Members and Trustees

Catherine Malec: Member – Business Development

Catherine is a general manager with responsibility for negotiations within financial and legal settings as well as managing a profit and loss account.  In addition, Catherine is involved with building commercial models and proposals and has experience of presentation skills and influencing/communicating with senior management in other financial institutions.

Catherine has a BSC in Biological Sciences and a postgraduate diploma in Marketing. She started her career in Marketing and has experience in Project Management roles before moving into Business Development and General Management. She has worked in the travel, publishing, charity industries and, for the last 10 years, in financial services. She has a degree in Biological Sciences from University of Birmingham; Diploma in Direct Marketing from the Institute of Direct Marketing. She has a specialism in Enterprise Entrepreneurs, Maths - using it at work, Financial Literacy.

 

Sarah Butcher: Member

Sarah has more than thirty-two years’ experience in residential social care and education, working with children and adults with autism, severe learning difficulties and complex needs. In her current role as the director of wellbeing at Prior’s Court Foundation Sarah oversees a large multifaceted charity with over 500 staff. Sarah is an international speaker on autism and was instrumental in developing the specialist approach which underpins the autism best practice at Prior’s Court. She is also a member of the national consultative forum for residential children’s care for Ofsted. In 2018 Sarah was awarded an MBE for services to children with special educational needs.​

 

David Heaton: Member 

David is a financial services Programme Director, who has worked for several global banks, managing extensive transformational change programmes. He currently works as an independent consultant and advisor to several businesses, advising on Foreign Exchange, International Payments, and delivering value enhancing and risk reducing business and technology change. He has previously worked as both an Economist and a Foreign Exchange Trader. David holds a BA in Economics from University of York, a PGCE from University of London and an MA in Economics from Lehigh University in the USA, where he also held the Warren York Research Fellowship.

 

Daniel Ward: Member

Daniel brings a broad experience in oversight and governance through eighteen years working with one of the largest global firms, with roles across the UK and USA and a global reach. Currently Daniel is responsible for overseeing lending decisions to a significant portfolio of UK based companies, requiring both oversight of the decision-making process as well as detailed analysis of company financials, business plans and ESG credentials. Daniel is also working to establish a new business line seeking to better serve rapidly growing but not-yet profitable companies who will form the economy of tomorrow.

In addition Daniel serves on the Advisory Board of a number of small, established companies seeking to advise their management teams and support them achieve their ambitions.

Daniels commercial experience covers a wide range of technical and strategic domains, from highly technical mathematical modelling, to coding and trading then working with international regulators, defining and implementing key governance structures, building high performing teams and overseeing critical business decision making processes. 

 

Joanna Buckley: Member

Joanna is a manager for an international professional services firm with over 10 years’ experience of financial management. She obtained affiliated membership with The Chartered Governance Institute in 2021. She has been able to able to put her knowledge of best practise to good use in her current role which incorporates strengthening a governance framework, strategic implementation, and cross functional team leadership. Joanna has a degree in Social Sciences from Nottingham Trent University. Joanna is an active volunteer in her local community and in addition she is a school governor for a community special school in the London borough of Lewisham and sits on the pay and finance committee. She is also vice chair of the FGB.

Jonathan Alvis: Chair

Jonathan is an Investment Manager, managing global equity and convertible bond portfolios on behalf of institutional clients and high net worth individuals. He has previously worked as an investment analyst and an equity research associate and started his career as an auditor with Ernst & Young LLP. Through his various roles, Jonathan has built a deep understanding of companies and markets across a broad range of industries and geographies, from a financial, operational, and strategic perspective. He regularly interacts with C-suite level management of global, listed companies. Jonathan holds a bachelor's degree in Physics from University College London, is a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) and holds a CFA Level 4 Certificate in Investment Management. Outside of work Jonathan enjoys challenging himself physically and has completed two ironman triathlons and the Thames Path 100-mile ultramarathon, amongst other events. 

