Kimberly Gire is the Founder of Global Women Leaders Strategic Philanthropy, the Co-Chair of the Centre for Disaster Protection, and the Chair of the Centre for Global Equality at Cambridge. A career banking and finance senior executive, she was previously the CFO for the retail, business and private banking divisions of Westpac Banking Corporation and has worked extensively in the international capital markets with Citi. As a strategic philanthropist, Kimberly donates her professional skills and experience in capital markets, treasury, structured finance and philanthropy to support humanitarian, development and environmental organisations, including as a pro bono Special Advisor to the EJS Presidential Centre for Women and Development, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), The World Bank, Swisscross Foundation, the Global Schools Forum, and as a member of the High-Level Steering Group for the Education Outcomes Fund. Kimberly contributes to developing financing solutions for ‘global public goods’ at scale by collaborating with the leadership of humanitarian, development and environmental actors, multilaterals, philanthropists, and the private sector. She was a pro bono Special Advisor to The World Bank’s collaborative Famine Action Mechanism, member of the B20 Saudi Arabia Advocacy Caucus, and is a member of the Editorial Board for the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society Global Meeting and the Women and Girls Africa Summit.

As an active not-for-profit Board Trustee for more than 20 years, Kimberly has also served as the Founding Chair of the Red Cross Society of Women Leaders; Chair of the Overseas Support Group for the Australian Red Cross; Advisory Board Member for Be Centre children’s charity; and as a Founding Advisory Board Member and Ambassador for Stewart House, a non-profit providing respite care and support for disadvantaged youth. Kimberly has also lived and worked in Geneva, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Northern California, where she served as Board Trustee and Treasurer for a large community not-for-profit organization. Kimberly is an active start up investor and was a founding Advisory Board member for a FinTech start up with a focus on financial inclusion.

Kimberly, a native Southern Californian and dual American-Australian citizen, was previously the Chief Financial Officer for the retail, business and private banking divisions of Westpac Banking Corporation. Prior to her role as CFO of Westpac’s Australian Business and Personal Banking Division, Kimberly worked extensively in the international capital markets, acting as Head of Group Securitisation for Westpac globally. Kimberly was recruited to Westpac to establish the bank’s debut securitisation program. She was responsible for all aspects of Westpac’s global securitisation funding and balance sheet management program, and a member of the Finance Top Team. Under her leadership, Westpac structured and issued more than USD 8 billion of ABS in the Australian, Euro and US markets, including the first global Australian bond deal of USD1.4 billion.

Prior to joining Westpac, Kimberly started her career at Citibank as a Management Associate, before working in Asset and Liability Balance Sheet Management as Assistant Vice President, Treasury. Kimberly received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a specialisation in Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles, a Graduate Diploma in Japanese from Macquarie University in Sydney, and is a Member of the Australian Institute for Company Directors.