Board of trustees

Mike Rann was Premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was also Climate Change Minister, the first in Australia and one of the first in the world. When he was elected in 2002, South Australia had zero renewables. It now has more than 60% from wind and solar. Mike was Co-Chair of the Climate Group's States & Regions Alliance.

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Rachel Andrews is a non-profit professional with more than a decade’s experience in philanthropic grant making, most recently as regional grants manager for the Fidelity Asia Pacific Foundation. She has a particular interest in the synergies between climate action and poverty reduction, and recently graduated from SOAS (University of London) with an MSc in Climate Change and Development, for which she focused on the impact of climate change on global food supply chains.

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Zoë Ashcroft is an international corporate and finance lawyer, one of the founding partners of the London office of international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP, Head of the UK Corporate & Finance Team and a member of the Winston & Strawn global Executive Committee.

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Lutamyo is a Sustainability and Finance Leader with 20 years experience in Financial Services, Technology and Management Consultancy. He is a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) with extensive experience working with Tier-1 global financial institutions, large corporates and public bodies on strategy, governance, finance, risk and digital transformation initiatives.

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Emma Cox is a sustainability and finance leader with over 35 years corporate and public sector advisory experience and is a qualified chartered accountant and chartered management consultant. Previously she was Global Climate Leader and UK partner at PwC, responsible for driving the development and delivery of leading-edge climate solutions to clients around the world and representing PwC on external climate and nature related issues and platforms. She is a visiting fellow at Oxford Saïd Business School’s Centre for Corporate Reputation.

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Meryam is CEO of Climate Arc, a philanthropic organisation that facilitates net zero-aligned global capital flows. She worked at Legal & General for 14 years as head of sustainability and responsible investment strategy. Meryam was also a COP26 high level champion for finance.

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James Hall-Smith was a founding partner of InfraRed Capital Partners, an international fund management business with over 220 infrastructure projects in 17 countries. He has more than 25 years’ experience of investing and managing the development, construction and operation of major infrastructure projects. For the last 10 years James has focused on infrastructure that is central to accelerating the energy transition. 

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Jon Williams is a Managing Director and Global Financial Services Sustainability Leader at Accenture plc, the professional services company specialising in information technology services and consulting. Previously he was a partner with PwC, where he chaired their UK Sustainability practice and was their Global Banking & Capital Markets Sustainability Leader. He was also a Mental Health and Social Mobility Partner Advocate, and is a trained Mental Health First Aider.

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Governor Bill Ritter Jr. was elected Colorado's 41st governor in 2006 and was the District Attorney of Denver from 1993-2005. During his four-year term as Governor, Ritter established Colorado as a national and international leader in clean energy by building a New Energy Economy.

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Gary Doer was the 23rd Canadian Ambassador to the United States and Former Premier of Manitoba. Mr. Doer won three consecutive elections as Premier of Manitoba. In 2005, he was named by Business Week as one of the 20 international leaders on climate change. 

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Joseph M. Kinard is the immediate past Chair (June 30, 2020) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) which was created in 1971 to advance the church’s mission through the financial resources (approximately $10 billion dollars) entrusted to it.

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Douglas Lawrence is Managing Principal and founder of 5 Stone Green Capital LLC with 27 years of distinguished industry experience. Prior to forming 5SGC, Douglas was the co-Portfolio Manager of the 100% green real estate Urban Renaissance Property Fund for JPMorgan Asset Management’s Real Estate platform.

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David Davenport is a Managing Director at NY Green Bank with over 35 years’ experience in real estate, finance, and government. He is responsible for leading NY Green Bank’s real estate lending and financial innovation platforms. This includes the $250 million CDFI focused Community Decarbonization Fund, as well as bilateral financing for efficiency first building decarbonization, electrification, affordable housing, and other clean finance investments with emphasis on projects that serve historically marginalised New Yorkers. 

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Mary Jo Cook is a mission driven leader combining Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial experiences to help companies generate outstanding financial, social, and environmental returns. She has served in CEO, COO, VP, and Board roles and brings expertise in strategy development, corporate partnerships, product innovation, communications, organization effectiveness, fundraising, and finance.

