Richard Parsons

Former Board member, Independent Board Member

Search every verified Richard Parsons interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Richard Parsons, a social impact practitioner and former government regulator, has been active in discussions about social impact assessment and collaboration. In a series of podcast interviews in 2025, he argued that social impact projects require collaboration and that assessments should be conducted by specialists. He stated that the role of a social impact practitioner is to collect data and insights to inform decision-makers, not to make decisions themselves. Parsons also noted that a 2017 guideline for social impact assessment in New South Wales, which he helped prepare, was initially applied to extractive industries before being expanded to all sectors in 2021, a shift he described as "transformational." Separately, in his capacity as founder and CEO of Kite Magnetics, a materials manufacturing company, Parsons has discussed the company's technology, Aeroperm, which he said makes electric motors lighter and more efficient. In a 2024 interview, he described the company's goal of enabling electric vehicles to travel further and carry more. He also commented on the challenges of raising venture capital in Australia, saying that local investors typically run smaller checks and have a lower tolerance for "really big visions" compared to investors in the United States.