 

Mick Martell: Vice Chair

Mick is a Trustee of PLT. He is a retired teaching and learning consultant and education advisor and worked for over 10 years on the government’s national strategies initiative. Mick has worked extensively with a variety of schools settings in raising standards and in the five  years prior to his retirement had a lead focus for behavior and safety. He was instrumental in the introduction of restorative approaches to justice in a large inner city Local Authority and a regional coordinator for the national programme for specialist leader of behavior and attendance.

 

Giulia Rosato: Trustee

Giulia is an experienced Finance Business Partner with background in the Manufacturing and FinTech industries. She has gained her expertise through a variety of roles in Financial Planning & Analysis and Decision Support roles, where she ran multi-million initiatives for product development, business systems, and cost reduction. She also has Change Management experience, with stakeholder management and training development and delivery. She brings a cross-cultural approach, having worked in Hong Kong, the USA, Italy, and the UK. Giulia is currently a mentor for a youth empowering charity, where she works with teenagers to help them achieve their potential and prepare for their professional life. She holds a BSs in Economics and Management for Arts, Culture and Communication and a MSc in Economics and Social Sciences, both from Bocconi University. She is CIMA qualified (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and she is currently an Executive MBA candidate at Oxford University Saïd Business School (expected completion January 2024). She is using the skills she is learning to pivot towards Impact and Sustainable Finance.

 

Julia Fuller: Trustee

Julia is a qualified accountant, achieving Fellowship status during her career at Reuters (later Thomson Reuters) spanning 25 years. She progressed through a number of roles across Finance, the Reuters Foundation, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environment, Health & Safety. Her time with Thomson Reuters finished with a six-month secondment to the global Diversity and Inclusion team where she developed a number of foundation-building elements. Julia then changed career, studying for her PGCE with the University of Roehampton.  Joining a local primary school she rose to the role of Assistant Head Teacher, Behaviour and Attitudes before retiring in 2021.  Julia has held a number of board positions including as School Governor, Trustee with Bexley and Greenwich Community Hospice and Chair of Reuters Centenary Fund.  Her networks include Women on Boards, where she holds the role of Customer Experience and Business Intelligence Manager.  She co-created and Chaired Women on the Wharf, a network for professional women based in Canary Wharf.  Julia was also Trustee and Treasurer with Greenwich Action for Voluntary Service.  She has additional voluntary experience providing strategic advice to the John Paul II Foundation for Sport and undertaking a stakeholder engagement project for Social Business Trust. Julia holds an MA in Catholic School Leadership.

 

Dr. Indranil Nath: Trustee

Dr. Indranil Nath has wealth of leadership experience and a broad background in financial services and technology where he has performed customer facing and CIO functions globally. He has lately severed as Vice President and General Manager, Property & Casualty Operations and Technology at DXC Technology [NYSE: DXC]. Previously he was Vice President for Europe and earlier in Japan/Asia leading the Insurance sector for IBM Corporation [NYSE: IBM], General Manager at AXA Life Insurance Co. Limited [CS.PA] in Japan. He has served as an executive on the Board of Directors for Sun Microsystems Japan Limited [NASDAQ: SUNW] and most recently on the Board of Ins-sure Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries in the UK. He has served as Non-Executive Director of Micello Inc., (now part of HERE Technologies, HERE Global B.V. Netherlands), and chaired the Executive Remuneration Committee. In March 2018, Indranil was elected as Vice President and Trustee Director of BCS Learning & Development Ltd, BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT in England and is a ex-officio member of the BCS Council and the BCS Trustee Board. Indranil is a Fellow of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He is a IRCA Certified ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor and Practitioner Member of the Chartered Quality Institute and the Chartered Insurance Institute. He is a Chartered Engineer and has a postgraduate degree in Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Engineering Management. He completed the Advanced Leadership Programme and is an Associate of Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

 

