Charity Finance Group (CFG) is delighted to announce the appointment of two new CEOs. CFG’s current Deputy CEOs – Dr Clare Mills and Sarah Lomax – will be Co-Chief Executives as of 1 October 2025.
Caron Bradshaw OBE, who has led the organisation as CEO since 2010, will step into a new, part-time role for the organisation to support innovation and development.
Commenting on the changes, Hugh Wallace, CFG’s Chair of Trustees, said:
“This transition marks a pivotal moment in CFG’s journey and underscores CFG’s commitment to dynamic, inclusive leadership. The new co-leadership model reflects CFG’s ambition to remain agile and responsive to the needs of its members and the wider charity sector.
“This evolution will ensure CFG continues to provide the best service for its members and partners, build strong, sustainable partnerships and deliver greater impact.”
Introducing Dr Clare Mills and Sarah Lomax as co-CEOs
Dr Clare Mills and Sarah Lomax bring a wealth of experience and complementary skills to their new roles. Clare joined CFG in January 2022 to lead CFG’s policy and communications work, while Sarah has steered CFG's commercial services directorate since August 2020.
Together, Clare and Sarah will share strategic and operational responsibilities, ensuring continuity and innovation across the organisation. Their appointments follow an 18-month leadership development and succession planning process, which included interviews with the Board of Trustees and the creation of new roles to support and deliver CFG’s evolving strategy.
Dr Clare Mills comments:
“I’m honoured to step into this role alongside Sarah. This new co-leadership model reflects CFG’s values of support, dynamism and inclusion. It demonstrates that we are not afraid to evolve our approach and we’re grateful to the Board for putting their faith in us.
“We’re entering a very exciting phase in CFG’s history and development. We’re seeing our impact grow not only through the delivery of new resources, programmes and events, but through even more collaborations and partnerships, and I’m looking forward to taking that work forward alongside Sarah.”
Sarah Lomax comments:
“This is an exciting time for Clare and me. We’ve worked closely together and with Caron and the board, to develop our respective roles, to ensure leadership continuity across the organisation.
“Clare and I bring different strengths to the shared CEO role, and we continue to learn not only from one another, but also our trustees, staff and members. Collaboration with our members and partners is important to us and together we’ll ensure that CFG remains committed to identifying new opportunities and programmes as we evolve.
“And, of course, we’ll continue to deliver CFG’s vision of a world where financial excellence and leadership empower every charitable and social purpose organisation to drive positive impact.”
Celebrating Caron Bradshaw’s legacy
Since becoming CEO in 2010, Caron Bradshaw has led the organisation through a period of extraordinary growth and transformation. Under her stewardship, CFG has become the UK’s leading membership body for charity finance professionals, championing financial leadership and excellence within the sector.
Caron will remain a vital part of the CFG team. In her role as Growth and Sector Solutions Lead, her focus will be on external engagement and business development.
Speaking about the transition, Caron Bradshaw OBE said:
“Leading CFG as CEO for the past 15 years has been the privilege and highlight of my career so far. I’m thrilled to see Clare and Sarah take the reins – they are both exceptional leaders who embody CFG’s mission and values. I look forward to supporting them and helping CFG grow its influence and impact in my new role.”
CFG’s Chair of Trustees, Hugh Wallace, adds:
“At the heart of this transition is strong continuity. Caron’s tireless work has not only built and strengthened CFG’s foundations, it has also enabled us to grow our reach and impact across the UK and create an inclusive, welcoming and vibrant membership organisation.
“I want to thank Caron for her years of dedicated service which has shaped CFG into the go-to body in charity finance. We’re delighted that we’ll retain her expertise.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I congratulate Sarah and Clare and wish them both the best of luck as they move into this co-leadership position.”
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact:
Emma Abbott, Communications Manager – emma.abbott@cfg.org.uk
Editor’s notes
About CFG
CFG is the charity and membership organisation that supports other charitable organisations to make the biggest difference possible. We do this by helping them to make their money and resources go further, by putting financial leadership at the heart of their decision-making. Since CFG was founded in 1987, we have evolved to welcome all finance professionals working for charitable and social change organisations. We also welcome non-finance professionals who recognise that we deliver greater impact when we are financially confident, trustworthy and dynamic. Today, CFG’s vibrant community manages around one third of the UK’s entire charity sector income. We are a diverse and inclusive community of people who are passionate about delivering impact through financial leadership. Together, we lead the way for charity finance.
About Sarah Lomax MCIM
Sarah has been driving growth and transformation for membership and commercial organisations for more than 25 years. A marketer by training, she previously worked for the Medical Defence Union, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, and the Institute of Physics.
From developing cashflow analysis in her role at Association of Online Publishers to becoming an alumna in 2025 of CFG’s Inspiring Financial Leadership course, Sarah understands the importance of putting finance and people at the heart of decision-making.
Sarah excels at building high-performing teams and delivering large-scale projects, consistently achieving exceptional membership retention and innovative launches – from CRM and CMS overhauls to brand relaunches and bespoke digital tools.
Sarah is a dual British-Canadian citizen of mixed-ESEA heritage and is passionate about strengthening her professional and local communities. She serves as a school governor and is a trustee for Charities HR Network, and is a keen fused glass artist – though finding workshop time alongside family commitments can be a challenge!
About Dr Clare Mills, Chart. PR, MCIPR, Assoc CPID
A Chartered PR professional and experienced people leader, Clare brings expertise in policy, communications and organisational development. She is an inclusive, values-led leader and champions sector-wide collaboration and a more supportive operating environment.
Clare’s early roles in insolvency gave her deep insight into the part that finance plays in an organisation’s success and failure. This experience has stayed with her and, coupled with her extensive experience in policy-related work, informs her approach to leadership and strategic change management.
With a passion for lifelong learning, Clare loves empowering and inspiring teams and stakeholders to innovate, influence and thrive. She serves as a school governor for her local secondary school and is a trustee of UK charity In Kind Direct.
When not at work, Clare can usually be found outside, exploring or on the beach, or riding her bike around her beloved Northumberland.
Contacts
Emma Abbott, Communications Manager, CFG: emma.abbott@cfg.org.uk
Glyn Sheldon, Communications Officer, CFG: glyn.sheldon@cfg.org.uk
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