Life On The Pledge: Ben Medlock

About Ben

Ben has had a varied career as a teacher, researcher, entrepreneur, investor and advisor. In 2008 he co-founded SwiftKey, the company behind the intelligent typing system for smartphones. The SwiftKey keyboard became the global best selling app on Android and elements of the software and keyboard design they pioneered are now a part of pretty much every smartphone.

Ben spent eight years studying computer science at the universities of Durham and Cambridge, and has been interested in many other areas over the years, from philosophy to music. The songs he wrote and recorded were once a regular feature in clothing stores in eastern Europe!

SwiftKey was acquired by Microsoft in 2016, and Ben has since worked in the big tech, bio tech and clean tech sectors in a range of advisory and executive roles. He lives in Harpenden with his wife Zoe and two young daughters. Being a dad is currently the top item on his priority list.

Ben joined Founders Pledge way back at the beginning in 2015, and has been an active donor since the sale of SwiftKey in 2016. He relies on Founders Pledge for its insightful research and is particularly focused on global health and development.

What first drew you to the Founders Pledge and what motivated you to make the pledge?

I was raised in a deeply morals-driven home environment, and have always followed the guiding principle that if you are lucky enough to have surplus resources, you should use it to benefit others. I’m also keenly aware of the many structural advantages I’ve profited from due to my gender, nationality and ethnicity, and am motivated to do whatever I can to create a fairer society for those who follow. For these reasons, Founders Pledge was a natural fit for me, and the pledge resonated with my world view.

How has your Founders Pledge experience changed the way you think about impact?

I rely on Founders Pledge to help me deploy funds where I can have confidence that they will be effective. They have helped me think about the time critical nature of specific donation opportunities and the balance across different areas of need.

What have you most valued about being a Founders Pledge member?

I really value the research and donation recommendations - they are the primary guide for much of our philanthropy. But I also value the insights Founders Pledge gives me into a broad range of topical societal issues. Founders Pledge events have stimulated many interesting conversations with other members and provided food for thought on a wide range of important issues.

What charitable organisation(s) do you support and what motivated you to do so?

Recently we’ve made a few donations to the IRC (International Rescue Committee). In the “post US-Aid” environment we are currently facing, organisations like the IRC are able to provide cover where it’s most critically needed to protect decades of humanitarian work from annihilation.

What’s one question you would like to ask a philanthropic expert at Founders Pledge?

I’m a big believer in the value of tax as an effective mechanism of balanced wealth redistribution. I’d like to discuss how the philanthropic community can become better advocates for a narrative that views tax as an invaluable contribution to society rather than a burden to be minimized.