Our purpose

Andy leads Heart of the City, overseeing our work to support small businesses to have a positive impact on people, places and planet. He has over 15 years’ experience in the charity sector working with businesses on their social and environmental impact. He previously worked with Heart of the City, leading the charity from 2020-21 and overseeing the development of our climate work.

He was previously the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Open for Business, where he engaged global corporates as advocates for LGBTQ+ rights using the economic case for inclusion. He also spent almost 10 years at Business in the Community, leading campaigns on community investment and place.

Andy is active in the charity sector, serving as inaugural chair of trustees at Brighter Together and holding a number of volunteer management and trustee roles in the Scout Association in South London. He is also an adviser to Sixty7.green, a sustainability consultancy, and People Change Minds, which provides training to create inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ people in schools and workplaces.

Angela joined Heart of the City in March 2022 and is responsible for providing operational support across the team.

Angela has over 15 years’ experience of working within the not-for-profit and charity sector in office support roles. She previously worked as Office Manager for The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, a grant giving charity which runs an annual medical research award and makes smaller grants to charities that align with the Trust’s mission.

Angela studied Business Studies at Nottingham Trent University. She has two young boys who are the driving force behind her decision to try and live a more sustainable and environmentally conscious lifestyle.

Giulia joined Heart of the City in September 2024 as a Programme Officer, supporting the running of the Foundations for Responsible Business and Climate for SMEs programmes.

She holds a PhD in Sustainable Materials and Structural Engineering from University College London, where she made significant contributions to the field through a scientific journal publication and presentations at international conferences. After completing her PhD, Giulia joined a PR agency in the fashion and creative industries as a personal assistant and office manager, where she supported the achievement of B-Corp certification and collaborated with sustainable fashion brands. Giulia then moved into the charity sector, taking on the role of Community Project Officer at FareShare UK, focusing on reducing food waste and supporting charities in their efforts to make a social impact.

In her personal time, Giulia enjoys exploring a wide range of topics through reading, practising yoga, listening to music, and attending ballet performances.

Katie joined Heart of the City in November 2022 and is responsible for supporting the running of the Foundations for Responsible Business and Climate for SMEs programmes.  

Before this, Katie completed a Postgraduate Degree in Global Environment Politics and Society at the University of Edinburgh, which covered key aspects of environmental politics and climate change justice and responsibility. Her dissertation focused on the development of corporate social responsibility, sustainability and the ethical consumer within the fast fashion industry. 

In 2018, Katie took part in the graduate scheme Charityworks which is a leadership and development programme specifically for the charity sector. After this, she was the Training and Delivery Officer at StreetDoctors. 

Katie studied at Durham University and has an Undergraduate Degree in Human Geography, specialising in geopolitics and social geography. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, baking and going to the theatre.  

Kimberley joined Heart of the City in November 2023 as the Marketing and Communications Manager. Previously she worked for a PR agency, managing high-profile projects including the digital strategy for Illuminated River – a long-term public art commission lighting nine of central London’s bridges, and leading on a multi-channel media campaign for the World Architecture Festival.

Prior to this Kimberely worked as a freelance digital marketing consultant working with a diverse range of clients including international sculptor Eva Menz, circus and production agency Chivaree, social enterprise Goldfinger and The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust where she spearheaded the strategy, development, and delivery of their ‘QCT in conversation’ series, hosted by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

She brings to the team over 16 years’ of digital marketing, events and brand experience across the built environment, design and cultural sectors. Kim is a guest lecturer in marketing strategy and social media at at University of the Arts London, has a passion for applying her skills within the culture and charity sectors, and in her spare time enjoys gardening, cooking and watercolours.

Sangeeta joined Heart of the City in October 2024 as a Strategy Consultant. She brings over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, where she worked as a magic circle lawyer with Clifford Chance, Citibank, and Barclays before transitioning to a career in marketing, supporting firms such as Allen & Overy and Ashurst.

Now, Sangeeta serves as a senior advisor in strategic communications and engagement for a range of clients. She co-led the City of London Corporation’s Green Horizon Summit ahead of COP26, which was viewed by 300,000 people globally. As a Senior Advisor to her client Bright Tide, Sangeeta has supported companies pioneering solutions across the blue economy, regenerative agriculture, and artificial intelligence. In her role advising the Cayman Islands Government Office in the UK, she co-produced the documentary Saving the Blues, which explores efforts to bring blue iguanas back from the brink of extinction. Additionally, she works with B4NZ, supporting campaigns for Project Perseus, a cross-sector coalition aimed at shaping the future of SME emissions reporting to meet diverse stakeholder needs.

In her personal time, Sangeeta is a lifestyle blogger focused on travel, food, and art.

Maria joined us in September 2023 as the events apprentice and is responsible for supporting us with all our events, bringing her passion for helping people to a larger scale after having worked in healthcare previously.

Maria studied at the University of Birmingham. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering at her local theatre in community outreach events, arts and crafts and visiting art galleries.

Nadia joined the Heart of the City team as the Programme Delivery Lead for the Minority Business Matters programme, delivered in partnership with Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK), a leading advocacy network for ethnic minority businesses in the UK.

She’s enjoyed a varied career encompassing marketing, business development, events, project management, and the development of education, entrepreneurship, and leadership programmes. She holds an MSc in Employer Relations and Human Resource Management from Brunel University, London, and a CIM Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. Most recently, she worked as the Head of Operations at UCL and later at MSDUK.

Nadia is an advocate for sustainability and a non-wasteful way of living. She’s recently moved to the countryside and looks after a sprawling kitchen garden that produces a variety of organically grown fruits and vegetables.

Olivia joined Heart of the City having completed ‘On Purpose’, a year leadership course on social and environmental impact. During that time she worked with Big Society Capital, the UK’s leading social impact-led investor.

Prior to On Purpose, Olivia worked for the British Government at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, specialising in international development. She has worked in policy areas including Global Health, Social Protection and Improving Data in Developing Countries, and helped organise global conferences. In 2019, she was a diplomat based in Madrid working in the political section to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

Olivia studied at the University of York and has a degree in History, with a specialism in Peru in the 1980s; this sparked a love of all things Latin America. She is passionate about addressing inequality which led her to volunteer as a trustee of global children’s rights charity, Plan International UK, 2016 – 2024. 

Rebecca joined Heart of the City in November 2024 to lead our responsible business strategy and programmes during Olivia Beecham’s maternity leave. She believes businesses of all sizes have a unique opportunity to contribute positively to society and to act on climate change, and is passionate about supporting businesses to have a unique role to be a force for good in the world.

With over 12 years of experience in the charity and philanthropic sectors, Rebecca has led national programmes and strategic partnerships to create social and health impact. As Programme Director of the Children’s Health and Food programme at Impact on Urban Health, she collaborated with a wide range of partners, from campaigners to food businesses, to increase access to nutritious food for children across London and nationally. Her work supported the establishment of the Mayor’s Universal Primary Free School Meals Policy across London.

In her spare time, Rebecca has co-founded and runs a monthly supper club called Carnevale, which takes inspiration from around the globe and has a focus on seasonality and sustainability. She is also studying for her WSET Level 3 Award in Wines and loves eating out and trying new flavours and wines. Rebecca attends a church in East London and volunteers with them on a regular basis.

Samuel joined Heart of the City in October 2024 to support the delivery of the Climate for SMEs programme. He’s come on board to develop his learning of sustainability and responsible business before returning to King’s College London to complete his final year of (BA) international relations. Samuel has studied global reactions to climate change and biodiversity loss, engaging in topics such as global governance for sustainable finance and global efforts to mitigate loss and damage from environmental crises.

Samuel also volunteers for a student-led environmental policy think tank and community action centre, Earthupp. He promoted the organisation’s involvement in the 2024 Brighton Beach Clean by co-authoring an article in his university’s newspaper.

In his own time, he enjoys experiencing London with friends, taking hiking trips when possible and being with family.

Stephen joined Heart of the City in September 2023 and is responsible for providing design and technical support to the team. He’s helping shape the experience for Heart of the City’s newest venture, Minority Business Matters.

Stephen is a User Experience consultant with several years’ experience working in the commercial sector. He joined LBi (later Digitas) in 2007, at one time the largest independent creative and marketing agency network in Europe. On leaving LBi he worked for The Guardian, Homebase and Argos. In 2018 he joined the nascent product team at Ascential, a global information and data insight company. While there he became increasingly involved with diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives, culminating in an ambitious proposal to offer ethnic minority businesses pro bono access to the company’s ecommerce platform and advisory functions.

Stephen has a fine art background which transmuted over time into a love of graphic and later web design. He built his first website in 1996 when the web was still in its infancy. For a number of years he designed and built websites for publications, arts bodies, individuals and independents. He studied Fine Art at Liverpool John Moores University. He enjoys gardening, is a parent governor at his children’s primary school and volunteers his time maintaining the school website.

Aedamar was elected Linklaters’ Senior Partner and Chair in May 2021 and is the first female Senior Partner in the firm’s 184 year history. In the five years leading up to this, Aedamar was the Global Head of Corporate, responsible for managing the firm’s corporate practice around the world. She currently chairs the Partnership Board and, before that, was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee for five years.

Aedamar is recognised as a leading public and private M&A lawyer. She leads Linklaters’ relationship with seven large international clients, including HSBC, Visa, Capita and Tate & Lyle, for whom she is a trusted Board adviser.

Diversity and inclusion is something that Aedamar is passionate about and she’s committed to progressing diversity of every type within Linklaters. She’s an active sponsor of the Linklaters Women’s Leadership Programme which aims to support the firm’s women in reaching senior leadership positions. Aedamar has also been recognised by Financial News as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance and 50 Most Influential Lawyers in 2022, City A.M.’s Power 100 Women List and as a Leading M&A lawyer in The Lawyer magazine Hot 100 ranking.

Aedamar is the Senior Independent Director of FTSE company James Fisher and Sons plc. She sits on the company’s audit, remuneration and nominations committees and is Chair of the Remuneration Committee. She’s also a member of the Shanghai International Financial Advisory Council.

Alison is a City Lawyer who has specialised in commercial real estate at DLA Piper.  She was their first female partner and remains an active consultant. She has senior expertise in development, landlord and tenant matters, insolvency and waste management.

She has been an elected member of the City Corporation since 1991 being first a Common Councillor and, since 2002, the Alderman for Dowgate Ward. She has served on most of the City’s committees including as Chair of the City Bridge Trust and of the City of London School for Girls. She currently serves on the Markets Board, Bridge House Estates Board, Hampstead Heath Committee and Investment Committee. She has recently concluded her time as Chair of the Aldermanic subcommittee responsible for the Livery and Magistracy liaison, having successfully overseen the processes and engagement with organisations seeking Livery status.  She served as Sheriff of the City of London 2021-2022.

Alison has a long involvement with environmental matters and is now the City’s policy lead on sustainability/climate action, biodiversity and urban greening.  The City is delivering an ambitious net zero plan. This led to her founding the Livery Climate Action Group that boasts over 100 members who are crafting their own plans and advocacy on climate issues.

Alison is a Governor of the London Museum and a trustee of Trust for London.  She became a Lay Canon and member of Chapter at St Paul’s Cathedral in October 2023.

She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law by Durham University and was honoured with a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours – both in 2024.

Alison is a Past Master of the Glovers’ and Plaisterers’ Liveries and has served as President of the City Livery Club and Chair of the Royal Society of St George, City of London Branch. Living in London she takes full advantage of the theatre, music and arts scene and enjoys walking and cross-country skiing when out of town.

Andreas H Luginbuehl is the Chief of Staff for the Non-Core and Legacy (NCL) Business Division, Group Sustainability and Impact, EMEA and the UK for UBS Group AG. In this capacity, he supports the Head NCL, EMEA President, UK CEO, and Group Lead for Sustainability and Impact in the discharge of all her roles / the Group Executive Board mandate and runs the Global Management Office based in London. He also oversees the Group EMEA Client Office and plays a key role in a variety of firm-wide activities and initiatives across strategy and execution for UBS Group AG.  He was previously the Operating Officer of UBS Investment Bank for Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) and before that in a number of roles in the Investment Bank across COO, Global Banking and Global Markets.

Andrew Bailey served as Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 1 July 2016 until taking up the role of Governor. As CEO of the FCA, Andrew Bailey was also a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, and the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Andrew previously held the role of Deputy Governor, Prudential Regulation and CEO of the PRA from 1 April 2013. While retaining his role as Executive Director of the Bank, Andrew joined the Financial Services Authority in April 2011 as Deputy Head of the Prudential Business Unit and Director of UK Banks and Building Societies. In July 2012, Andrew became Managing Director of the Prudential Business Unit, with responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks, investment banks and insurance companies. Andrew was appointed as a voting member of the interim Financial Policy Committee at its June 2012 meeting.

Previously, Andrew worked at the Bank in a number of areas, most recently as Executive Director for Banking Services and Chief Cashier, as well as Head of the Bank’s Special Resolution Unit (SRU). Previous roles include Governor’s Private Secretary, and Head of the International Economic Analysis Division in Monetary Analysis.

Throughout his career Chris Hayward has worked in the construction, aviation, infrastructure and global events management sectors.

He is currently a Director at leading communications agency JBP, a Director at professional services consulting firm WSP in the UK and Director of Hayward Properties Limited.

He is a former Deputy Leader of Hertfordshire and Dorset County Councils.

As Policy Chairman, he will effectively operate as the political Leader of the City Corporation.

Bishop Sarah was a late ordinand who before ordination was Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health. She has continued her interest in the health service as a non-executive director at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust then at Salisbury NHS Foundation Hospital. She is currently chairing commissions on bereavement and health inequalities. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 for her contribution to nursing and midwifery.

The Rt Rev and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE was installed as the 133rd Bishop of London at St Paul’s Cathedral on 12 May 2018.

Georgia is Freshfields’ Senior Partner and has a background in internal and regulatory investigations, complex multi-jurisdictional litigation, and compliance advice in relation to anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption and human rights.  Georgia has practiced for over 20 years in Sydney, London, Hong Kong and Singapore and she has worked on significant cross-border mandates across a range of jurisdictions in APAC, Africa and Central Asia.

Georgia was named an Innovative Leader in the Financial Times Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards 2020.  She is also a champion for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. She was named by the Financial Times and Yahoo! in the OUTstandingTop 50 LGBT+ Ally Executives lists in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 and by Stonewall as its Global Senior Champion in 2019.

Georgia is admitted to practice in Hong Kong, England & Wales and New South Wales, and she is a registered foreign lawyer in Singapore. She holds a first-class degree in law from the University of Sydney and a Master’s degree in international relations from Cambridge University, where she studied as a Chevening scholar.

Giles Shilson is an independent councillor for the Square Mile and the current Chair of Bridge House Estates, one of the largest charities in the UK. Established in the eleventh century, it owns and maintains five of London’s central bridges at no cost to the taxpayer and, over the past 27 years, its grantmaking arm (the City Bridge Trust) has given over £480,000,000 in grants to help tackle the causes of London’s poverty, inequality, need and disadvantage.

Giles’ background is in law, governance and administration. After a significant period at university studying Modern Languages, Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience and Law, he was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple and practised as a barrister until 2005. Between 2006 and 2011, he managed an SME in London and was subsequently appointed Court Secretary of the Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army. Giles now maintains a portfolio of Chief Executive and other senior appointments within the not-for-profit sector. Recent posts have included Chairman of the Board of the Barbican Centre, the largest multi-arts centre in Europe, and Vice-Chair of Council of Gresham College, London’s oldest higher education institution.

Jo is the founder of sustainability consultancy Green & Good Consulting.  She has been a sustainability leader for 15 years and works with businesses to implement strategy and catalyse climate action.  Her clients have included large global organisations such as BAE Systems and Allianz, as well as smaller fast growth businesses such as Moonpig Group and Clear Insurance.  Her background is within financial services leading sustainability functions at Aviva and Old Mutual.

She has a deep knowledge of human rights and climate change and has sat on the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission Working Group for Business and Human Rights and the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative Working Group.

As well as a Council member for Heart of the City, Jo is a judge for the Better Society Awards, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a trustee for Street Trees for Living.

Lord Clement-Jones was made CBE for political services in 1988 and a life peer in 1998. Until July 2004 he was the Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson and thereafter until 2010 Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Culture, Media and Sport, in the House of Lords and is the current House of Lords Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Digital. He’s the former Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence which sat from 2017-18 and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI.

He is a founding member of the OECD Parliamentary Group on AI and a member of the Council of Europe’s Ad-hoc Committee on AI (CAHAI). He’s a former member of the House of Lords Select Committees on Communications (2011-15) the Built Environment (2015-16) and Risk Assessment and Planning (2020-21). He was a member of the Joint Select Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill (2021-22). He’s Deputy Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on China and Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Music, The Future of Work, Digital Regulation and Responsibility, Ticket Abuse, Performers Alliance, Writers, Ovarian Cancer, PICTFOR and Indonesia.

He’s a Consultant of global law firm DLA Piper where previous positions include London Managing Partner (2011-16), Head of UK Government Affairs, Chair of China and Middle East Desks, International Business Relations Partner and Co-Chair of Global Government Relations. He’s Chair of The Ombudsman Services Limited, the not-for-profit, independent ombudsman service providing dispute resolution for communications, energy, property and copyright industries. He’s Chair of Council of Queen Mary University of London and President of Ambitious about Autism, an autism education charity and school for children with autism and other communication disorders. Full details are on Lord Clement-Jones’ website.

Melissa is a Partner at international law firm Clifford Chance. She is Joint Head of Clifford Chance’s Corporate practice in London and a member of the firm’s London leadership group. Melissa is a passionate supporter of the Mindful Business Charter, which works towards removing unnecessary workplace stress and promoting better mental health and wellbeing in the legal community. She’s also an advocate for greater diversity and inclusion at Clifford Chance, and is a member of their gender pay gap working group.

Michael Davison is Deputy CEO of Hogan Lovells. For close to 30 years, he’s been helping clients avoid disputes and from 2014 to 2020 he was the sole head of the firm’s global Litigation, Arbitration and Employment practice, comprising 200 partners and 800 lawyers across 45+ offices. Michael also sits as an arbitrator, acts as a mediator, and lectures on arbitration topics.

A keen advocate for diversity and inclusion at Hogan Lovells, Michael is the executive sponsor the firm’s Race and Ethnicity at Hogan Lovells (REAHL) Network. Michael is also dedicated to Hogan Lovells’ pro bono programme and has been involved in partnerships with the Royal British Legion to provide legal advice, representation and emotional support to veterans and bereaved Service families to pursue their cases. He’s also currently assisting the Justice for Jasmine families whose relatives died when residents in care homes in South Wales.

Michael also holds a strong interest in the use of technology including AI to support the firm’s clients and is leading a number of projects in this area leading the firm’s data strategy and developing alternative service delivery models.

As well as being a council member at Heart of the City, Michael is also the Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the City of London Lawyers Society.

Phillippa has over 20 years of experience as a business consultant, working with boards and HR directors to solve a wide range of issues in the people space, including pay, diversity, equity and inclusion issues and broader HR transformation.

She is also PwC UK’s Chief People Officer and a member of the Management Board. In this role she applies her years of experience supporting boards and HRDs on challenges in the people space to design and deliver all aspects of the UK firm’s people strategy.

Phillippa has been a partner at PwC since 2014 and, prior to joining the board, she was the ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Leader for Tax, Legal & Workforce in PwC UK.

She has a career long specialism in executive compensation and she works with large global companies and their remuneration committees to design, implement and communicate approaches that are effective in meeting strategic business goals which also reflect the expectations of their investors and wider stakeholders.

She operates by building deep trusted relationships, not being afraid to share a point of view and balancing analytical rigour, market expertise and knowledge with the need to understand the points of view in the room and the strategic needs and intent of every stakeholder she works with.

Prem is an Advisor to the Hinduja Group, focusing on green finance investments, fintech bank acquisitions and real estate projects of national importance.

As an Alderman since 2017, Prem supports the Lord Mayor as he promotes the financial and professional services sector. As a school governor, he retains an enthusiasm for helping young people reach their full potential.

Prem enjoyed a 15-year career at Deutsche Bank in Tokyo and London, specialising in derivatives trading, having worked in institutional sales and trading with Goldman Sachs on Wall Street.

Coming from humble beginnings, Prem earned his bachelor’s degree from ITT (India) and an MBA from UCLA. He has also completed executive education from Chicago Booth. Find out more about Prem.

