prior to B Lab, Bart was President of AND 1, a $250 MM basketball footwear and apparel company. At its peak, AND 1 was the second largest basketball company in the world with distribution in 82 countries. The company also scaled an entertainment business, the AND 1 Mix Tape, that included a global tour, videogame, and television show. Bart is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a recipient of the 2014 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. He has also received the 2015 John P. McNulty Prize and was named 2022 Henry Bloch Social Entrepreneur of the Year. He sits on the board of the Duke University Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE).