OUR TEAM

David Macdonald

David set up Path after a period of deep self-reflection about our destruction of the environment. Shocked by the unprecedented climate and ecological emergency and the disastrous path towards extinction we face, he realised that a huge impact to be made by revolutionising the investment model so that savings are solely invested for good. He left a well-known firm of financial advisers and founded Path in 2019 to forge this new, radical path forward to fight the climate crisis. He is also passionate about giving back to people and the planet via Path’s charitable foundation.

David’s true inspiration in life has come from watching fearless innovators and disruptors – his biggest hero is Nelson Mandela; and his greatest business inspiration came from his friend and mentor Mike Wilson who set up St. James’s Place and demonstrated with humour, humility and kindness how to take an idea and build a huge business. 

Julie Hope

Julie has over 13 years of experience working in the Financial Services sector and has worked for NPI, Adepta, Aegon, and a large IFA practice.  She has gained her Financial Planning Certificate during this time. After a break from the industry to raise her children, Julie has missed the industry and was keen to return. She believes giving a client time and space to concentrate on their lives, their family or their business, and allowing them the opportunity to have complete clarity and total confidence that their financial world is being looked after. This is the most rewarding part of her job and the fact that your investments are helping the environment makes her job even more satisfying. In her spare time, Julie enjoys cycling with her children, swimming and countryside walks.

Shams Kabir

A King’s College London Graduate with a background in international development and a specialisation in Microfinance, Shams believes ‘social’ businesses have the power to help change the world and is driven by the fact that there is a greater underlying purpose to his work at Path. When he’s not offering financial advice, he can be found learning about the latest developments in green technology – from starting a project in Mozambique and Angola to bring solar energy to rural and off-grid households, to learning about innovations in racing. And he’s also founded a cyclewear brand!

Carla Gerlach

Having worked in Portugal for 16 years, Carla returned to the UK with her family looking for a new challenge. The ethical vision and positive environmental and social impact that Path offers its clients and the socially responsible culture that the business encourages, strongly resonated with her desire to build a better future for her daughter and the next generation. With a wealth of experience in operational delivery across several industries Carla is driven to ensuring client satisfaction is central to every task and being part of a team of experts who can help clients achieve not just their financial goals, but social ones too is particularly rewarding. Outside of work, Carla is keen to explore the UK again, catching up with friends and enjoying the stunning British countryside – with the family dog in tow! 

Ashley Bell

Ashley has been running businesses and leading teams for over 20 years, from start-up environments to corporate, though he definitely has a preference for the agility of the former. He specialises in hiring the right people, building optimal processes around them and unleashing the team’s full potential. Ashley is a serial entrepreneur with a very strong background in scalable systems, AI and digital media. 

Initially, Ashley advised David as he looked to put his vision for Path into action. Over time becoming increasingly involved as his eyes were opened to win-win benefits of positive impact strategies, ending up sharing the early funding with David and committing to the role of MD to fuel the growth of the business.

Victoria Redsell

Victoria joined the financial sector from the world of PR, Marketing and Business Development. She holds the Chartered Institute of Insurance Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Victoria’s mission in life is to ‘be happy’ and she derives happiness and fulfilment from looking after people and the planet; using her time and energy to make a positive impact on those around her.  Victoria has a large family and believes in empowering her children through guidance and leading by example, to make good choices and effect positive outcomes.

Victoria’s environmental and ethical compass is to think global and act local; believing that we can all contribute to a healthier future by making better choices; making sustainability the norm for our children and passing on a new way of living to future generations. Victoria believes that that legacy will be made up by a combination of big and small actions; from deciding how we use the world’s resources, to choosing where we invest our pensions, to encouraging our children to turn off the lights and putting a lid on our saucepans.

At home, Victoria and her husband have created a bio-diverse habitat and love to welcome a wide range of species to their garden and pond. They grow their own vegetables and fruit and look after their chickens Cluck and Winston. Much to the amusement of her family, Victoria loves to reuse and repurpose items and leftovers to minimise waste. In their spare time Victoria and her husband love to walk, kayak and explore the countryside, listening to nature and discovering the impact past generations have had on our environment.

By joining the Path revolution, Victoria is dovetailing her personal and professional goals, and is passionate about helping people generate and invest wealth to secure their and their families future, and have a positive impact on the world and its people.

Richard Ravelin

After more than twenty years working in and for a wide range of industries ranging from music to charity to publishing to governance, Richard joined Path because of his personal commitment to environmental and social causes. He has an interest in microfinance, community land trusts, and renewables, as well as being a keen investor in community crowdfunding and community share schemes, including hydro, local sustainable housing, and an ethical food CIC. When he’s not looking after everything from the website and accounts to HR and compliance as Path’s General Manager, in his spare time he is a green-fingered gardener and allotmenter and enjoys hiking, cycling, reading, nature, photography, architecture, and sustainable travel.

Casey Goodwin

Casey has been working within the Financial Services sector for 6 years, having recently completed her Chartered Insurance Institute Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. A passionate paraplanner, Casey was inspired by our vision to provide quality financial planning advice whilst being at the forefront of making a positive financial impact in the world. Having a personal interest in ethical investing, Casey knew that this was possible without having to sacrifice good returns.

At home, Casey is working on transitioning to a zero-waste household – successfully sticking to her 2020 New Years Resolution to go plastic-free in the bathroom, with the kitchen next on the list. Casey is a keen writer, having studied Creative Writing as part of her degree, and also has a lifelong interest in collecting and crafting 1:12 scale miniatures – providing ample opportunity for upcycling hard to recycle household waste!

Paul Dawson

The positive impact investing can have on the environment and countering climate change brought Paul to Path after over ten years’ industry experience including at Brewin Dolphin, 7IM, Helm Godfrey Partners and Smith & Pinching. He provides holistic financial planning to individuals ranging from city professionals and entrepreneurs to those passing their wealth on to their families in a tax-efficient way. Paul is a Chartered Wealth Manager, holding the globally recognised Certified Financial Planner (CFP™) qualification from the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments (CISI) and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Rowan Harding

With over twenty-one years’ experience in the financial services sector, Rowan is genuinely passionate about pensions as a much-needed support for the many people who stop working and otherwise face falling into poverty. She is also currently studying towards a Chartered Insurance Institute Financial Planning Diploma. Rowan grew up as a nature lover and now regularly writes to her local MP about climate change and environmental issues and also volunteers for a local wildlife nature group. She involves her children in all her environmental pursuits as she believes it’s vital the next generation grow up understanding the impact of our actions on our planet.

Jack Clancy

Having studied Economics and Economic History at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Jack gained experience working in international development, both in London and abroad. This, together with four years at a leading wealth manager, led him to realise the positive impact that money tied up in pensions and investments could potentially have on the world.  Jack is a qualified member of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and is passionate about helping clients understand the planning strategies best suited to them, whilst also driving positive change. His hobbies include cycling, golf, and gardening.

Rebecca Tasker

Rebecca was drawn to join Path as being able to tell her children that she is part of a new, small and progressive company with a team of people working together to save the world, is very exciting. She believes in setting the very best example she can in making positive, environmentally friendly changes to help towards a better future for her children. As a family of nature and animal lovers, they love to encourage wildlife and biodiversity in the garden; and each do their part to lead a conscientious lifestyle. All the family recently became vegetarian and they limit their carbon footprint by staying in the UK for their holidays.

Lisa Allen

Lisa is new to the financial industry, having come from a background in admin and customer service. She was drawn to Path for the opportunity to be part of a company who are making a real difference and are making an impact on the future of the planet. It is always daunting to start in a new industry, but Lisa is keen to embark on the challenge and looks forward to continuing to make changes to lower her carbon footprint and play her part in reducing the crisis that future generations are facing.

Marc Nummy

Marc enjoyed an early career in the paper and publishing industries before finding his way into Financial Services. He initially cut his teeth advising on mortgages and protection before realising his true passions lay with pension and investment advice. After a stint working with the pension provider Scottish Life, he has been a Financial Adviser with focus on pensions and wealth management since 2014. Marc is a Diploma qualified member of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and is currently working towards Chartered status. He also holds the IMC investment management qualification from the CFA Society UK.

With a keen interest in environmental and sustainability issues, Marc has long felt that the positive investment choices we make are a powerful tool that we can all use to influence change. Having joined Path’s team, he is excited to be working with like-minded people, all with shared values and a passion to leave the planet in a better state for future generations. Marc lives in the vibrant city of Brighton with his wife and two teenage children. He is an avid music fan and also enjoys spending any free time either on the beach, in the sea or up in the Sussex Downs.

Scarlett Cooper-Wall

As an elite rugby player and keen enthusiast for all things outdoor, Scarlett knows better than anyone how important it is to be out in the fresh air and amongst nature. She cites this as one of the things that initially drew her to Path’s mission – with its goal of tackling the climate crisis and protecting the environment, aligning with her own.

