Sarah leads the Institute’s team and works closely with the Board, the Advisory Council and external stakeholders to deliver the Institute’s strategy. She is also in charge of the Institute’s policy and advocacy work around green+ sovereign bonds, impact reporting and social investment.

Before Sarah was appointed CEO of the Impact Investing Institute in July 2019, she was Business Editor at the Financial Times, where she worked for 18 years. Prior to working at the Financial Times, Sarah worked in emerging markets fund management for Citigroup’s asset management business and at Foreign & Colonial, where her role included reviewing political and economic events, and producing analysis of the global economy. She started her career working for the UN Conference for Trade and Development’s debt management programme in Geneva.

Sarah is a non-executive director of Social Finance, a Companion at the Chartered Management Institute and a Visiting Professor at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at Kings College London. She was also formerly a trustee of CSV, one of the UK’s largest volunteering charities. Sarah is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Sarah lives on Exmoor in the south-west of England, and has a particular interest in the interdependence of people and the land. She is a keen runner, as long as her dogs accompany her.

Currently on parental leave. Bella started working for the Institute as Policy Director in November 2019. She leads the Institute’s programme team, focusing on our five key areas of work: awareness, education, research, impact measurement, management and reporting and policy and advocacy. She also oversees the Institute’s collaborations and projects with partner organisations.

She joined the Institute from the UK government’s Inclusive Economy Unit, where she was a Senior Policy Advisor on impact investing. Bella started her career in the charity sector before joining UBS Investment Bank, where she worked in New York and London, most recently as an Associate Director for their equities trading businesses.

Bella loves her east London neighbourhood and all its wonderful restaurants, pubs and green spaces. She also likes to escape the city – and country – for hikes.

Sarah Teacher comes to the Institute from Lendlease Europe where she served as Social Impact Investment Manager within its European Investment Management business. Sarah was responsible for developing the impact investing strategy at Lendlease and supporting the development of impact investing propositions.

Prior to her work at Lendlease Sarah worked in roles at the intersection of social impact, sustainability and private capital – be that corporate investment or philanthropic. She was a Consultant at Sancroft International (2013-2017), an international sustainability consultancy focused on the social, environmental and ethical risks faced by major businesses; an Associate at On Purpose, a one-year programme for early-career professionals identified as future leaders in social enterprise (2012-13); and Director for Next Generation Philanthropy at the Institute for Philanthropy (2006-2010), leading workshops for philanthropists interested in increasing the impact of their giving.

Sarah graduated from Lady Margaret Hall College, Oxford, in 2005 with a first-class degree in Modern History, and obtained an MPhil in Development Studies from Clare College, Cambridge in 2011. She serves as a Director of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and its European Chair.

Outside of work Sarah spends most of her time in North London playgrounds chasing her kids. When relieved of childcare responsibilities she loves to go on long walks in big nature, read great books, see art shows and watch theatre.

Adam is the Institute’s Operations Manager overseeing finances, human resources and general operations. He previously worked in Finance and Operations Management at a variety of arts, culture, and educational organisations.

When he is not working Adam enjoys graffiti art and reading.

David is the Institute’s Programme Manager for International Development. He leads the Institute’s international work and runs our Global Knowledge Exchange series, which provides a learning platform for National Advisory Boards on impact investing in other countries to help strengthening impact investing markets around the world.

Before joining the Institute, David worked at the United Nations for several years, where he was on the Young Professionals Programme. He held various UN research and programme management posts in Lebanon and Geneva, including with the International Labour Organisation, the UN economic and social commission for Arab States and the UN Human Rights Council.

David was previously an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit and Editor at openDemocracy. When he is not working, David enjoys trail running and cooking recipes from global cuisine.

Lizzy leads on the Institute’s events. She organised the Institute’s launch event in November 2019 and our first anniversary event in November 2020. Lizzy also runs our regular event series and manages the team’s external speaking engagements. Lizzy is also the Institute’s Diversity Officer overseeing the implementation of our diversity policies.

Prior to joining the Institute, Lizzy was working with Capital Enterprise, a non-profit organisation supporting start-ups in the tech industry. She also worked with Luminous Ventures on their flagship event Allocate, the European event for tech venture capital funds. Lizzy has worked on many start-up focused workshops, showcases, talent fairs and product launches.

