Marie-Louise Gourlay

Marie-Louise has been engaged with consumers for several years already, predominantly through philanthropy and investments as well as through her involvement with multiple international NGOs over her 20-year career. Between 2015 and 2025, Marie-Louise held leadership positions within Forward Global, latterly as the Global Director of Strategic Initiatives. Forward Global is a community of 450 philanthropists, investors and business leaders committed to accelerating impact on social issues. Her role leading the European community included building deeply trusted relationships and advocating for greater collaboration and action leading to impact. Prior to this role, Marie-Louise was Head of the CFO's office at the British Council, focused on initiatives relating to global health, security and education.

She previously worked on leading grassroots NGOs in Zambia and India, focused on education, health and livelihoods at the community level, and with Amref UK on maternal health programmes. Early in her career, Marie-Louise completed a communications internship with the European Parliament and remains devoted to transparency for greater understanding and building collaboration.

Marie-Louise also sits on the Board of Instituto Beja, based in Brazil, and is particularly driven by their focus on using advocacy as a tool for change, collaborating across sectors, and applying a strong justice lens to all of their work. She is also part of the StartPoint Advisory Group, supporting proximate grant funding for African-based organisations, and with a focus on strong due diligence and justice.