Sunila Lobo: Trustee

Sunila Lobo is an experienced educator and leader who perceives education as a driver for change, especially in empowering the disadvantaged and those with little support, to widen their horizons and improve their quality of life. She has an international perspective, having worked in universities in the UK and MEA as well as periods in industry with international start-ups and global corporates like Accenture. This includes working across Imperial’s Business School and the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering on an EU-funded project, at Warwick University and at the University of Reading, publishing award-winning papers and book chapters, presenting at local and international conferences, supervising dissertations and lecturing to undergraduates and postgraduates. She has leadership experience, exercised through Chair roles in the voluntary and public sector and in healthcare. She believes in the importance of governance so that key principles such as integrity, transparency and accountability are integral to decision-making. Her international experience in organisations of various scales means she has collaborated with people from diverse backgrounds, skills, experience and motivations, and thus honed her cross-cultural and inter-personal skills. She understands and harnesses the power of networks through the development and growth of partnerships and corporate alliances, resulting in significant support materialising from these. Her networks include Imperial Women’s Network and as Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors engaged in pro-bono outreach work in the non-profit sector including criminal justice, homelessness, abuse survivors, and in education/knowledge development in marketing and careers events for schools/school-aged children. She has a PhD from Warwick and other postgraduate qualifications from the UK and Malaysia where she was raised. She is married with grandchildren and with interests in food, travel, design, reading and more recently, trying to keep fit.

 

Patricia Lawson: Trustee

Tricia is an HR professional with over 30 years’ experience in human resources in financial services. During her extensive HR career Tricia has held HR leadership roles with NatWest, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Commerzbank and Wells Fargo. Tricia has experience and understanding across all the core HR disciplines having built HR functions from scratch, worked internationally across different jurisdictions, led the HR aspects of acquisitions and divestments, established talent development and retention strategies, managed pay reviews, and supported businesses through growth, retrenchment and reorganisation strategies. Tricia brings extensive HR, senior leadership and executive committee membership experience to the PLT. Making progress in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace as well as championing mental health and well-being agendas are important topics for Tricia. Tricia has a degree in Modern Languages (French / German) from Oxford University and a post graduate diploma in Human Resource Management from London Westminster University. She is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Tricia lives in Kent and to relax she enjoys cooking, walking the family dog and gardening.

 

Katie Swift: Trustee

Katie is an experienced senior leader in education, having spent the last 24 years working predominantly in the independent sector. Through her varied roles, including Head of Sixth Form, Pastoral Deputy Head and Assistant Head, Katie brings an in-depth knowledge of both the pastoral and academic life of schools to the PLT. She combines strategic and operational experience with a broad understanding of compliance, risk management, quality assurance, safeguarding, educational visits and setting up partnerships, both locally and internationally. Katie also provides high-quality inset and professional development opportunities, including mentoring and coaching for staff. She firmly believes in the importance of offering a high-quality educational experience to all students, no matter what their circumstances, so that they can achieve their potential. She holds a BA (French & German) from University College London, a PGCE from the University of Southampton and a MA from the Institute of Education and is a member of the Chartered College of Teaching. Outside of work, Katie enjoys travel, food and music.

 

Piera Elisa Grassi: Trustee

Piera is the managing director and also the lead portfolio manager for the Global and International REI (Research Enhanced Index) strategies within the J.P. Morgan Asset Management International Equity Group, based in London. She has been an employee since 2004 and was previously a quantitative analyst and portfolio manager for the Global RDP (Research Driven Process) strategies. Prior to joining, Piera Elisa was as a bond quantitative analyst and risk analyst at Foreign and Colonial Asset Management. Before this, she worked for BARRA in London, focusing on equity risk management and portfolio construction. Piera Elisa obtained a MA (equivalent) in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan.

 

Mags Szoltysik: Trustee

Mags is a results driven and forward-thinking visionary with an innovative mindset. Her experience spans across diverse industries, including Cyber Security, Life Sciences, Technology and Finance. Mags truly believes in continuous improvement and progress over perfection, and she is incredibly passionate about digital transformation and bringing impactful change. She has studied linguistics and is a former teacher, however somewhere along the line she fell in love with technology and project management. She is now on a mission to find creative technological solutions and help businesses create a sustainable growth maximising benefits of organisational change. Throughout a variety of roles she has built a solid knowledge of stakeholder management and effective communications, and she is gifted in building long lasting partnerships. She currently enjoys being a Cyber Security Operations Lead in JP Morgan, where she drives operational and strategic initiatives. Outside of work, if not practicing martial arts, Mags can be found engaged in any form of creative activities, from writing to jewellery making.