Aside from events, Lizzy also has a background in project management and operations.

When she is not working, Lizzy enjoys being creative and exploring nature with her borrowed dogs.

Steffi is the Institute’s Communications and Engagement Manager. She oversees the Institute’s external communications including our website, social media and content production. Steffi also leads on the Institute’s media engagement.

Prior to joining the Institute, Steffi worked for international charities, in Germany, the UK, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq, where she set up two communications departments for the German relief organisation Welthungerhilfe.

Steffi started her career in journalism at Associated Press in London and has experience working in print, online and broadcast journalism.

In her free time Steffi enjoys cooking, reading and writing.

Joe joined the Institute in October 2020, where he oversees policy engagement across all programme streams, liaising with government officials, parliamentarians and other policymakers.

He also manages the Institute’s media relations and press coverage, and oversees our Green+ Gilt programme in coordination with the LSE’s Grantham Research Institute.

Joe was previously part of the Public Affairs team at Imperial College London, where he co-ran its policy engagement programme and advocated on issues such as science funding and climate change. Before that, he ran the student wing of the Labour Party and worked in Parliament.

In his spare time, Joe is a school governor, LGBT+ campaigner and plays football.

Su-Fang is the Relationships Coordinator for the Institute working on fundraising opportunities and stakeholder engagement. 

Prior to joining the Institute, Su-Fang was a Fundraiser and Partnership Developer at the Royal Academy of Arts, focused on securing financial support from brands, corporates and institutions. She also worked at the Royal College of Art managing its Knowledge Exchange service including industry collaboration. 

In her spare time, Su-Fang enjoys visiting exhibitions, trading cryptocurrencies and volunteering for charities.

Swati joined the Institute in 2020 while completing a post-graduate degree on Local Economic Development at the London School of Economics where she focused on Gender Lens Investing in her dissertation.

Currently, as part of the programme team, Swati is supporting the Institute’s work on on sizing the UK’s impact investing market and on place-based impact investing.

Prior to joining the Institute, Swati worked in fundraising and communications in the impact investing field in Nepal. She also has experience in research, design, and implementation of community-based programmes. Swati is a trained architect and holds a master’s degree in Urban Management and Development from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

When she is not working, Swati enjoys trying to recreate her mother’s recipes and meeting friends.

Sophia is part of the programme team at the Institute. She is an OnPurpose associate, undertaking a year-long leadership programme for purpose driven organisations. Her previous placement was at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity. 

Sophia works on the Institute’s Learning Hub developed to build up knowledge and skills on impact investing. She also supports the communications and events team with content production and coordination tasks. 

Sophia previously worked in the digital education space, across delivery and business development. She also spent time working in international development in Pakistan and raising funds for girls education across Asia. Sophia studied English literature at King’s College London.

When she’s not working, Sophia enjoys climbing, trekking and playing the piano.

Edward joined us as a new secondee from the Civil Service Fast Stream in April 2021. His most recent posting was in the Foreign Office in a number of EU Exit related roles; these included ratifying the UK/EU Future Relationship Treaty and, most recently, the Gibraltar Negotiations Unit. Prior to that, Edward worked at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority in the Cabinet Office and in the Department of Health’s Covid Response Unit. In his free time, he enjoys trail running, playing chess, Star Trek and is a regular attendee at his book club. 

Clare joined the Institute in July 2020 as Executive Assistant providing administrative support to the Chief Executive and the team. Clare supports Sarah with her diary, managing the many demands on her time to help her achieve the objectives for the Institute.

Clare runs her own virtual assistant business providing PA support and minute taking. Prior to this, Clare worked for Winterthur Life, which later became AXA Wealth, for over 18 years predominantly as Executive PA to the CEO, but also spent time in Marketing and Events.

Clare has two daughters so most of her spare time is spent keeping them entertained.

Helen joined the Institute in October 2020 as Executive Assistant and enjoys supporting the team across many projects.  Prior to joining the Institute, Helen worked for Rolls-Royce as a Customer Issues Manager and a Senior Executive PA. 

Helen is a highly professional Virtual Assistant who has a good understanding of business and project management.  She runs her own Virtual Assistant company and is based in Derby, Midlands. 

Outside of work, Helen loves running and also modern jive and salsa dancing.

Tess Godley is on part-time secondment from her role at the social impact investor Big Society Capital, where she is a Policy and Strategy Manager. She supports the Institute’s policy and public affairs work with a focus on social investment and place-based impact investing.

Prior to working at Big Society Capital, Tess was a Policy Advisor on impact investing for the UK Department for International Development. She focussed on addressing barriers to impact investing in Africa and South Asia through grants and technical assistance to organisations building the impact investing sector. Tess began her career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and also worked for Business Oxygen, Nepal’s first on-shore private equity fund, helping to establish their impact management and reporting framework.

When she’s not working, Tess is a trustee of Soar Community, a community regeneration charity in the north of Sheffield that provides a range of services designed to improve a person’s health, well-being and employability. She enjoys meeting friends, going for long walks in the Peak District, and volunteering with her local Church youth group.

Elizabeth’s career has been in financial services. She was CEO of Allianz Global Investors, initially for Europe and then globally, from 2005 to 2016. She continued to act as an advisor to the company in various capacities until the end of 2019. Elizabeth was previously at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (formerly Mercury Asset Management), Coopers & Lybrand, where she was a consulting partner, and at Sun Alliance.

She is a non-executive director of Pearson plc, BAE Systems plc and Morgan Stanley Inc.

She is chair of the Impact Investing Institute; a director of the Green Finance Institute; serves on the investment committee of the Leverhulme Trust; is a member of the CFA Future of Finance Advisory Council, AQR Asset Management Institute, the Committee of 200 and the 300 Club.

As well as being a trustee of the British Museum, Elizabeth is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is also a published author of crime thrillers. She was awarded a CBE in January 2015 and a DBE in June 2019 for services to the economy and financial services.

In 2016 Elizabeth received an honorary doctorate from the London Institute of Banking and Finance (formerly the IFS University College) and in June 2019 she was made an honorary fellow of the London Business School.

Before joining Esmée, Caroline was Chief Operating Officer at Big Society Capital and preceding that, Charity Bank. Caroline was the co-founder of Investing for Good, a social investment advisory firm – one of the first Community Interest Companies. Previously, Caroline spent 18 years working in financial services, designing and delivering financial products. Caroline is a Board Member of the Environment Agency.

David was on the Boards of Triodos Bank NV 2009-2017 and of Big Society Capital in the UK 2012-2017. He works as an adviser to philanthropists and a consultant to social purpose organisations on governance, income generation and social impact investing.

Ida currently serves on the Board of the Investor Forum, and has previously held positions as Board Director, Senior Vice-President and Senior Counsel and Director of European Public Affairs at Capital Group and European Counsel at J.P. Morgan Investment Management. She also was a partner at international law firm Jones Day.

Before working with the Institute and its predecessor Impact Investing Taskforce, Jamie was head of UBS Wealth Management in the UK. Jamie joined UBS after nineteen years at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, latterly as Chief Executive of its European operations.

Laurie is President and CEO of Courageous Capital Advisors LLC, an impact investing advisory firm. Among her current board engagements, Laurie serves as a non-executive director of the CDC Group (the UK DFI) and the UK Impact Investing Institute. A Senior Fellow and Advisory Council member of Casei3 at the Fuqua Business School, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, Laurie was CEO of Enclude Ltd and Enclude Capital Advisory UK Limited. Prior to building Enclude, Laurie was founder and CEO of Central European Advisory Group; she also worked as an attorney with the New York, Brussels and Prague offices of White & Case. Laurie has a JD from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.

Nick joined Social Investment Business (SIB) in January 2018. SIB helps charities and social enterprises get the money and support they need to improve people’s lives. Since 2002, SIB has provided over £400m worth of loans and grants to charities and social enterprises, and enabled 700+ organisations to become more resilient through business support programmes.

Previously, Nick was Deputy CEO at Social Enterprise UK, where he helped treble membership numbers, develop the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, and oversaw its research function, including the State of Social Enterprise report. Before that, he was Director of Policy & Communications at the School for Social Entrepreneurs, and led the expansion of their social franchise across the country.

Nick is on the board of Social Value UK, Social Tech Trust, Big Society Capital’s Advisory Committee, Big Issue Invest’s Outcomes Investment Committee, and the Diversity Forum for Social Investment.

Olivia is a former Managing Director and Head of European Exchange Traded Derivatives Brokerage at JP Morgan. Olivia also served as a non-executive Director of the Financial Reporting Council, a non-executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of Virgin Money, a non-executive Director and Chair of the Risk Committee of Canada Life and Aon, a non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of the London International Financial Futures Exchange, and a non-executive Director of the Royal London and Investec. Previously, Olivia was a Senior Adviser and member of the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Services Authority. Olivia is a Managing Partner of Collington Capital Partners LLP and a non-executive Adviser to the Partnership Board of the law firm Travers Smith LLP.

Robert is an Investment Director at Rathbones and has over 25 years’ experience managing multi-asset globally diverse portfolios for wealthy private clients, trusts, pensions and charities and has also held several senior leadership roles within the business.

He is a Director and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment and is a member of the Integrity & Ethics Committee. Between 2016 and 2020 he was on the Board of Investing for Good, the social investment and social impact advisory company.

Robert is an Alderman in the City of London, having previously spent eight years as a Common Councilman during which he chaired the Corporation’s Investment Committee. He is also a Past Master of the Guild of Investment Managers (2019-20) and is on the Court of the Haberdashers’ Company.

Investor in SI2 (social impact fund) and chairman of Kampani (impact investment fund on small scale farming in the South). Board member of Institute of Tropical Medicine and co-founder of Iristick (smart safety glasses, for Industry and Society).

The society has recently launched a new Certificate in ESG Investing. Alongside his role at the Impact Investing Institute, Will is also a member of the Diversity Project’s steering committee and the BSI’s sustainable finance advisory group

Sir Harvey McGrath is Chair of Big Society Capital, and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Impact investing Institute. He is the former Chairman of Prudential plc, Man Group plc, the London Development Agency, and of the Governors of Birkbeck College, University of London,

An active philanthropist and social investor, Harvey is Chair of Heart of the City, which helps companies develop responsible business practices; Chair of West London Zone, which supports children and young people; Chair of Funding London, which provides capital to London based early stage businesses; and a trustee of New Philanthropy Capital, a research-based charity which gives advice and guidance to donors and charities.

Adam Robbins joined Triodos Investment Management as an Investor Relationship Manager for the UK market in 2017. Prior to working for Triodos IM, Adam has worked for AXA Wealth Management working in partnership with Private Banks, DFMs, Platforms and Key Strategic Clients. He has also spent over 3 years with RAC in the Commercial Insurance division growing the business and securing new partnerships.

Amanda Mackenzie is the Chief Executive of Business in the Community – The Prince’s Responsible Business Network – which aims to create healthy communities with successful business at their heart.

Previously, Amanda was a member of Aviva’s Group Executive for over 8 years as CMO and joined Aviva to change its name from Norwich Union. Amanda has over 25 years of commercial experience, including director roles at British Airways Airmiles, BT and British Gas. She is a non-executive director of Lloyds Banking Group, sitting on the risk, remuneration and responsible business committees.

Formerly, she was a non-executive director of Mothercare Plc. and sat on the audit committee for 6 years. She was on the board of the National Youth Orchestra for 10 years and was a member of Lord Davies’ review to increase the number of women on boards.

Amanda is a Life Fellow of the RSA and Fellow and former President of the Marketing Society. Prior to her current role Amanda, on loan from Aviva, helped launch the UN’s Global Goals as executive advisor to Project Everyone – a Richard Curtis co-founded campaign for the UN.

Amanda Young is the Global Head of Responsible Investment at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Amanda led a workstream for the UK Government’s Taskforce on social impact investment and is a board director for Social Investment Scotland’s SIS Ventures fund. She served on the board of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association for six years and now Chairs the FTSE Russell ESG Advisory Committee.

Carolina Minio-Paluello is Global Head of Product, Solutions and Quant at Schroders. The Product division’s responsibility encompasses creation, oversight of existing product strategy as well as the marketing of Schroders investment capabilities. The division’s Solutions business is responsible for delivery of strategic advice, customisation and risk management to institutional and intermediary investors globally.

This includes Investment Solutions (including Fiduciary Management), LDI, Advanced Bond Beta, Risk Managed Investments (including Maximiser) and US Portfolio Solutions. The Quant division is responsible for managing portfolios with a quantitative approach. This includes Quantitative Equity Products and Systematic Investments. Carolina joined Schroders in 2019 and is based in London.

Prior to joining Schroders, Carolina was Global Head of Solutions at Lombard Odier from 2013-2019. From 2011-2013 she served as the Head of EMEA for Equity and Private Investor Solutions at Citigroup Investments Inc. From 2009-2011 Carolina was EMEA Head of Private Investor Product Group in the Securities Division at Goldman Sachs. Prior to this Carolina was Managing Director for Quantitative Investment Strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset Management from 2000-2009.

Chris Cummings is CEO of The Investment Association. He is a member of Treasury’s Asset Management Taskforce, Financial Services Industry Advisory Group, DIT Financial Services Trade Advisory Group and Board member of EFAMA. Chris also served on FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee, and the FCO’s Diplomatic Excellence Panel. He was the founding CEO of TheCityUK, and has held senior industry positions.

Cliff Prior is the CEO of the Global Steering Group on Impact Investment – the independent global steering group catalysing impact investment and enterprise to benefit all people and our planet, with a growing 33 country movement. Previously Cliff was CEO of Big Society Capital, the UK’s wholesale social impact investor and market developer; CEO of UnLtd the UK foundation for social entrepreneurs; CEO of Rethink for people affected by severe mental ill health; and has also worked in healthcare, elder care, social housing and homelessness. Cliff has also participated as a government regulator and adviser across several social issue areas, and has co-founded social enterprises.

David Hutchison is Chief Executive of Social Finance, a not for profit group that partners with governments, service providers, the voluntary sector and the financial community to find better ways of tackling social problems in the UK and globally.  Since 2009 he has built the organisation from a concept to a team of over 90 people drawn from social, public sector and financial backgrounds.  Social Finance created the world’s first Social Impact Bond to reduce recidivism among male offenders leaving Peterborough prison.  The SIB model has since mobilised over £500 million in capital globally for programmes aimed at improving social outcomes.  

Prior to joining Social Finance, David spent 25 years with Dresdner Kleinwort where he was most recently Head of UK Investment Banking and a member of the Global Banking Operating Committee, coordinating the bank’s activities in the UK across the full range of investment banking products.

From its founding in 2012 until 2017, he was a non-executive Director of Start Up Loans, a government funded pilot to extend small loans to young people and help them start their own businesses. He is a non-executive director of 3i Group PLC, one of the world’s leading international investors, with over £8bn of assets under management.  David is also a Commissioner for the Social Metrics Commission, which focuses on building consensus around ways to reduce poverty by developing a new approach to poverty measurement in the UK.

David was awarded an OBE in June 2013 for his services to finance.

Hazel Blears practiced as a lawyer and is a former Secretary of State for Communities. She is now Chair of the Social Investment Business, Non-executive board director of the Coop Group and a Member of the Risk and Audit Committee. She was co sponsor of the Social Value Act and works to help others maximise their positive social value and impact.

Helen leads the provision of advice on sustainable and impact investment solutions to clients of Credit Suisse Private Bank in the UK, as well as leading the bank’s coverage of charities. Prior to this, she was Head of Charities at UBS in the UK and held various roles in asset management and securities sales at Goldman Sachs, S.G. Warburg and Kleinwort Benson. She was a member of the UK Government’s Taskforce on social impact investment

Karen Shackleton has worked in the finance sector for over 30 years. She provides independent investment advice to pension funds, is the non-executive Chair of impact manager Resonance and founder of Pensions for Purpose, an information-sharing platform on impact investment.

Kieron Boyle is the CEO of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Foundation — one of the country’s largest charitable endowments and a leader in impact investment. Prior to this he led UK government policy on social investment. Kieron sits on the Boards of Big Society Capital, the Design Council and Catch22.

Lutfey leads the CFA Institute’s engagement, liaison, and partnership with members and stakeholders, including industry and academia. His regional and society relations teams around the world are charged with relationship management, representing the voice of the customer, and delivering on the CFA Institute mission in alignment with local market contexts.

Lutfey is a Visiting Professor-in-Practice at the London School of Economics (IDEAS) and an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore (Risk Management Institute). He is a member of the World Economic Forum Future Council on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, having previously served on the councils for the future of financing and long-term investing.

His industry experience includes stints at Deutsche Bank, Barclays and latterly UBS Investment Bank where he was Global Head of Emerging Markets for FX, Rates and Credit, and founding head of UBS Knowledge Network.

Mark Norbury is CEO of UnLtd, the UK’s leading supporter of social entrepreneurs. He co-chairs HM Government’s Inclusive Economy Partnership and chairs the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (GSEN). Mark has 20 years’ experience in social purpose organisations including INSEAD and Leaders’ Quest.

Ms. Muldoon leads the integration of ESG considerations across all active investment platforms at BlackRock. She most recently served as EMEA Head of Sustainable Investing, focused on identifying drivers of long-term return associated with environmental, social, and governance issues, integrating them throughout BlackRock’s investment process, and creating solutions for our EMEA clients to achieve sustainable investment returns.

Previously, Meaghan served as a Managing Director and Liaison to BlackRock’s Board of Directors within the Corporate Strategy team, where she led the Board of Directors function and managed a rage of complex strategy projects. 

Prior to joining BlackRock in 2016, Ms. Muldoon served for more than seven years as a fiscal and economic policy advisor in the Obama Administration. Most recently, she served as Counsellor to the US Treasury Secretary, coordinating the Department’s fiscal, domestic, and economic policy efforts.

In previous roles, Ms. Muldoon served at the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Policy Advisor to the Chief of Staff, as Associate Director to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (Bowles-Simpson Commission), and as a lead advisor to three Directors of the Office of Management and Budget. 

Ms. Muldoon earned a Bachelor of Arts in government, cum laude, from Georgetown University, and a Master of Public Policy from Duke University.

Michele Giddens co-founded Bridges Fund Management in 2002. She has over 25 years’ experience in sustainable and impact investing and international development finance. She chaired the UK National Advisory Board on Impact Investing from 2016-18 and is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of CDC. She also served on the Council of the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) from 2016-19.

Nick O’Donohoe joined CDC as its Chief Executive in June 2017 and is also a member of the CDC Board. Prior to taking this role he was a senior advisor at the Gates Foundation. Nick co-founded, with Sir Ronald Cohen, Big Society Capital and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2011 to December 2015. He is also Deputy Chairman of the Global Steering Group on Impact Investment.

Nicolas Moreau joined HSBC Global Asset Management as Chief Executive Officer in September 2019.

He has 30 years of experience in the asset management and insurance industries. Before his appointment with HSBC Global Asset Management, Nicolas spent two years at Deutsche Bank as the Management Board member responsible for Deutsche Asset Management. As the Global CEO, Nicolas led the business to be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in March 2018 and rebranded the business to DWS.

Previously, Nicolas spent 25 years with the AXA Group. He was Chairman and CEO of AXA France and a member of the AXA Group Management Committee, as well as Vice Chairman of the Group Investment Committee. Nicolas has also been CEO of AXA Investment Managers and CEO of AXA UK & Ireland. He began his career with Arthur Andersen.

Nicolas is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and has an actuarial degree from the Centre d’Etudes Actuarielles. He was awarded la Legion d’honneur in 2015, for his services to the French financial industry. Nicolas is a Director of the Investment Association.

Nigel Kershaw OBE joined The Big Issue in 1994 becoming Group Chair and is also co-founder of The Big Exchange. Prior to The Big Issue he was a lithographic printer and founded three printing and publishing social enterprises. Nigel is a Social Enterprise UK ‘Champion of Champions’ and in 2010 was awarded an OBE for services to Social Enterprise.

Paul Druckman, Chairman of the World Benchmarking Alliance and Clear Insurance; Board member – Shift Project for human rights; SASB. Previous highlights include President Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales; City Takeover Panel; Board member FRC and chairman of UK accounting standards; Chairing A4S; founding CEO of the IIRC.

Paul Kirby is the Co-founder and CEO of Zinc VC. Paul is a former partner at KPMG and the global head of public services and government. In his career, he has been Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit, as well as working in the media, education, transport and urban regeneration sectors. Paul is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics & Political Science and was a Director of Bethnal Green Ventures and a Non-Executive Director of the Cabinet Office.

Saker is CEO of the international business of Federated Hermes, appointed November 2011, having joined in June 2009 as CIO. He is also a member of the Federated Hermes Executive team.

