Dr Gifford is founder and CEO of Additionality, advising UHNW investors and family offices on sustainable and impact investing.

He is also lecturer and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth at the University of St Gallen, where he teaches a joint program with MIT (and formerly Harvard) on impact investing for the next generation of UHNW family members.

He was the founding Executive Director of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and led the organisation from inception in 2003 until 2013.

James also led sustainable and impact advisory at Credit Suisse and UBS for eight years, where he supported UHNW clients and family offices in their impact investing journeys, developed new impactful investment products, and led the banks’ impact evaluation processes.

While based at Harvard, he also served as Director of Impact at TAU Investment Management, a supply chain investment firm in the apparel industry.

James has published numerous articles and book chapters on sustainable and impact investing themes, and has a PhD from the University of Sydney on the effectiveness of shareholder engagement in improving corporate sustainability performance.