Here at The Fable, as our name suggests, we love a good story. This one is about one of our lovely customers, Irene Vidaller, whose work in impact investing inspired us. Working to make a difference in social responsibility, while shaking up the finance world, we felt Irene would be the perfect person to profile as part of our Fable Meets series where we introduce you to the real girls who wear our silk shirts.

With an Economics degree under her belt, Barcelona born and bred, Irene headed to Sydney to take on an MBA.

Irene wears our Rose Quartz silk shirt

After relocating, Irene fell in love with Sydney. But as she was about to head to Paris to finish her MBA, it was a job offer she couldn’t turn down that meant she stayed. At the time, she didn’t know it would be a life changing decision.

A trip to Vietnam and five years working with boutique private equity firm, Liverpool Partners, Irene met some of the most socially minded finance people. This opened doors and led her to start Inspire Impact, a social impact investing arm to Liverpool Partners.

What is impact investing? It is investing in organisations, companies funds that purposefully generate social and environmental benefits - along with financial return.

“At Inspire Impact, we invest in and advise purpose-driven businesses, assisting them to generate both social and financial outcomes. We believe these can and should exist simultaneously.” 

“Inspire is only a few months old, but thanks to the support of Liverpool Partners and our network, we are working on a few very exciting projects that will bring financial sustainability to some social challenges.”

Here’s to making change, big or small! Read more about The Fable’s ethical practices here.

See Inspire Impact for more on Irene's work.

Favourite Season

Summer

Latest book

I used to read one book at a time, but since I discovered e-books (which I refused to do for a very long time) I now have a few on the go. I tend to read a personal or professional development book at the same time – currently “A world of three zeroes” by Muhammad Yunus; and an easy entertainment novel usually a thriller, currently “The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer” by Joel Dicker.

Best holiday

So many, but my favourite place on earth to take a few days off is Formentera, a little hippie Spanish island. I used to spend at least a week every summer with my family and have great memories of going to the beach, eating delicious food and wandering around the local designer markets.

Secret skill

Although it’s not a secret skill where I come from, I can speak a few languages – Spanish, Catalan, English, French and currently taking Mandarin classes.

Invention you admire

Facetime, WhatsApp or anything that helps talk and see my family and friends from across the world. It makes me feel like I’m right next to my loved ones even if they are 17,000km away. 

Coffee or tea

Tea, except for afternoon tea when I always have a cappuccino 

Your signature fragrance

Jasmine by Michael Kors

Best piece of advice

Care about things: care about your relationships, care about nature, care about your job and the quality of your work and most importantly care about yourself.

Your favourite way to wear your Fable silk shirt

I like my silk shirt to be tucked loose into high-waisted jeans. But it also works so well for the office too!