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Charles Imohiosen is the New York Power Authority's Senior Vice President, Communications and External Affairs. He oversees NYPA's public engagement efforts as well as its Environmental Justice and Corporate Communications groups.

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Ambassador Barks Ruggles served for 33 years in senior leadership and diplomatic positions; most recently leading the successful U.S. effort to rejoin UNESCO, setting up the U.S. Mission from scratch and re-establishing U.S. leadership in the U.N.'s lead institution on AI and emerging technology.

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Divya Sharma is an International climate and urban development expert, specialising in climate resilience and urban development planning with almost 20 years’ experience operating throughout India and internationally. Divya comes with a Doctorate in urban climate resilience and a Master’s in urban development planning. In her career, she has worked in various capacities, 'wearing different hats', including being a thought leader and knowledge communicator, a policy planning consultant, a keen researcher and an academician, as well as a leader-mentor to fellow colleagues.

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Helen joined the Climate Group in 2017 as its Chief Executive Officer. In addition to leading the growing Climate Group team, Helen sits on the board of the We Mean Business Coalition ,is on the board of the Sustainable Development Capital Energy Efficiency Income Trust, and is on the Mission Council for Pukka Herbs. 

Prior to joining the Climate Group, Helen worked at Forum for the Future, Médecins Sans Frontières, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte.   

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Helen joined the Climate Group in 2017 as its Chief Executive Officer. In addition to leading the growing Climate Group team, Helen sits on the board of the We Mean Business Coalition ,is on the board of the Sustainable Development Capital Energy Efficiency Income Trust, and is on the Mission Council for Pukka Herbs. 

Prior to joining the Climate Group, Helen worked at Forum for the Future, Médecins Sans Frontières, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte.   

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Jeroen leads the Climate Group Europe office, based in Amsterdam, leading the overall strategic development and project delivery in Europe. Jeroen also leads the Climate Group system focus topic Food, where Climate Group is working with business and governments towards a zero-emissions food system.

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Jeffrey works as (self-employed) Strategic Advisor, building from his experience of nearly 30 years in politics, impact investing, and philanthropy. Right now, he is working for the WHO to launch the “energy for health” program in several countries in Africa. He is passionate about climate and equity – how energy might be catalytic for both issues – and  believes that everyone needs to play a role in bettering the world for the many. 

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Marianne van Keep is chief sustainability officer at Verstegen Spices & Sauces, a family business in Rotterdam the Netherlands with approximately 500 employees and market leader in the Netherlands with sales offices in Belgium, UK, Ireland and Spain. 

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Abyd Karmali is Managing Director, Climate Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch based in London and is point person for the bank’s $10 billion Catalytic Finance Initiative. Mr Karmali is also part of the team that oversees the bank’s broader financial commitment to mobilise $1.5 trillion for low-carbon and other sustainable finance opportunities by 2030.

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Uday Khemka is the Vice Chairman of the SUN Group of companies and an ardent advocate of new and renewable energy. He has almost 30 years of entrepreneurial and investment experience in varied emerging markets, including India. 

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Dr. Shalini serves as an Independent Director on different boards, advises and coaches CEOs and executive teams while volunteering time for a few not-for-profit organisations. With over three decades in the corporate world and an experience ranging from chief people officer to leading a global foundation to running a sustainable business for social impact, she believes in creating impact through her passion for organization culture and change.

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Ameya Prabhu is an entrepreneur and the Managing Director of Duesberg Bosson Financial Services. Duesberg is an asset management & investment banking firm focussed on the Indian market. Duesberg's asset management business comprises of two public markets funds and a private equity growth fund. Ameya also runs a strategic advisory firm with a focus on renewable energy and clean technology.

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Gauri Singh is the Deputy Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency. Gauri brings more than 30 years of experience in policy, advocacy and project implementation within the field of renewable energy and sustainable development from India and internationally. 

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