We are delighted to announce that Dr Lorna Gold will be our new Chief Executive Officer from September 2023. She takes over from Martin Palmer who remains as FaithInvest’s Founding President.
Dr Lorna Gold is currently FaithInvest’s Director of Movement Building. She has more than two decades of experience of international development and engaging the faiths on climate and financial justice.
She is a leading voice on faith-consistent investing in the Catholic Church and is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Laudato Si’ Movement, a global grassroots Catholic environmental network, bringing together 900 organisations around the world and partnering with hundreds of secular environmental groups.
Before joining FaithInvest in 2020, she worked at a senior level in Trocaire, the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. She supported the Irish Bishops' Conference to divest from fossil fuels in 2018. She is an accomplished academic and author, writing widely on topics related to faith, sustainability and development finance. Her books include New Financial Horizons – The Emergence of an Economy of Communion (NCP, 2011) and Climate Generation – Awakening our Children's Future (NCP, 2018). She holds a PhD in Economic Geography from the University of Glasgow.
Dr Lorna Gold says: ‘It is a great honour to be taking over the leadership of FaithInvest at a pivotal time in both the faith-consistent investing movement and global efforts to address the urgent climate and environmental crises.
We believe faiths can be creative engines of profound change, based on their deep beliefs, values and teaching – Lorna Gold
‘FaithInvest works to achieve a just and sustainable world by supporting all major faiths to invest in line with their beliefs and values. All major faiths have made bold public commitments on tackling the environmental crisis. We believe faiths can be creative engines of profound change, based on their deep beliefs, values and teaching, and that conviction has been borne out by the massive growth of interest globally among faiths in ensuring their investments are aligned with their values for the benefit of people and planet.
‘I look forward to working with FaithInvest’s many partners to accelerate the transition to a just and sustainable world, and I am particularly pleased to continue working closely with Martin Palmer, who retains a key role as FaithInvest’s Founding President and who is one of the world’s leading voices on faiths, the environment and economic justice.
'FaithInvest has inherited an enormous gift of knowledge, trust and relationships with faiths around the world from Martin's decades of work with religious groups. I look forward to continuing his legacy of inspiring faith communities with the passionate conviction that investing in line with our values is vital to achieve a just and sustainable world.'
Martin Palmer has served as the Founding President and CEO of FaithInvest since 2019. Previously, he was the Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), founded with HRH Prince Philip in 1995 to help faiths develop environmental and conservation projects based on their own beliefs and practices.
She brings bold ideas, dynamic thinking and a deep commitment to achieving fairer, more sustainable world for people and planet. – Martin Palmer
Martin Palmer said: ‘Having worked with Lorna for the last three years, we are thrilled that she has agreed to serve as our next CEO.
'As well as an extraordinary depth and breadth of experience in engaging faiths on economic justice, she brings bold ideas, dynamic thinking and a deep commitment to achieving fairer, more sustainable world for people and planet.
‘While I am stepping back from the CEO role (as planned), I am very much looking forward to continuing to work closely with the team as we grow the faith-consistent investing movement. I am delighted that in Lorna we have a CEO with a vision of a globally focused, multi-faith network with a deep understanding of, and appreciation for, the beliefs and values that motivate faiths to take action for people and planet.
'We've moved a long way from faith investing being only about negative screening; nowadays, ensuring your money reflects your values is increasingly seen as axiomatic – and FaithInvest has played an important role in establishing this principle. Faiths are actively looking at where their money is held and what it is being used for, and I look forward to supporting Lorna and the team to take FaithInvest and the FCI movement to the next stage.'