Today the Lab unveils our new Chief Executive Officer: Jesse Griffiths. Jesse is a specialist in development finance and the global financial system, with a background in international NGOs, think tanks and national government. He will take up the position of Lab CEO on 27 April 2020, and will have a substantial handover period with our outgoing CEO Anna Laycock, who remains at the Lab as Strategic Advisor until 10 June 2020.
Following an open recruitment process launched in December last year, the Lab trustees and team have appointed Jesse Griffiths as the Lab’s new CEO. Jesse joins the Lab from the Overseas Development Institute, where he was the Director of the Development Strategy and Finance Programme and led a team working on how to finance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He brings with him extensive experience across civil society and government, having previously led the European Network on Debt and Development and the Bretton Woods Project. Jesse has also worked at ActionAid UK and the Department for International Development, and currently serves on the board of Jubilee Debt Campaign and Tax Justice UK.
Jesse joins us at a critical time for financial systems change. Over a decade since the financial crash, the COVID-19 crisis is revealing the cracks in our financial system and wider economy. After years of deepening inequality, the crisis threatens to further entrench existing injustices, while the need for a just transition to a low-carbon economy remains as urgent as ever.
As we fight to build back better, we’re thrilled to have Jesse join us to lead the Lab’s next chapter.
Jesse says:
I’m deeply honoured to be joining the Lab and working with the inspiring team and community. As we face a health emergency, an economic depression, and a dramatic reordering of the financial landscape, the Lab’s mission to transform finance so that it helps to build back a resilient, caring, just and green economy could not be more important. I’m looking forward to building on the fantastic platform that Anna and the team have created and to expanding and deepening our ambition and impact in the coming years.
Our chair Sue Charman comments:
The trustees are very pleased and excited to welcome Jesse as the new CEO of the Finance Innovation Lab. Jesse brings a huge wealth of experience and we know he will do a fantastic job leading the team and the Lab as it looks forward to its next chapter and new strategy. We also wish Anna all the best in the next stage of her career and want to thank her for her incredible leadership of the Lab over the last 5 years.
Read more about Jesse here.
Jesse Tweets @JesseLGriffiths. If you’d like to get involved in our work or welcome Jesse to the Lab, please email hello@financeinnovationlab.org.