Sushil is Chair of the Heart of the City. He is also a Governor of Greenwich University and a trustee of the British Council, where he chairs the Commercial Board.

He is a senior business leader and advisor, focused on international business, technology-led transformation and education. With over 30 years’ prior experience at Accenture, Sushil has led business units in EMEA (based in London) and Asia Pacific (based in Hong Kong) and launched fintech accelerators in Hong Kong and Dubai.

Sushil graduated in engineering from Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was previously a trustee of the Princes’ Teaching Institute (PTI) and on the board of TheCityUK.

Michael Mainelli was elected as Lord Mayor of the City of London on 29 September 2023 and took office on 10 November 2023. He previously served Sheriff of the City of London from 2019-2021, being granted an extraordinary second year in that office, the first time since 1228, in order to provide continuity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Educated at Harvard University and Trinity College Dublin, Michael gained his PhD at London School of Economics where he was also a Visiting Professor. Originally a research scientist in aerospace (rocket science) and graphics in the USA and Switzerland, he created the first commercial digital maps of the world in Cambridge.

He has served as Alderman for Broad Street since 2013; President of Broad Street Ward Club; member of Lime Street and Farringdon Ward Clubs; Trustee of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, Lord Mayor’s Show, Lord Mayor’s 800th Anniversary Awards Trust, and Morden College; Professor & Life Fellow of Gresham College and Fellow of Goodenough College; Honorary Fellow of King’s College London; Council Member for City & Guilds.

His wife, Elisabeth, is from Bavaria. Elisabeth trained in hotel management and has worked in Germany and London, where she became a personal assistant to the managing partner of a large accountancy firm. They married in 1996 and have three children.

Michael’s hobbies include skiing, woodcarving, diving, dicing with bagpipes, racing sailboats, and dabbling in German, Italian, and French, but even worse Mandarin. He has written over 60 journal articles, 250 business articles and a few books. His humorous novel, Clean Business Cuisine: Now and Z/Yen, written with Ian Harris, was a Sunday Times Book of the Week in 2000.

Tom is the UK Clients and Sectors Partner for DLA Piper, a worldwide group with more than 2,700 lawyers, where he’s worked for over 26 years. Tom also leads the firm’s Life Sciences M&A initiative.

Zahir is a London Office Senior Partner and Vice Chairman of Deloitte. He’s spent most of his 30 year career leading the firm’s relationships with Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions. He’s passionate about the City of London to support innovation, sustainable finance, inclusion and diversity, social mobility, job creation and long-term economic growth.

He currently serves Deloitte’s global financial services clients, University of Oxford, HMT, City of London Corporation and has worked extensively in overseas markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Dubai, Karachi, Zurich, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels and Oslo. He strongly believes in providing a better future and opportunity to children through his role on the Development Board of Place2Be – a charity which enhances the wellbeing and prospects of children and their families and helping SMEs become responsible businesses through his role on the Council of the Heart of the City.

Zahir is married to Sarah and has two children. He likes spending time in Cornwall and Lahore.

Carmen brings over 15 years of digital marketing, brand and corporate communications experience to our board. Currently the Digital Marketing Lead at Cynergy Bank, Carmen has designed and delivered award-winning websites, apps, brand and digital marketing strategies for organisations including Cazenove Capital, M&S, RSA Insurance Group, Arup and Save the Children UK. Carmen continues to build and maintain a broad network of industry experts and influencers.

As a graduate of the Heart of the City’s Foundations for Responsible Business programme, and now as an alumni member, Fiona brings her personal experience and perspective as an SME to our board of trustees.

As Practice Director at David Miller Architects (DMA) she has put responsible business at the heart of their practice. By supporting the communities where they work, attracting diverse new talent to the construction industry and actively committing to Net Zero, DMA shows that size is not a barrier and that SMEs can make a real difference. As a result DMA and their team have thrived whilst enjoying helping others.

Fiona sits on the boards of Westminster Business Council and The Fitzrovia Partnership BID who also encourage responsible business. She is particularly proud that DMA’s social value creation, especially their work experience programme, has been recognised with a prestigious City of London Lord Mayor’s Dragon Award and a Westminster City Council Lion Award.