As well as being vegan who has never eaten meat, and who upcycles and is zero-waste wherever possible, Scarlett is a big believer in the small changes we can make as individuals today that have a huge difference tomorrow. When she is not supporting her colleagues at Path and studying towards her CII Diploma, Scarlett can be found walking her dogs, at her local CrossFit box or whenever she can, skiing in the French Alps!

Luke Sword

Luke has lived in the South West for most of his life and was brought up in the beautiful market town of Frome, now living close by in Trowbridge, county town of Wiltshire.

He started his career in Financial Services back in 2007 and is a diploma qualified member of the Chartered Insurance Institute. He also holds a Diploma in Investment Management from his time as a stock broker. 

With a keen interest in helping the planet Luke feels Path is the perfect fit for combining both passions of giving financial advice and helping the environment. Luke is married to Sharon and together they have two children, Jack and Esmae. When not giving financial advice you can find him running along the Kennet & Avon canal, watching sports, cooking and country walks with the family.

Rebecca Johnson

Rebecca was drawn to Path for its environmental and socially responsible ethos. Her background in administration and customer service means she understands the importance of paying attention to the smaller details, as well as the bigger picture. As an eco-conscious feminist, she is looking for a way to be able make a lasting positive impact in the world and is currently studying towards a master’s degree focusing on issues of gender violence. When not working or studying she is often found with a book in hand or exploring the local countryside.

Jordan Wright

Jordan has over two years of paraplanning experience and is currently making his way through the CII R0 exams.

Jordan is passionate about creating a positive difference in the world, and with a love for all things retro, he created a vintage-console upcycling business during the covid-19 lockdown.

With hopes of continuing his progress in the financial planning field, he came across Path and was excited at the opportunity to pursue his interest in the sector whilst having a significant positive impact.

Jordan has since moved his full attention to improving his paraplanning skills under Path and progressing in his studies, he also has a keen interest in our new Climate Solutions Portfolio and is working alongside the Investment Committee to ensure it is the optimal choice for helping tackle the climate crisis.

In his spare time, Jordan enjoys painting, cooking, retro-games and all sports on a board!

Tara McDonagh

Tara has worked within Operations and HR for the past 12 years. Whilst she has always found working in operations satisfying by maximising the efficiency within an organisation and seeing the results, she finds it especially rewarding doing this within a company that has given its clients a platform to invest into organisations that are aligned with their values and providing the knowledge to invest where they can make a difference.

Tara has always had an interest in environmental issues and learning ways for her family to become more sustainable. She finds it inspiring being part of a team that have a genuine passion to make a positive environmental difference now and for the future.

Out of work and when she’s not studying for her diploma in HR, Tara likes to unwind with a good book, hiking and enjoying fun activities with her young family.

James Harrison

Prior to joining Path, James worked in investment analytics before spending six years at a leading London wealth manager. Here he helped professionals in accountancy and law, whilst studying towards the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning and subsequently obtaining Chartered Financial Planner status in 2020.

James understands that the benefits of financial planning are best realised by doing the simple things consistently over time, but that adding a layer of purpose to your investments means that money matters need not be boring. He believes that aligning money and values will have an ever-increasing role to play in the world of personal finance – with emotive and qualitative factors being more prevalent now than ever before – and hopes that the wealth management sector will continue to innovate with these elements at its core.

Tommy Hobson

Coming soon.

Elliot Muscant

With a 20-year advertising career, Elliot is an ex-CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network where he ran a team of over 500 and built arguably the most successful independent digital business in the industry, being part of the management team that delivered business transforming expansion and growth. With a proven track record of innovation and entrepreneurialism he has Co-founded Open Partners , The Candidate, Football Eradora and The Strength Collective. He has held various non-exec and marketing advisory roles and brings considerable experience and a streetwise integrated approach to digital marketing, data and media channels.

Helen Furnivall

Helen has over 20 years’ PR and communications experience. Perhaps ironically, she started her career as a business travel journalist which involved trying out new business class routes, hotels and destinations and often jetting off across the world at a moment’s notice for not much reason. She worked for several years at the British Red Cross in senior strategy and communications roles before starting her own agency High-Rise Communications which specialises in working with clients that are all working to create stronger, happier and healthier communities. Helen is a member of the People’s Powerhouse steering group and a Non Executive Director of hospice purchasing social enterprise HQP. Helen is married with three teenage children and a camper van in the garage that has become a bar during lockdown. She misses Glastonbury.