After graduating from King's College, Cambridge with an MA in Economics, Charles joined Barclays Bank. He worked for them for seventeen years in the Retail and Business Banking Divisions, during which time he achieved an MBA at INSEAD. In 2001 he was seconded from Barclays to be the inaugural CEO of First Caribbean International Bank, a joint venture between Barclays and CIBC bringing together their banking businesses in the Caribbean and Bahamas. In 2008 he was appointed CEO of ASB Bank, the New Zealand banking subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and in 2011 he returned to the UK to begin a portfolio career.
Charles was appointed to the Board of C. Hoare & Co. on 20th March 2012; he is also a member of the Audit & Compliance, Nomination and Remuneration Committees. He is a Non-Executive Director of GE Capital Bank and Chairman of The Cherry Tree Trust, a microfinance charity which he founded.