Prior to this, Saker was Global Head of Equities at Fortis Investments, having previously been CIO Global Equities since 2005. Before this, he was CIO of Global Equities and Head of Marketing for SGAM UK. This followed SGAM’s acquisition of Trust Company of the West, where Saker was a Managing Director running global and international strategies, as well the London office. He started his career at Mercury Asset Management in 1987.

Saker is founder of the 300 Club and was an inaugural member of the CFA Institute’s Future of Finance Advisory Council from 2013 until 2019. He is a member of the IIRC Council, the FCA-PRA Climate Financial Risk Forum, the United Nations Environmental Programme Financial Initiative Steering Committee, the Banking Standards Board, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the advisory Board of the National Youth Orchestra.

In 2018, Saker was named CEO of the Year at the Financial News Asset Management Europe Awards and was named as European Personality of the Year for 2020 at the Funds Europe Awards. He has a BA and PhD in Medieval History from King’s College, University of London.

Saker was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s 2020 New Year’s Honours list for services to Responsible Business and Finance.

Sam Gyimah is a non-executive director of Goldman Sachs International (Investment Bank, Private Equity, Securities in EMEA) and Goldman Sachs International Bank (Consumer Bank, including Marcus).

Sam was formerly the Member of Parliament for East Surrey from 2010 through to 2019. During Sam’s time in Parliament he served in four ministerial positions; including as joint Minister for Innovation, Technology, Research and Higher Education in 2018, with strategic responsibility for an £8 billion research and development budget, and 164 higher education institutions. He served as Justice Minister between 2016 and 2018, with executive responsibility for the £600m operational turnaround and social reform agenda in the criminal justice system. Sam has also served as Minister in the Cabinet Office and Education Department, as a government whip and as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister David Cameron, attending Cabinet.

Before entering politics, Sam was an angel investor in a number of early-stage businesses. Sam began his career in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, where he worked on UK corporate finance and M&A advisory transactions, before joining the Equities business, focusing on equities sales and institutional client relationships.

Since leaving politics at the end of 2019, Sam has focused on sustainable finance, impact investing and innovation. He serves as an Independent Board Director of Oxford

University Innovation, the entity that manages the University of Oxford’s spin-out programme, is a founding Advisory Board member of Blume Equity, a sustainability focussed food and health growth venture capital firm, and until recently was a Senior Advisor to Pension Bee, an online retirement savings platform focused on consolidating and investing pensions in ESG funds. Pension Bee listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 2021.

Sam earned an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford in 1999.

Sara Llewellin is the Chief Executive of the Barrow Cadbury Trust.  Her career has included ten years as Deputy Director of City Bridge Trust.  Before that, she had a career in operating charities including as Chief Executive of St Giles Trust in London and before that, ran a network of women’s refuge provision in South London. 

Sara is a member of the Chair of the European Foundation Centre’s (efc) Diversity, Migration and Integration Network and has served on a number of boards including Lottery distributors, Futurebuilders England, Charity Bank, the efc and the Association of Charitable Foundations. Her background is in activism, particularly in the domestic violence and equality movements and in local social enterprise and community family provision. 

The Barrow Cadbury Trust is the largest philanthropic foundation of the Cadbury family.  With strong Quaker roots, we seek structural changes in the areas of economic, racial, gender and criminal justice.  We are very active in the responsible finance movement and in developing the social investment market, strengthening civil society and advancing philanthropy. 

Simon Bond is a Fund Manager and Director of RI Portfolio Management at Columbia Threadneedle Investments EMEA APAC.

Therese is Head of Sustainability at Ninety One. She is responsible for overseeing the overall sustainability approach across the business, which covers three areas ‘Invest, Advocate and Inhabit’. She works closely with the board, executive leadership as well as the investment and risk teams to ensure that stewardship, integration and active ownership are in place and aligned with Ninety One’s business purpose and strategic priorities.

Therese joined Ninety One in 2011, initially as the head of ESG research and then as global head of ESG leading the first phase of ESG focus across the business. She has a wealth of experience from various sustainability areas in the investment industry from her time as another London asset management firm, where she was Head of Governance and Responsible Investment, to working at Sustainability, Core Ratings and Global Water Intelligence. 

Therese has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Management and Policy from the London School of Economics, and a Master of Science degree in Nature, Society and Environmental Policy from Oxford University.