Joanne co-founded Globacap, a UK regulated fintech driving the evolution of capital markets by making processes frictionless through automation. The business now operates globally, deploying tech for large institutions such as Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The platform has hosted over 60 primary placements, settled £135m secondary liquidity, and digitised over £10bn of private securities.

Prior to Globacap, Joanne independently advised private equity funds’ portfolio companies on operational improvement and profitability enhancement, and has held a number of senior roles in transformation at large corporates.

Joanne trained as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG, where she spent seven years in both Audit and Transaction Advisory. She also holds an MBA from London Business School.

Kate Neale is Climate Action Director at the City of London Corporation, leading their net zero and climate resilience programmes.

She and her team coordinate work delivered across the Corporation to deliver net zero in our own operations by 2027, the value chain and the wider Square Mile by 2040, whilst embedding climate resilience. Kate joined the Corporation with over a decade’s experience in property sustainability – most recently creating Cadogan Estate’s first sustainability strategy, encompassing net zero, climate risk, air quality, circular economy, water and greening, as well as employment and skills, and social value.  

Martin is group sustainability director at AXA, leading the sustainability outcomes across the group. He previously held roles with Siemens in London and New York in urban development and sustainability, and has been involved in building strategies and developing pathways for organizations to achieve ESG improvement as well as roles in energy purchasing and green funds. Prior to this, he was the Deputy Mayor of London for Energy & Environment to the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, responsible for policy in water, waste, air quality, energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity. He was also the executive director for the design and delivery of the City’s environmental programmes.

As managing director of Cambridge Management & Research he worked for the Energy Saving Trust and the Institute for Sustainability, and was also special advisor to the C40 Cities Group chaired by Michael R Bloomberg during his time as Mayor of New York.

An engineer, he built his career working with organisations as a consultant to structure their projects and programmes. Martin has two published books – “Better Cities, Better Life” and “Smart Cities – Cities in the Digital Age” and his “The Climate City” from Wiley publishing, which involves contributions from 30 experts in the sustainable city sector.

Strategist, advisor and futures thinker, Nick Turner is the founder and Managing Partner of Stratforma, an advisory boutique that offers counsel to senior decision makers at multi-national organisations. Nick is the product of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, having served as a Managing Director and head of Strategy at Morgan Stanley, after a number of years spent in the high-technology industry in California. As a strategy consultant, Nick was the Co-President of scenario planning and experiential learning pioneers Global Business Network (GBN) and a Senior Partner of Michael Porter’s Monitor Group. Nick is a visiting lecturer in strategy, scenario planning and innovation at leading business schools, including London (LBS), Imperial College and INSEAD. Nick is also a trustee of the educational charity, Ambition Institute. He previously served as a Board Member of the Mayor of London’s Enterprise Panel (LEP), The London Skills and Employment Board (LSEB) and chaired the London Employer Coalition (LEC).

Paul Singh is Lead Member for SMEs for the City of London Corporation and is a prominent figure in the property and construction industry, transitioning from labourer to Founder and CFO of EEDN Ltd., which specialises in design and project management for technical real estate. Paul has made significant contributions to industry standards releasing the building standards for life sciences real estate in 2023 – Constructing Science.

His insights have regularly been featured in both industry and business publications such as EG and London Business Matters and is an influential speaker, particularly committed to driving prosperity and meaningful change within communities. He holds a number of board and advisory positions including within the City of London Chamber of Commerce and has recently been appointed to improve bilateral business relations between the UK and Italy by the respective embassies.

Rob is the Bank of England’s Agent for Greater London, since May 2018. He joined the bank in 1998, and for twelve years supported the Monetary Policy Committee as an economist and then senior manager.  Between 2010 and 2012 he represented the UK on the board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. When he returned he worked in our press office, and most recently, supported our Financial Policy Committee by running a team monitoring developments in the UK banking sector.

Between 1990 and 1998 Rob worked as an economist and forecaster at HM Treasury, British Telecom and Manchester University. He also taught English in Japan for a year.

Sushil is Chair of the Heart of the City. He is also a Governor of Greenwich University and a trustee of the British Council, where he chairs the Commercial Board.

