Ben Thornley

Ben Thornley is a Managing Partner at Tideline with responsibility for leading the firm’s client-facing strategic and impact management advisory practice. Since Tideline’s inception in 2014, Ben has advised over 60 institutional asset owners and managers on the launch of new products and platforms that comprehensively integrate impact and sustainability into each stage of the investment process, from sourcing and screening, through to performance optimization and reporting. Ben also has domain expertise in international and community development finance and leads Tideline’s strategic advisory practice in this area.

​Prior to Tideline, Ben directed the pioneering research and consulting practice at Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), evaluating the social and economic impact of tens of billions of targeted investments for clients including the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). Ben also created the Impact Investing Policy Collaborative at PCV, a network of researchers, investors and policymakers from over 30 countries, leading to a White House invitation to make the first expert presentation to the Social Impact Investment Taskforce, convened under the UK’s G8 Presidency in 2013. Ben cultivated a number of key research and convening partnerships while at PCV, including with Harvard University, Duke University, the World Economic Forum and the UK Cabinet Office.

Ben started his career as a financial journalist, working as the New York correspondent and Managing Editor for a number of prominent investment magazines in Australia. He later moved into government, directing Australia’s efforts to promote trade and investment in financial services out of the New York Consulate-General.

Ben holds a Master of Public Policy from University of California, Berkeley, where he taught leadership and political economy assisting the former US Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich. He also holds a Bachelor of Communications from University of Technology, Sydney. Ben is the co-author of The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism (Jossey-Bass, 2015), and sits on the advisory committees of the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) and SOCAP.

A New Zealand native, Ben was raised in Australia and now calls Portland, Oregon home.