Clary attended Knox Grammar School on Sydney's North Shore before undertaking an Arts/Law degree in which he graduated with Honours at the University of Technology, Sydney in 2007.

Being always interested in international affairs, he was given a piece of advice by one of his Professors (who now sits on our board!) early in his degree. He was told that if you want to get involved in poverty eradication, don't do it from Geneva or New York: Roll your sleeves up and spend extensive time in the developing world.

Since then Clary has been dividing his time between Sydney and Bangalore, and in 2005 founded the 40K. In 2008, Clary formed a partnership with UTS and conceptualised and directed the Intervarsity Summit on Australia's Role in Ending Extreme Poverty, which hosted 400 students from 26 universities across Australia and the Pacific Islands and worked actively with the Australian government, High Court, and leading Australian corporations and overseas aid organisations.