What a drop the mic moment when you really delve into the impact of your actions, investments, or business practices! Amazing to talk to Gail Hurley who joined Tobacco Free Portfolios in February 2021 as TFP’s UK/Europe Advocate to advance tobacco-free finance with UK and European financial institutions. Gail worked for the United Nations Development Programme for 10 years as a Senior Policy Advisor on Development Finance in New York and has also held roles in the non-profit sector where she continues to serve in several Board and advisory roles. In addition to her position at TFP, she is a Fellow with Development Initiatives, an international development organisation.
In her work for the UN, Gail led a team which worked to develop the world’s first tobacco control social impact bond for smallholder tobacco farmers in Zambia to support them to transition to alternative livelihoods (see here and here). She saw firsthand how tobacco cultivation traps poor communities in poverty and contributes to deforestation and poor health and nutritional outcomes in the communities that farm it. By developing and investing in financial instruments that make a positive social and environmental impact, the financial sector can become part of the solution. Gail is passionate about international development and environmental conservation, particularly the world’s oceans where she has also championed awareness in the investment community of a sustainable ocean economy and opportunities for innovative new finance approaches. She has worked in several countries.
Gail has written extensively on sustainable finance and international development over the years, and has contributed articles and chapters to several journals and books. She has also written for many development and business media outlets on numerous sustainable finance topics.
