Julia Meek - Research, Catalyst
I joined Catalyst in July 2006, immediately after graduating from Leeds University with a degree in Modern Chinese Studies. My previous jobs were in journalism and business, ranging from a three week internship at The Erotic Review to a sales role in a Chinese supply chain management company specialising in steel.
Having spent most of my university holidays working in China-based companies, I decided that I wanted a career in business. But in my final year I still didn’t know why. Was it the money? Was it the meetings? Was it the swivel-backed chairs? I couldn’t work it out what it was about business that was drawing me in.
After graduation, most of my course mates headed straight out to China to seek their fortune. I decided to stay in the UK and learn more about business, how it worked and why I wanted to do it. At this point I applied for a summer internship at Catalyst, which I’d heard about through a friend. I got the job and started to research social businesses; companies whose prime motivations are to encourage or implement social change and to make sustainable returns on investment. I began to grasp what I liked about business - its often unrealised power to ‘make a difference’ where other organisations and individuals cannot. And the swivel-backed chairs.
I am now part of the permanent Catalyst team, writing research products on social business aimed at potential investors. Since I started at Catalyst, the buzz surrounding the area of social business has grown from a hum to a clamour as businesses and business leaders increasingly recognise the value of non-financial returns on investment. Catalyst’s research products target these organisations and individuals, aiming to give them a better understanding of the companies involved in the area so that they can make informed investment decisions.