Echo Impact Launches to Empower Underrepresented Communities, Unlock Innovation in OKC’s Ongoing Renaissance

Echo, a multi-strategy investment firm founded by Christian Kanady in 2010, announced the formal launch of Echo Impact to be led by seasoned community developer Sandino Thompson. The investment strategy is anchored on the philosophy that social and financial returns can and should be intertwined.

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As a Partner and Managing Director of Echo’s Impact investing, Sandino Thompson brings more than 20 years successfully managing multimillion-dollar commercial and residential construction projects – including the redevelopment of Northeast Oklahoma City. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Echo firmly believes that making money and doing good are not mutually exclusive,” said Kanady. “Echo Impact is more than an investment strategy aimed at financial returns – it’s a mandate at the core of our mission as investors, partners, and community builders.”

Focused on unlocking industry-informed innovation and fostering long-term economic growth, Echo Impact aims to invest in and incubate solutions that empower, build, and improve overlooked communities and drive inclusive development as Oklahoma City’s momentum continues to pick up speed. As one of the fastest growing and most dynamic metro areas in the United States, OKC is ranked in the top 10 nationwide for economic productivity growth.

“As Oklahoma City’s renaissance story continues to be written, the rising tide hasn’t lifted all boats,” said Thompson. “Echo Impact is designed to advance industry-driven, economic inclusion that will further benefit underrepresented neighborhoods and their unrealized intrinsic value.”

As a Partner and Managing Director of Echo’s Impact investing, Thompson brings more than 20 years successfully managing multimillion-dollar commercial and residential construction projects, and he has extensive involvement in community and economic development initiatives focused on neighborhood stability and revitalization – including the redevelopment of NEOKC. He has also led model design and proposal requests resulting in millions of dollars in federal funding for Oklahoma City, while supporting dozens of other federal and state funding efforts. He serves on numerous boards and commissions overseeing deployment of municipal and county capital investments, giving him broad perspective and access to networks that support the development of sustainable business ventures in underrepresented communities.

About Echo

Headquartered in the Ziggurat building overlooking Kerr Park in downtown Oklahoma City and founded by Christian Kanady in 2010, Echo is a multi-strategy investment firm that connects overlooked domestic resources and infrastructure with world-class founders, ideas, and capital to generate exceptional financial and social returns.

Strategically blending venture, private equity, and impact, Echo invests across energy, life science, national security, and media & entertainment. Echo is the leading investor in enterprises such as Wheeler Bio and Prairie Surf and manages a growing portfolio of investments in innovative companies creating disruption across industries. The firm’s private equity holdings include one of the largest privately held oil and gas royalty portfolios in the United States and a growing real estate portfolio of landmark commercial properties across emerging U.S. urban markets.

Learn more by visiting echo.global.

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