Rhian-Mari Thomas

Dr. Rhian-Mari Thomas was awarded an OBE for services to green banking and was appointed chief executive of the UK Government and City of London Corporation-backed Green Finance Institute in 2019.
Rhian was previously the global head of green banking and the founder and chair of Barclays Green Banking Council, which developed and launched Barclays’ suite of green finance products and services. These include issuance of the first green bond by a UK bank backed solely by UK assets, the first green mortgage by a major UK high street lender and establishing Barclays as the first commercial bank with a full green corporate banking proposition to complement Barclays’ existing green bond origination capabilities.
Rhian is an Emeritus Member of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and currently co-chair of the Informal Working Group for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). She is also a member of the UK Government’s Financial Services Trade Advisory Group, Net Zero Technology and Innovation Advisory Group and sits on the Advisory Board of the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, University College London as well as the Broadway Initiative Advisory Board. Rhian was also a commissioner on the Zero Carbon Commission and previously sat on the UK Government Green Finance Taskforce, the Banking Environment Initiative’s Fintech Taskforce and the steering group for the United Nations Environment Programme Principles for Responsible Banking.
Rhian began her banking career at Barclays Investment Bank in 2000, spending 10 years in leveraged finance and financial sponsors coverage before holding a succession of leadership roles across Barclays Corporate Bank and Barclaycard.
She is a passionate advocate of diversity and fairness and was awarded the Barclays Woman of the Year award 2014/15 in recognition of her efforts to support the inclusion agenda both within the bank and the broader community. In both 2016 and 2017, Rhian was ranked in the Financial Times Outstanding Top 30 Global Executive LGBT Allies list.