The chief executive of a global modern slavery charity with experience of senior roles in the banking sector has been appointed to be the next chief executive of The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

James Clarry, who has been chief executive of the charity Justice & Care for the last three years, will take the same role at CAF from January 2027.

Prior to joining the charity, he was chief operating officer at private bank Coutts and held senior roles at the NatWest Group.

CAF will continue to be led by interim CEO Caroline Siarkeiwicz until Clarry takes up his new role.

“James’ experience truly reflects the breadth of our organisation, combining a strong background in social purpose, banking and wealth management,” said CAF chair Edward Braham.

“He will bring strategic leadership for our teams across the UK and North America, ensuring CAF continues to evolve how we deliver for our clients and support charities and communities in the years ahead.”

Clarry added: “I am passionate about driving long-term systemic change and believe philanthropy has the power to do so across many areas. CAF is a unique organisation, and I look forward to working with its brilliant teams in the UK and North America to continue delivering for clients, strengthening support for the charity sector, and to help generosity become impact for communities around the world.”

Last month CAF Bank was hit by an outage that left charity customers unable to access online banking services.

The bank suspended access to its online banking portal in July after identifying a security issue involving third-party software, at the same time as many charities were working on month-end payroll.

---