The Charities Aid Foundation has appointed James Clarry as its next chief executive, the organisation announced on 11 September 2026 through a regulatory filing tied to its charity bond programme. He will take up the role by January 2027.
Clarry succeeds Caroline Siarkiewicz, who has been serving as interim chief executive and will continue to lead the organisation until he starts. He joins from Justice & Care, the anti-slavery charity he has led as chief executive since 2023.
Before moving into the charity sector, Clarry spent six years as chief operating officer at Coutts, the private bank, following a series of senior roles in retail and commercial banking. He trained in law earlier in his career and has served on the boards of several organisations.
The Charities Aid Foundation is one of the largest charitable organisations in Britain and distributes more than one billion pounds each year to good causes across the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, working with donors, companies and other charities to move money to the front line. Its incoming chief executive inherits an organisation that sits at the centre of charitable giving and that has expanded its international reach in recent years.
Clarry's appointment follows a search that ran while Siarkiewicz held the post on an interim basis, and it reflects a growing pattern of charities recruiting leaders with senior commercial and banking backgrounds to steer complex, regulated organisations. His experience running a frontline charity alongside years inside a major bank was cited by the sector press as a combination suited to the role.
The task facing Clarry is to sustain the organisation's core work of channelling donations efficiently while responding to a giving environment shaped by economic pressure on households and companies alike.
The organisation administers giving accounts, advises companies on their charitable programmes and channels grants to thousands of causes, and it has increasingly positioned itself as a bridge between corporate donors and the charities that rely on them. Leaders in the sector face a demanding backdrop of rising need, constrained public funding and donors who expect evidence of impact for every pound given. Clarry inherits responsibility for keeping the machinery of giving running efficiently while making the case for generosity at a time when many households and businesses are themselves under financial strain. His mix of frontline charity leadership and senior banking experience is the sort of profile increasingly sought for organisations that must be both mission driven and commercially disciplined.
