Jake has 30 years of experience in global sustainability, 20 of them supporting transitions in business, government and financial institutions. His experience complements the legal services provided by Freshfields, marshalling insights and perspectives for the benefit of its clients.

Previously an executive director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), Jake is author of Rewiring the Economy, a blueprint for achieving economy-wide sustainability through effective policy, finance and business innovation. Jake founded Cambridge’s Centre for Sustainable Finance in 2014 to catalyse action in the investment, banking and insurance industries based on high-quality research and peer collaboration.

Jake is a commissioner for the Business Commission to Tackle Inequalities, and a previous chair of the Digital with Purpose performance board. He is a member of the Impact Advisory Board of Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), and has authored many practitioner-focused publications on corporate sustainability.

Prior to CISL, Jake was a senior advisor to three UK Government departments, commissioning the first carbon footprint of the NHS to help align its spending power with climate change, and Head of Wellbeing at the UK Sustainable Development Commission. Earlier he worked for the UN’s data centre on biodiversity conservation in Cambridge after beginning his career in AI. 

Jake holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford.