Rhian-Mari Thomas is Chief Executive of the Green Finance Institute, an independent organisation at the forefront of shaping how finance can be used to facilitate real economy transition.

Rhian spent 20 years in investment banking and corporate finance and was the first person to be awarded an OBE for services to green banking.

She is a former member of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and co-chaired the launch of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) – having served as a senior adviser to the TNFD since its inception in June 2021. Rhian is a Trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) UK, and chairs the independent National Wealth Fund Taskforce. She also sits on an Independent Advisory Board for carbon ratings agency, BeZero Carbon, offering strategic advice on the future of carbon markets.

A fluent Welsh speaker, Rhian holds a PhD in Physics from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Simon is responsible for our strategic communications, relationship with governments and key external stakeholders. Prior to joining the GFI, Simon was Innovation Director at the City of London Corporation where he served on the secretariat for the Green Finance Taskforce which led to the creation of the GFI. He also served on the board of the Kalifa Review into UK Fintech. Most recently he was a Director at Flint Global, advising investor clients on sustainability.

James Hooton is Managing Director of the Green Finance Institute Europe, leading on European strategy and building relationships with key public and private sector stakeholders. Under his leadership, the GFI has expanded internationally. James is a founding member of the Sustainable Energy Finance Association, an advisory member of the Science Based Targets initiative Expert Advisory Group on Buildings, and a member of the Core Project Team for the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. He joined the GFI from his role as Finance and Ops Director for a charity, and previously spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs in Europe and Asia managing teams across a range of financial products from commodities, equity derivatives to vanilla cash equity.

Claire’s initial focus is on the CDR programme. Claire started her career in Investment Banking, structuring shipping, aircraft finance and Infra transactions. She then set up and developed the syndication desk of De Lage Landen (the leasing subsidiary of Rabobank) in France, Italy, Spain and later assumed responsibility for the UK market. She spent 5 years with a debt advisory boutique helping UK SMEs raise financing from private debt funds and more recently became CFO of a family office investing into UK SMEs. Claire holds a MSc from Ecole Centrale Paris and a dual MBA from London Business School and Columbia Business School.

Hilda is the Regional Director in Singapore responsible for leading GFI’s regional expansion in ASEAN. Hilda has over 20 years of experience in banking and consulting in Asia Pacific where she held leadership roles in Julius Baer, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, and Credit Suisse spanning investment advisory, corporate strategy and business development. Prior to joining GFI, Hilda worked at UNDP in Singapore as a private sector financial advisor focusing on strategic partnerships across regional corporates, asset managers and asset owners to mobilize financing towards sustainable development projects in Asia. She has an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Dr. Poppy Ismalina is a senior economist with over 25 years of experience in sustainable finance, climate policy, and green economic development, with a specific focus on Indonesia. She currently serves as Senior Programme Consultant at the Green Finance Institute (UK), supporting the Indonesian Ministry of Finance in establishing the governance framework for the National Committee on Sustainable Finance (NCSF) and developing blended finance solutions with PT SMI. Previously, she was a Senior Policy Advisor for Sustainable Finance with the IFC-World Bank and OJK, where she contributed to the formulation of POJK 51/2017, its technical guidelines, and Indonesia’s Green Taxonomy. Her prior engagement as a Climate Finance Consultant with GGGI included advising the NDA of the GCF and building the capacity of Direct Access Entities to access international climate finance. She also provided expert support on fiscal policies for green buildings under the Global Buildings Performance Network and contributed to the Indonesia’s Climate Change Fiscal Framework under GIZ-SPIPA and the Ministry of Finance. Dr. Ismalina has a long track record of multi-stakeholder coordination, having led regulatory research and national consultations involving ministries, financial regulators, private sector, and civil society. She holds Master in Economics of Development from ANU, Australia and PhD in Industrial Economics from SOM Research School, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Nada is the GFI Analyst in Indonesia, responsible for supporting GFI’s projects in the country. She is currently involved in collaborative projects, including the development of a White Paper on Governance Mechanisms for the National Sustainable Finance Committee (NSFC)—mandated by Law Number 4 of 2023—in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, and the development of blended finance solutions with PT SMI. Before joining GFI, Nada was a Project Coordinator at the Center for Climate and Sustainable Finance, Universitas Indonesia (CCSF UI), where she managed a research project on climate policy, finance, and energy transition in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ford Foundation. By engaging experts from the NDA of the GCF, the Ministry of Finance, PT SMI, and civil society organizations (CSOs), at CCSF UI, she contributed to the development of a guidebook on climate funding, equipping regional stakeholders in Indonesia with access to financing options to support the country’s climate goals. Nada holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from Universitas Indonesia.