Forum for the Future doubles down on impact with new senior leadership set up

London, 11 December 2024 – International sustainability organisation Forum for the Future today announced a doubling down on accelerating impact with a new format for its senior leadership roles.

Effective 1 January 2025, the changes will see Forum’s current International Managing Director, Hannah Pathak, become the organisation’s new Chief Executive Officer. Current CEO, Dr Sally Uren, will take up a new role as ‘Executive Director and Chief Acceleration Officer’.

Commenting on the changes, Rita Clifton, Forum’s Chair, said: “Amid worsening social and environmental challenges, Forum for the Future’s work with sectors, organisations and individuals to create a thriving future for people and planet has never been more urgent. So too is the need to maximise our impact and hone our focus. Sally and Hannah have been very thoughtful about the opportunity for this new leadership configuration, enabling each to work to their strengths and accelerating impact across key areas – including profile-building, fundraising, partnerships, multi-sector collaborations, and effective management across geographies and specialisms. Both Hannah and Sally each bring a unique vision to their new roles, and the evolved senior leadership set up will provide even stronger foundations for Forum to build on.”

Having spent almost two decades working in the non-profit sector, Hannah Pathak joined Forum in 2019, initially leading the organisation’s work in the UK and Europe. She became International Managing Director in 2023 – a role that extended her responsibilities to Southeast Asia, India and the US.

As Chief Executive, Hannah Pathak will hold the organisation’s vision and strategy to create a ‘just and regenerative’ future in which both people and the planet thrive. She will ensure Forum’s programmes contribute to deep and urgent transitions in the production and consumption of both food and energy, and in how and why businesses operate. This includes overseeing leading business partnerships as well as supporting flagship initiatives such as Growing our Future, which aims to scale regenerative agriculture in the UK, US and India, and the Responsible Energy Initiative, which aims to ensure the transition to renewables in Asia is rights-respecting, ecologically safe and socially just.

Responsible to the Board of Trustees, Hannah Pathak will ensure the continued strong governance of the organisation—including managing risk, building financial resilience, and overseeing more than 80 staff and the culture they operate in.

Hannah Pathak said: “I’m proud to become Forum for the Future’s CEO. I know that Forum’s special combination of futures, systems change thinking and focus on urgently-needed transformations in the food and energy systems, and the purpose of business in society, is sorely needed. We are part of a growing movement of organisations eager to shape positive shifts and are focused on collaborating with other changemakers to identify what’s needed to create lasting change.

“My career, which has spanned climate research, humanitarian response to climate-related disasters, and strategic climate advisory, has had two constants: a focus on climate change and its intersections with nature and society, and cross-sector collaborations. My own beliefs that hope is more galvanising for action than despair, and that all of society must come together to co-create and work towards positive visions of the future, align well with Forum’s mission.”

Dr Sally Uren has been with Forum since 2002, initially as the Head of Business Programmes before becoming Chief Executive in 2013. She has overseen Forum’s growth from its UK roots to running thriving international programmes and collaborations in diverse sectors ranging from apparel to global food commodities. She has also led the organisation’s partnerships with major multinational companies.

As Executive Director and Chief Acceleration Officer, Dr Sally Uren will dedicate her time to engaging external stakeholders across the sustainability movement in support of Forum’s income generation and profile-building efforts. She will strengthen the existing—and build new—relationships key to the organisation’s impact, while representing Forum at flagship events. She will also continue to play a role in programme delivery—including leading on the groundbreaking Climate & Health Coalition, which aims to galvanise action at the intersection of climate and health issues.

“I’m excited and incredibly fortunate to be able to pivot my current role to face completely externally and contribute to an acceleration of positive impact,” Dr Sally Uren said. “Forum for the Future is an amazing organisation with amazing people and has been an integral part of my life for over two decades. I’m delighted that this will continue to be the case and I'm looking forward to strengthening and deepening our existing networks and relationships, as well as building new ones.”

“We are really delighted for both Sally and Hannah in their new roles and extend both our deep thanks and congratulations,” Rita Clifton continued. “Their combined expertise, skills and experience, supported by the talented and passionate team across Forum’s operations in the US, UK, Southeast Asia and India, will help us—and crucially, our partners—to create lasting, impactful change.”

– ENDS –

For media enquiries, please contact: Amy Langridge, Associate Director - Marketing and Communications, Forum for the Future, [email protected]

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Forum for the Future

Forum for the Future is a leading international sustainability organisation. For more than 25 years we’ve been working in partnership with business, governments and civil society to accelerate the shift towards a just and regenerative future in which both people and the planet thrive. Forum is focused on enabling deep transformation in three game-changing areas: how we think about, produce, consume and value both food and energy, and the role of business in society and the economy.

Hannah Pathak biography.

Sally Uren biography.

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