He is a senior business leader and advisor, focused on international business, technology-led transformation and education. With over 30 years’ prior experience at Accenture, Sushil has led business units in EMEA (based in London) and Asia Pacific (based in Hong Kong) and launched fintech accelerators in Hong Kong and Dubai.

Sushil graduated in engineering from Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was previously a trustee of the Princes’ Teaching Institute (PTI) and on the board of TheCityUK.

Suzanne Scatliffe is Global Sustainability Director at AXA XL, where she leads the global sustainability strategy and programs.

Suzanne has 17 years’ experience in CSR and sustainability roles in the insurance, technology, and education sectors, and is a certified Sustainability Practitioner (IEMA) and Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS).

She served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) UK from 2018-2021 and volunteers as a Heart of the City Mentor, helping small businesses in the UK develop CSR and Sustainability initiatives.

Taraneh leads on Group Government Relations for Barclays, focusing on major policy, legislative and reputational developments, and issues such as prudential regulation, sustainability and D&I.  She has spent most of her career focusing on SME policy and until recently headed up Government Relations for Business and Corporate Banking. She also managed Barclays’ regional Comms and Public Affairs team.

Taraneh represents Barclays in discussions with policymakers and politicians at international and national levels and advises the firm’s senior management on the potential impact of legislation and public policy. This involves designing and executing campaigns focused and working with stakeholders across government. In addition, Taraneh is the wellbeing lead for her 600+ person function.

Taraneh joined Barclays in 2010 from Burson-Marsteller, a political consultancy where she worked in a variety of accounts across multiple sectors. She started her career working in the UK Parliament as a researcher to Glenda Jackson MP.

She graduated with a Masters in Diplomacy and a BA (Hons) in European Politics from the University of Nottingham.

Anna Farquharson is Head of Social Value at global facilities management company, ISS Facility Services, where she’s responsible for the implementation of ISS UK’s social value strategy.

Anna is an experienced social value professional, having previously worked at one of the UK’s leading social value measurement organisations. Here she supported several local authorities to embed social value in their procurement processes, which involved extensive engagement with SMEs to support them in developing their capabilities to tender for contracts with social value requirements.

Charles Joly is Associate Director of Sustainability at Wellcome, a global charitable foundation improving health for everyone by funding research, leading policy and advocacy campaigns, and building global partnerships, and with an aim of fostering a healthier, happier, world. Charles is coordinating Wellcome’s approach to corporate sustainability, including the delivery of its challenging net zero by 2030 target for scope 1 and 2 UK emissions.

Charles is a sustainability strategist with over 15 years’ experience delivering a pioneering approach to sustainability, fast-tracking ESG and reputational performance for high-profile organisations. He has led the development and implementation of award-winning sustainability and CSR programmes for the National Health Service, the Bank of England, the London School of Economics, and Herbert Smith Freehills.

Tara Foy is Senior CSR Manager at BNP Paribas, supporting their UK businesses to create a Sustainable future. Focused on the ‘social’ of ESG, Tara has worked on internal campaigns to introduce more social enterprises into the supply chain, introduce more inclusive hiring practices by joining Ban the Box, the Armed Forces Covenant and becoming a Living Wage Employer, and helps manage their award-winning volunteering programme. Passionate about justice, equality and toilets (there is no such thing as just a toilet) her work focuses on how business can be the driving force in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Emma is the Director of Responsible Business at Herbert Smith Freehills, leading across a range of responsible business aspects globally. She’s led the firm’s responsible business strategy since 2013, and drives the its current priorities; climate change, human rights and social impact. She has over 15 years’ experience delivering Environmental, Social and Governance performance as an in-house practitioner and a brief stint as a consultant. Emma is passionate about the role businesses can play in driving change that creates an impact, making a real difference to people and places. She’s a trained coach and has completed her MBA with Cranfield Business School.

Nimi Gabrie is a Senior Architect at Formation Architects and co-leads “Formation Community” the responsible business group at the practice, alongside her day job. Formation Architects enrolled onto the Heart of the City foundations for responsible business programme in 2016 and won the Heat of the City Award at the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards (2019) for businesses that were achieving excellence in social impact. Nimi has first-hand knowledge of responsible business in SME’s with a focus on fundraising efforts, her experience extends to community outreach projects, sustainability in the workplace and employee wellbeing.