The Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation named Emma Davies as the new chief investment officer in charge of its £1 billion ($1.25 billion) charitable endowment for health impact.
The London-based Foundation, which traces the roots of its endowment back to the 16th century, was partly named after Thomas Guy, who amassed a fortune via the traders South Sea Company and East India Company and funded both the Foundation and Guy Hospital, which later became the Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The Foundation’s endowment currently comprises a diversified portfolio of investments, land and other properties, including a collection of 4,500 health-related artworks and artifacts.
As CIO, Davies will be tasked with implementing the Foundation’s strategy, which centers on investments that deliver positive health outcomes as well as long-term, sustainable financial returns. “The Foundation’s mission to build the Foundations of a healthier society is vital in solving the collective challenges we all face as people, societies and global community,” she said. “The dual mandate the Foundation sets for its endowment to drive financial returns and health impact is ambitious, and exciting. It’s leading the way for Foundations and mainstream investors in showing how we can all contribute to building a healthier society.”
In 2022, the Foundation made set a £100 million ($124.6 million) target allocation for its impact investment strategy, setting a goal of committing £25 million ($31.16 million) a year to funds focusing on health and its social determinants. In the past six months, the Foundation added to its impact portfolio two funds intended to address health inequalities by expanding access to medical products and services: the AXA IM Global Health Fund and Canada-based Cross Border Impact Ventures’ Women’s and the Children’s Health Technology Fund.
Davies, who holds advanced degrees from the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics, served most recently as co-CEO at Octopus Ventures, where she played a role in launching the Octopus Future Generations Venture Capital Trust, which invests in businesses that back sustainability, measurable health impact and better societal outcomes as a whole. Her background covers a wide variety of experience, including roles at J.P. Morgan; investment manager Marylebone Partners; The Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest charitable foundations; and impact investor Big Society Capital, where she served as CIO.
Davies is also expected to advance the Foundation’s commitment to become a more responsible investor across all key ESG factors, in addition to expanding its sector and peer group engagement. Davies is keenly focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and during her tenure at Octopus Ventures she championed internal policies well as sector-wide initiatives designed to improving DEI outcomes in the early-stage venture capital ecosystem.
