David Bent
Trustee and Chair of the Board

David Bent is passionate about playing his part in a generation that puts the world on a sustainable footing. David has worked at Forum for the Future, an independent non-profit working globally to solve complex sustainability challenges, for the last 13 years, most recently as Director of Sustainable Business. He advised dozens of companies in the UK, USA and India on strategy and innovation so they can be more successful by creating a sustainable future.

His perspective is that we need to shift so our global natural and social systems are coping (rather than overwhelmed, as they are now), and also people have access to what they need to choose their own lives. David supports institutions that are acting as a global ‘innovation function’, whether as an advisor, an executive, or a social entrepreneur. He recently finished advising the Cabinet Office on inclusive economy. His current priorities include: researching a pro-sustainability industrial strategy as an Associate Fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge; and, starting a ‘Gigatonne Lab’ to accelerate a rapid transition to a zero carbon world.

David has a Masters in Physics from Oxford, a Masters in Responsibility and Business Practice from Bath and is a qualified accountant, having spent 4 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He has been a tutor on the Post-Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Roger Cowe
Trustee

Roger Cowe is a former journalist and consultant specialising in corporate sustainability. He has worked on sustainability communications with major multinationals and organisations including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Roger has been involved in the development of corporate sustainability since the early 1990s, initially as a business journalist on The Guardian newspaper. After an early career as a management accountant he gained an MBA from Manchester Business School.

Aaron Hay
Trustee

Aaron joined the international business of Federated Hermes in 2018, and currently serves as Director of Engagement & Investment Strategy in Sustainable Fixed Income. This includes leading the engagement strategy and working with companies for the SDG Engagement High Yield Credit Fund, and collaborating closely with EOS, Federated Hermes’ stewardship platform serving $1.5tn in client assets-under-advice (AUA). Aaron has a decade of experience advising on corporate sustainability strategy and environmental and social challenges across private, public and NGO sectors. He consulted with Accenture Strategy, working with multinational clients in sustainability strategy, ethical supply chain development, circular economy and environmental valuation projects. Aaron was a senior advisor with Forum for the Future, a UK NGO that partners with businesses to use systems thinking and perspectives in long-term, sustainable business model design. He previously served in sustainability advisory in Canadian technology consulting and government settings. Aaron holds an Honours Business Administration (HBA) degree from the Ivey School of Business at Western University, Canada, and a MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London. 

Clare Hierons
Trustee

Clare is currently at A4S with responsibility for ensuring A4S has the people, processes and systems needed to deliver on its mission.

Clare spent six years delivering carbon reduction programmes for the Carbon Trust before becoming CEO of Carbon Leapfrog, a charity that worked with the legal sector to build capacity in the community energy sector. After leading Leapfrog through a successful merger, Clare went on to create a charitable foundation for the Energy Saving before being appointed COO of ShareAction, a charity dedicated to driving positive social and environmental change through responsible investment. Clare holds a degree in Engineering and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management as well as qualifications in coaching and project management.

Richard Howitt
Trustee

Richard is a strategic advisor on corporate sustainability, business and human rights. In a distinguished 22-year career as Member of the European Parliament, he was longstanding Rapporteur on Corporate Responsibility and key architect of the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive. Richard represented Europe in developing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, in the update of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprise and the creation and implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He subsequently served as Chief Executive Officer of the International Integrated Reporting Council, involving many of the world’s leading mainstream and ESG investors and was convenor of the project to align the world’s major financial and sustainability reporting frameworks. Currently, he undertakes advisory work with companies and organisations and is Senior Associate at the public interest law firm, Frank Bold.  

Mauricio Lazala Leibovich
Trustee

Mauricio Lazala Leibovich is Deputy Director at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. He is an international human rights advocate and lawyer. Since joining the Resource Centre in 2006 he has coordinated research in areas such as Business, Conflict & Peace and Freedom of Association; and has helped producing briefings on business & human rights in Latin America, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, and the Middle East & North Africa. He has also represented the Resource Centre in numerous events internationally, and has undertaken several research missions. Mauricio previously worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and at various human rights organisations in Mexico and Israel. Mauricio has a law degree (honours) from Cambridge University and a BA in Political Science and History from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mauricio has published articles on business & human rights, and is fluent in Spanish, English & Hebrew.

Camilla Parke
Trustee

Camilla’s current focus at Big Society Capital is supporting greater participation by individuals and communities in social investment. She also works on engaging corporates in social investment. Before joining Big Society Capital, Camilla participated in the social enterprise leadership programme On Purpose. Prior to this, she worked in the Innovation Lab at Nesta, and spent a number of years as a consultant advising clients on strategy, innovation, scenario planning and foresight.

Nina Roth
Trustee

Nina is a Director in BMO Global Asset Management’s Responsible Investment team. She joined in 2019, oversees social engagement efforts, and leads on ESG analysis and engagement for financials. Before joining BMO Nina worked at Germany’s development agency (GIZ), engaging emerging markets financial institutions and their regulators on sustainable finance. Nina also worked for UBS’s environmental and social risk (ESR) team in Hong Kong, Zurich, and New York, as well as for Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, where she established the bank’s ESR framework. Nina holds a master’s degree in political science 

Maryann Selfe
Trustee

Maryann is a financial executive and strategist with over 15 years of international experience in the financial services industry, with varied exposure to responsible investing during this time. Before moving into the financial sector, Maryann started her career with Deloitte and Touche. She is passionate about channelling capital into innovative investment products, business models, and entrepreneurs tackling social and environmental challenges aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other pressing national and global challenges. Maryann holds a B.Sc (First Class Honours) in Applied Accounting from the Oxford Brookes University, Oxford and an MBA from Cardiff University. She is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.  

Frances Way
Trustee

Frances Way is Co-Chief Operating Officer at CDP. She joined CDP in 2007 to manage and expand the supply chain program and now oversees the delivery and strategy of all CDP’s programs. This involves working with both investor and company stakeholders on the issues of climate change, water and deforestation. Previously, Frances spent eight years in the finance sector, primarily in Dresdner Kleinwort’s Global Equities Division where she was responsible for communications between the European research and sales teams. Frances has an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London.