Board

Jo joined UK100 in August 2020 bringing 15 years of experience in financial planning, HR, governance and compliance in the not-for-profit sector with her. She has been operations director and company secretary at Green Alliance, a think tank and charity focussed on ambitious leadership for the environment, since 2016. She has held a number of senior operations and company secretary roles in the charity sector, overseeing financial, HR and governance matters. She holds a Master’s degree in Voluntary Sector Management from Cass Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness and a BA in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Lancaster University.

Emma Pinchbeck is the Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee, a position she has held since November 2024. She is the former Chief Executive of EnergyUK and an expert in whole-economy decarbonisation and the energy transition. She also holds several board advisory positions. Emma has two children and shares childcare with her husband. She is passionate about efforts to improve diversity in the energy industry. From 2016 - 2020, she served as Deputy CEO of the trade body Renewable UK, in which role she also sat on the Board of Scottish Renewables. Before this, Emma was Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK. She has an MA from the University of Oxford.

Clem Cowton is Director of External Affairs at Octopus Energy Group, where she leads on policy advocacy and government relations. She led Octopus Energy’s campaign for an energy price cap and has been instrumental in advancing policies aimed at decarbonising heat and facilitating the transition to a more renewable energy grid. Before joining Octopus Energy, Clem built a career in political consultancy, focusing on the renewable energy and clean technology sectors. More locally, Clem works on community gardening initiatives in Walthamstow and is rewilding her local cemetery.

Graham is the Chief Executive of Groundwork UK and leads work on behalf of the Groundwork federation to build national relationships and partnerships, generate income, develop programmes, and share learning through policy, research and communications. He has contributed to a wide range of Government and voluntary sector groups and task forces on subjects including parks and green spaces, access to nature, youth employment, fuel poverty and community empowerment. He was awarded an OBE for services to communities and the environment in 2020.

Kristy Owen-Jardine is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a seasoned operations executive with extensive experience in the Financial Services industry. For over 25 years, she has held senior leadership roles overseeing operational strategy, risk management, regulatory change, process optimisation and led large, high-performing teams across a global footprint. She participated in Southwark Council's climate change citizens jury in 2021 and holds a degree in Natural Environmental Science from Sheffield University.

Christopher is the Chief Executive of UK100. Formerly the director of UK100’s award-nominated Membership & Insights team, Christopher has doubled the size of the network and launched the Climate Leadership Academy and Local Power in Action programme since joining in June 2021. Previously, Christopher served as the elected Leader of Southampton City Council and was shortlisted for ‘Leader of the Year’ in the 2020 LGIU Councillor Awards. Christopher holds a degree from Bournemouth University, which named him its 2019 Alumni of the Year.

Rishi is UK Head of Sustainability for Investec which encompasses Investec’s approach to climate and sustainable finance, driving delivery on their Net Zero commitments and overseeing their CSR activities. Rishi is also a Camden Council councillor representing Bloomsbury Ward. He is also Chair of the London Borough of Camden's Pension Committee which is a c. 2bn LGPS pension scheme. He is also Shareholder Chair of LCIV, representing c.£50bn of Local Government Pensions. In all his roles Rishi seeks to champion diversity and inclusion and drive more sustainable thinking and behaviours across sectors. Rishi is an Emeritus Governor at the LSE and a Council member at the University of Leicester and RADA. Rishi also serves on the board of the UKSIF and is part of the LSE Grantham Just Transition Investor Alliance.

Maddy is a communications and campaigns expert, specialised in coaching and mentoring teams to be ambitious in strategy and delivery in dynamic fast-moving environments. Currently with the UK programme of the European Climate Foundation, she has worked for a wide range of organisations, including digital campaign platforms, climate action groups, think tanks and for-profit businesses.