Esc Wednesdays are Escape the City’s monthly after-work talks in central London. They are a fun way to spend an evening with some friends, meet some interesting like-minded people, and hear from someone who has an interesting perspective on life outside of the corporate mainstream.

Over the past two years we've heard from a fantastic range of career changers, entrepreneurs and adventurers. This evening promises to be another great one. The emphasis is on discussion - we ask our speakers to talk for a maximum of 30 minutes before we open it to the room for a lively Q&A.

Introducing our speaker: Rod Schwartz

Rod has operated in the investment industry as an analyst, strategic consultant, senior manager, corporate advisor, venture capitalist and entrepreneur. Over the past 32 years, he has acquired a great understanding of what makes companies succeed or fail. He currently runs ClearlySo, which is an investment bank helping social entrepreneurs raise capital.

5 reasons why you should come...

1. You work in finance and you'd like to hear how someone went from running Lehman's European Equities business to becoming an entrepreneur.
2. You are thinking of starting a social business or enterprise, or heard about this area and would like to know more.
3. You are raising investment for your social enterprise and would like to learn about the do's and don'ts.
4. You run or work in a social enterprise and you would like to hear how Clearly So can help you develop and grow.
5. You'd like to know why Rod thinks that the boom he observes now in social investment reminds him of what he saw as a top-rated equity analyst on Wall Street studying investment banks.