About us

Claire joined as CEO of Howden Foundation in May 2025, bringing with her 15 years’ experience in international corporate and climate philanthropy.

Prior to joining Howden Foundation, Claire was Chief Investment Officer at the BHP Foundation, where she oversaw development and execution of the Foundation’s strategy, and led an international team to maximise the outcomes and impact of the Foundation’s grant-making, overseeing a portfolio of over $50 million per year.

Claire began her philanthropic career at one of the world’s largest global climate funders, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, where she led programme, portfolio and grant-making work before moving into the role of the Chief of Staff to the CEO.

Claire began her career at Ernst and Young where she worked with clients in both the public and private sector in Assurance and Advisory. She has a Master of Arts in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Claire is also a Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee for the UK-based charity, Integrity Action.

Clare joined Howden Foundation in 2021, and spent three years overseeing all of the Foundation’s grantmaking and activities, including launching the Foundation’s ambitious strategy to build community-based resilience towards the impacts of climate change. Clare was promoted to COO in May 2025, in recognition of the instrumental role that she has played in shaping the Foundation you see today.

Clare believes deeply in the unique role that philanthropic capital can play in fostering sustainable change, and has ten years’ experience working at the intersection of UK corporate philanthropy and international grant-making, including her tenure at international grant-making charity, the Maitri Trust. Clare possesses a deep understanding of the non-profit sector, and is highly skilled at aligning philanthropic efforts with business objectives and values, as well as being highly proficient in all aspects of international grant-making.

Hannah joined the Howden Foundation as Partnerships Manager in March 2024. This is her first role in corporate philanthropy, having previously led the Tudor Trust’s international grant-making programme on locally-led agroecology in sub-Saharan Africa, progressing on to co-lead the Grants Team with an annual portfolio of £20M. She has also held governance positions, including at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, where she was Vice-Chair between 2021 and 2023.

Hannah is passionate about the role that locally-led, catalytic and empowering grant-making can play. Prior to moving into philanthropy 15 years ago, she led frontline charity projects in international NGOs such as Peace Direct, Quaker Peace and Social Witness. Hannah holds an MSc in International Relations from LSE.

Meghann joined the Howden Foundation in January 2025, bringing with her over a decade of experience working at the intersection of philanthropy, non-profit management, and grassroots social justice movements. Meghann has held trustee, advisory and grant-making roles within private family offices, charitable foundations and non-profit organisations – including the Rothschild Foundation and Farming the Future.

Driven by a deep passion for climate justice and social equity, Meghann has a particular interest in philanthropy’s ability to foster change through strategic partnerships and collaborative working. She has facilitated funder collaborations and led multiple partnerships between the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Meghann is a tri-citizen of Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

David started his career as a broker at Alexander Howden in 1981. He founded the Group in 1994 originally as a wholesale broker employing just three people. He has been the fundamental driving force behind its expansion into an international insurance group offering wholesale, retail and reinsurance broking and underwriting.

As Chief Executive. David's focus is on leading the Group's M&A activities as well as directing and implementing the Group's strategic growth and direction.

He is also a passionate champion of insurance as a force for good and believes it has a major role to play in helping nations respond to the challenges of climate change.

Louise is one of the three founding members of Howden. Starting out as a specialist broker, Louise went on to set up Howden Italy in Milan, ran Howden North Europe for a few years and is currently Chief of Staff to David Howden. She joined the board of the foundation in 2022.

Louise is a passionate advocate for the role the private sector can play in mitigating the effects of climate change on the world's most vulnerable communities.

Serge is Chief Financial Officer of Howden Europe, Growth and Innovation, having spent almost 25 years of experience in financial services across leading global organisations including American Express, Barclaycard, and Towergate Insurance.

In 2025, Serge joined the board of the Howden Foundation, driven by a mission to support underserved communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change. Serge previously served as a trustee for the UK charity, Friendship Works, supporting vulnerable young people through mentoring and advocacy.

Rebecca is Chief Risk Officer at Howden and joined the foundation board in 2021. Prior to joining Howden, Rebecca was CRO at a Lloyd's managing agency and a partner at chartered accountancy firm Mazars.

Rebecca says “for me, the key word is ‘share’. Too often, it’s considered meek or passive – but really it is a truly magical and powerful word. The foundation is focused on sharing both the financial and intellectual resources of Howden with those battling the effects of climate change. The work done by the organisations we support to meet the challenges the world faces is truly awe-inspiring and it’s a privilege to be able, through the foundation, to share in just a little of what they achieve.”

Lucy is a corporate sustainability and social impact director, with experience working in a range of large, international organisations including Wellington Management, Aviva and Hilton. She joined the board in 2022.

Lucy has over 15 years of experience developing and executing social impact and corporate sustainability strategies, incorporating international market alignment, operational environment management, strategic charitable partnerships, ESG reporting and human rights due diligence. She is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability and is co-chair of its London steering group.

Heather has over 40 years’ experience in the specialty (re)insurance business, having held senior leadership roles in underwriting, business development and operations. She now serves on the board of DUAL, the underwriting arm of Howden, as an independent non-executive director.

Heather is also an experienced charity board trustee who is passionate about the importance of the non-profit sector and the powerful contribution it can make in addressing both local and global challenges.

She is a trustee of the Howden Foundation, as well as being an ambassador for the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (UK).

Anshu has ten years of experience in impact investing. She has supported more than 40 early to growth-stage ventures, tackling some of the toughest global developmental challenges by providing both capital and advisory. She has also built expertise in using catalytic capital to de-risk blended finance vehicles which are investing for impact. She has built her experience across two main geographies – the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa – and although sector agnostic, has had significant exposure to solutions addressing the impact of climate change through mitigation and adaptation, via the provision of technology. Through her work, she has built a strong global network of key ecosystem players, from innovators to investors.

Anshu has a huge interest in how non-profits deploy funding to effect change and address societal and environmental issues, and sits on several boards to provide guidance on overall strategy to ensure maximum impact.

She joined the board of the Howden Foundation in 2022.

Louise was Managing Director of Sutton Place, a single family office, where she also served as Chief Operating Officer, Head of Advisory Services, and Tax Director. Within the Global Executive Management Committee, Louise was responsible for governing the overall strategic vision of the family, focused on fiduciary obligations and multiple generations of wealth preservation, as well as providing professional services across multiple areas.

Louise now heads up a new single-family office, ERS Private Office Limited, working on behalf of bio-tech entrepreneurs across various European jurisdictions in both private and business spheres, covering all aspects of wealth management and investment advisory.

Both these roles have been combined with a passion for philanthropic work. Louise is a member of the board of various charitable organisations, advising on philanthropic strategy, good governance and key return drivers on philanthropic funding.

Louise joined the board of the Howden Foundation in 2022.