Rachel Melsom: On a mission to bring capital to aging

Dr Rachel Melsom is a tireless and enthusiastic quadruple threat: doctor, media executive, investor and change agent. She embodies the portfolio career - founding Medical Matrix Consulting, to pursue system change in global aging. 

After becoming a Doctor in 2012 and equipped with her previous experience in PR, Media and investing, she has become a catalyst for social change within the business sector, predating today’s ‘hot’ ESG moves. 

Rachel galvanized the Tobacco Free Portfolios efforts in Europe, and helped move billions of euros of investment funds out of tobacco. She was able to connect ‘passive’ pension funds with the real impact that investment had on people’s lives.

Conversely, she’s now applying the same thinking to channeling investment funds towards more worthy ends - for example by investing in ageing tech, creating ‘Silver Linings’ to bring more investment to the ageing and longevity space. 

Silver Linings

Dr Melsom, together with industry veterans Sally Bridgeland and Hugh Wheelan created Silving Linings as a “think > do competition for brainwaves and business plans”. They are hosting a competition (UK based but entries from around the world are welcome) to find promising business plans that will make care for older generations more ‘sustainable and scalable’. With the Covid-19 pandemic exposing our inability to take care of society’s most vulnerable citizens, the race is on to find bold, practical solutions that can be implemented within senior care. 

The contest seeks to find ‘investable’ and ‘implementable’ ideas that can be used to improve the quality of life and wellbeing for elderly people. Dr Melsom, thinks there’s a need for more creativity and imagination in solutions for senior care, and wants to move away from ‘old fashioned retirement’. Instead, we need to rethink and rewire some of the outdated systems that we see today. 

The competition deadline is January 9, 2022  all information can be found at: Silver Linings: home and potential candidates can request to join the official LinkedIn page for the competition here: Sign Up. 

Stephen Johnston, founder of Fordcastle, spoke to Rachel to find out more about her, and what she believes needs to be done to assist aging. Click here if you would like to listen to their conversation.​