Full Name
Madge Thomas
Job Title
Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and President of the American Express Foundation
Company
American Express
Speaker Bio
Madge Thomas is a passionate changemaker and senior leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and international development, with a track record of brokering global partnerships between businesses, governments and non-profits to support people and planet.

Madge is the Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at American Express where she helps set and execute the vision for the global corporate social responsibility (CSR) program—including its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy. Madge also heads the American Express Foundation where she oversees the philanthropic giving strategy, programs and projects that American Express supports for colleagues, customers and global communities.

Madge was formerly the Head of Innovative Finance, Corporate and Philanthropic partnerships at UNICEF’s Education Cannot Wait Fund, a UN fund investing around $100M a year for global education and crisis relief. Madge was responsible for securing partnerships
with companies and governments to drive, impact and measure investments in learning access, innovation, and equity.

Prior to her role at the UN, Madge was Vice President of Global Policy & Advocacy at Global Citizen, where she developed Global Citizen’s policy strategies and engaged multinational corporations including HP, P&G, Delta, Gucci and more in CSR, cause-giving, advocacy, impact and reporting aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Madge led an international team responsible for environmental and social cause campaigns and impact, and her efforts mobilized top celebrities, world leaders and millions of consumers to help secure $10B+ and high-level policy commitments on financial inclusion, education, equality, climate action and waste reduction.

Madge previously resided in Australia where she spent eight years as an Australian lawyer and diplomat in private practice, government, and nonprofit settings, specializing in regulatory, equality and human rights work. Madge earned degrees in Law (specializing in
Human Rights), Political Science and German.

Outside of the office, Madge serves as a mentor for the Obama Foundation Global Scholars program and a board advisor to international think tanks and non-profits including the Australian Institute of International Affairs and the Cambridge International Film Festival.
Twitter Handle
@madgethomas85
LinkedIn
Madge Thomas