Leadership

Gareth joined the Commissioners in 2018 from De Beers plc, where he was the Board Director responsible for Strategy and Corporate Affairs, prior to which he was Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to becoming Secretary and Chief Executive of the Church Commissioners, Gareth held the role of CFO and was responsible for providing financial leadership across the NCIs, encompassing the Church Commissioners, Archbishops' Council and Church of England Pensions Board. In addition, he oversaw broader shared service operations in the NCIs, with the departments of Finance, HR, Technology and Facilities reporting to him.

Poppy started her new role as Chief Investment Officer at the end of September 2024.

She leads the responsible investment of the Church Commissioners’ £10 billion endowment fund, which provides funding to support the ministry of the Church of England.

Poppy is a senior financial services executive with more than 20 years of experience in strategic leadership and investment roles. She joins the Church Commissioners from T. Rowe Price, where she is currently Vice President and Head of the ESG Enablement Remit, leading a multidisciplinary team responsible for the firm’s sustainability strategy and execution.

Mark has led the core business-as-usual activities of the Finance team since he joined the NCIs in January 2024. These include year-end statutory reporting, budgeting and financial planning, day-to-day finance operations, payroll and procurement. Mark also provides strategic finance support for the NCIs in relation to projects, grant streams and other initiatives.

Previously, Mark worked extensively in the public sector including the NHS, various Housing Associations and with Transport for London, having originally qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG.

Georgia has spent over twenty-five years working in the third sector, primarily in supporter-facing and income generating roles focused on strategy, partnerships and planning.  Her particular specialism is in working with stakeholders in co-design and co-creation. 

As Director for Cathedral and Church Buildings, Emily and her team support the care and sustainable development of the Church of England’s 42 cathedrals and 16,000 church buildings, of which 12,500 are listed. She and colleagues provide strategic support on conservation and caring for historic church buildings, making changes to support worship and communities, and working towards Net Zero Carbon. The team supports dioceses, parishes and cathedral teams, and works nationally with government, agencies, charities and funders to make the case for church buildings and their vital role in worship and mission, community and our national life.

Before joining in 2023, Emily worked for 22 years at English Heritage, latterly Historic England, in roles such as Head of Listing, London Planning Director and London and South East Regional Director. She is a member of the Blue Plaques Panel and is soon to publish Hostel, House and Chambers | Home.

Wendy joined the Commissioners in 2020, from Bristol Cathedral, where she was the Chapter Clerk and Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to the Cathedral, Wendy worked in economic development and higher education and has a broad public sector background.

In addition to his roles as Head of the Church of England Legal Office and Chief Legal Adviser to the Archbishops' Council and the General Synod, Alexander is also the Commissioners' Official Solicitor. Alexander was Deputy Head of the Legal Office for ten years. He was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1996 and practised in chambers in London, specialising in public and administrative law. He was ordained deacon in 2006 and priest in 2007 and serves as a self-supporting minister in the Diocese of London.

The Church Commissioners provide housing and office accommodation for Diocesan Bishops and Archbishops in England and fund their working costs. Michael is responsible for leading the Commissioners work in serving bishops and cathedrals in their ministry throughout England. Michael is also Secretary to the Bishoprics and Cathedrals Committee and part of the team tasked with implementing the recommendations of the Cathedrals Working Group.

He joined the Church Commissioners from the Diocese of Chelmsford in February 2019 after six and a half years as Director of Development and Property.

Rosie joined the NCIs in 2020 from the British Red Cross where she was Chief Information Officer. She has worked in Technology, Data and Innovation roles in the Charity sector for the past 10 years. The role of Chief Operating Officer works across all NCIs and she oversees the shared service operations, with the functions of Finance, HR, Technology, Data, National Giving Strategy and Project Management reporting to her.

Paul is the Deputy General Counsel. 

He was appointed in 2019, having served previously as senior counsel to the National Institutions of the Church of England. He is a barrister and prior to his appointment qualified and practised in chambers in London. Paul and his team support a diverse and complex range of activities which arise from the Church Commissioners’ status as a charitable endowment and investor, including Board and committee advisory work, corporate governance and compliance affairs, data governance, asset management, disputes, regulatory and legislative affairs, and human resources. 

Paul leads on the management of strategic disputes and recent work has included appeals in the EAT and the Court of Appeal, and an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Emma leads the NCIs Human Resources team including HR Operations, Organisational Development and External HR Services.

Before June 2024, she was Deputy Director Organisational Development leading on Belonging & Inclusion, Learning & Development, Employee Engagement, Wellbeing and Leadership Development.

Emma is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and OD Practitioner and spent her pre- NCIs life working as a consultant, partnering with organisations on recruitment/development/engagement.

Joanna joined the NCIs in 2017 as Director of Finance, having previously held a senior finance role at the NSPCC (a major national children’s charity), after qualifying as a chartered accountant with Deloitte.

In January 2024, she was seconded into a transformation-focused role, leading a number of strategic change initiatives on behalf of the NCIs. These include work to reform some of the Church of England’s key financial flows through the Diocesan Finances Review, and leading the Finance Transformation Programme – a major change programme focused on transforming systems, processes and ways of working for Finance and Grant making activities across the NCIs.