As Chief Programme Officer, Richard is accountable for the effective deployment of Shell Foundation’s resources to achieve its 10-year impact targets – via the creation and growth of inclusive business and financial solutions that improve income, health and education outcomes for people earning less than a living wage.
Richard leads SF’s programme team to build investment theses, originate innovative partnerships, build the capacity of portfolio partners, manage risk and optimise performance; and is a permanent member of SF’s Approvals Committee.
Richard also serves as Chair of the Board for Value for Women, a specialist advisory firm that helps businesses and investors to advance gender inclusion.
Richard joined SF in 2009 and has worked closely with its portfolio of pioneering businesses and financial vehicles across Africa and Asia to support technology innovation, build consumer demand, achieve viability and raise investment. In this time, SF’s portfolio has improved the lives of >220m people, created >700K jobs and leveraged more than $8.5bn to scale impact.
Richard has held a range of Board roles for portfolio partners and was the Chair of SF’s Investment Committee for several years. He has authored several reports and articles exploring lessons learned from SF’s work, including ‘How climate investors can accelerate energy access in Africa’ (2021) Enterprise Solutions to 2030 (2015) and Accelerating Access to Energy (2014). Prior to SF, he worked for the Shell Group in financial and commercial roles in the UK, Europe and Asia.
Richard played a significant role to develop SF’s systemic approach to catalysing inclusive markets. The ecosystem development programme he created in 2013 has since mobilised substantial capital through risk-offsetting partnerships with social investors, DFIs, corporates and ESG investors; and has also advanced gender-lens investing and impact monetisation in the decentralised renewable energy sector.
Richard holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Warwick and is an alumnus of the London School of Journalism. He is passionate about addressing inequality, the evolution of values-driven communities and empowering a new generation of social investment leaders.