Andrew Kassoy, Visionary Entrepreneur, Passes Away at 55

Andrew Kassoy, a former private equity professional who became a leading advocate for redefining capitalism as a tool for social good rather than mere profit, died at his Brooklyn home on June 22 at the age of 55.

His wife, Margot Brandenburg, a senior program officer at the Ford Foundation, shared that Kassoy had been undergoing treatment for metastatic prostate cancer for over two years prior to his passing.

In a recent recorded discussion with longtime friends and business partners Jay Coen Gilbert and Bart Houlahan, Kassoy reflected on capitalism’s inherent shortcomings: “One of the reasons capitalism doesn’t function well as a system is because it was originally designed with carelessness at its core. It promoted wealth-building for oneself without regard for others.”

He emphasized his contrasting belief that the purpose of business should be to care — for employees, communities, the environment, and everyone involved in the supply chain.

In 2006, Kassoy joined Gilbert and Houlahan in leaving the corporate sector to establish B Lab, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the global economy to serve people, communities, and the planet more equitably.