Campaign Leadership Board

The Campaign Leadership Board brings together alumni and friends of London Business School who have made philanthropic commitments to our Campaign at transformative levels.

Why our Campaign Leadership Board is so important

The Campaign Leadership Board is a sub-committee of our Governing Body. This group represents the diversely rich breadth of the School community and acts as an important and influential advocate for our Campaign ambitions. The support of our Campaign Leadership Board directly fuels the future of London Business School.

Our Board members in focus

Savio Kwan, Campaign Chair

Chair of Campaign Leadership Board

Savio Kwan MSc09(1976)

CEO and Founding Partner, A&K Consulting. 

In his role as the CEO of A&K Consulting Savio provides advice to entrepreneurs about start-up businesses in China.

He also serves as an independent non-executive director at British American Tobacco and has previously held positions of President and Chief Operating Officer of Chinese multinational technology company Alibaba.

With over 30 years’ global management experience, including 17 years at General Electric, where he was responsible for establishing joint venture companies in Asia and 4 years in Fortune 500 company BTR plc, Savio was announced as Chair of the Campaign Leadership Board in July 2022.

Savio was the recipient of the School’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2011.

 

 

Vice Chairs of the Campaign Leadership Board

Søren Fryland Møller

Søren Fryland Møller EMBALS2017

Founding Partner & CEO, IPQ Capital.                 

Søren is an investor, board member and philanthropist. He owns and runs IPQ Capital, a private investment firm based in Copenhagen and London. IPQ Capital runs a global macro strategy and also does private market investments in fintech and healthtech.

Søren started his career in investment banking at Danske bank in Copenhagen. He has had several board director roles in financial services including the board of Formuepleje, one of the largest independent asset managers in Scandinavia. Søren also holds several trustee positions in the charitable sector in the UK.

Søren holds an MBA from London Business School and a Masters in Finance from Aarhus University.

Dr Fiona Pathiraja

Dr Fiona Pathiraja EMBALS2017

Managing Partner, Crista Galli Ventures.           

When she arrived at LBS, Fiona was an NHS radiologist at University College London Hospital, one of the UK’s largest teaching hospitals. Today, she is a healthtech investor and philanthropist.

A healthtech expert, Fiona developed health policy in the UK government and has served on the board of several startups. An advocate of female empowerment, Fiona is one of Europe’s most active angel investors, backing female founders. She is a trustee at the Royal College of Physicians and Cheltenham Ladies College, a leading UK girls’ school.

Dual board certified in clinical radiology and public health, Fiona holds a medical degree from UCL, a Masters in Public Health from the University of London, and an MBA from London Business School.

Uday Reddy

Uday Reddy

Founder, Chairman and CEO, Tanla Platforms Ltd.

Uday Reddy, a pioneering first-generation technology entrepreneur and the Founder Chairman and CEO of Tanla Platforms Ltd., has guided the company to become a global leader in enterprise SaaS focused on digital interactions. Under Uday’s leadership, Tanla has experienced substantial growth in market capitalization over the last decade. Today, Tanla is ranked among the “1000 High-Growth Companies in Asia Pacific” by Financial Times and is listed in Nifty 500, MSCI, and FTSE Russell.

Tanla’s unique, user-centric business model has propelled it to the forefront of the CPaaS industry, where it holds a leading market share in India. Its flagship products, Wisely ATP and Trubloq, exemplify this commitment to pioneering solutions. Wisely ATP, an AI-powered anti-phishing platform, safeguards billions of users by detecting and preventing scams in under 50 milliseconds. Trubloq, the world’s largest blockchain use case, is a DLT platform designed to prevent unsolicited commercial communication, impacting over a billion users.

London Business School’s case study, “From Adversity to Leadership: Tanla Platforms’ Journey to Becoming India’s SaaS Titan,” underscores the company’s remarkable transformation, chronicling its rise from challenging beginnings to becoming a leading force in the SaaS industry in India.

Uday holds an MBA from Manchester Business School and has been fascinated by building tech-led businesses with purpose since childhood. He loves spending time with his family, his wife Tanuja and his children, Abhiram and Neharika, are his greatest source of energy and excitement.

Dr Greg Siourounis

Dr Greg Siourounis PhD2000

Global Managing Director, Sui Foundation.

Dr. Siourounis leads execution of the Sui Foundation’s efforts to support the Sui community by bringing developers into the Sui ecosystem, educating the public about Sui blockchain technology, and building a community of builders, users and executives committed to the network’s success.

Dr. Siourounis brings over 25 years experience as a renowned academic, economist, and finance entrepreneur. He is an Assistant Professor in Economic Theory and Policy at the Department of Regional and Economic Studies, Panteion University, Athens-Greece, and he also serves as a Chairman to Everypay Payment Services. After earning his PhD from the London Business School, Greg spent almost two years as head of quantitative research in the Global FX Strategy team at Barclays Capital. He is the co-founder of EveryPay Payments Services S.A, 3 FOREX algorithmic Hedge Funds and an initial contributor of the Sui Foundation.

Past awards include the European Economic Association’s 2005 Young Economist Award and the 2008 Austin Robinson Prize from the Royal Economic Society.

Antoinette Vermilye

Antoinette Vermilye

Co-founder, Gallifrey Foundation and She Changes Climate.

Antoinette is passionate about the complex interrelationships of climate change, the ocean and plastics, gender and social injustice, human and planetary health and the environment.

She is focused on action-oriented solutions that will have far reaching impacts and identifying gaps.

Examples of her work include exploration of the impact of overfishing on the ocean, empowering citizens to take civil legal action against unsustainable legal and illegal overfishing; awareness raising and advocacy on the impacts of plastics on human and planetary health.

Antoinette is an International Gender champion campaigning for more women at decision making levels in climate negotiations and company boards.

John Vermilye

John Vermilye ADP17(1995)

Co-Founder, Gallifrey Foundation.

John’s interests lie in the sphere of social enterprise education and marine conservation. He is currently leading the international Fair Carbon project to help scale viable and credible nature-based carbon sequestration projects for the benefit of local communities and the environment.

Prior to this, John was head of baggage operations at Eastern Air Lines, then Senior Vice President at the International Air Transport Association, IATA in Geneva. As a recognised industry expert in airline operations and baggage security he was an advisor to the US government to help set-up the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, after 9/11.

In 2003, with the backing of the TSA and luggage industry John created the Travel Sentry standard for luggage locks used by security agencies globally.

John also serves as Chairman of Travel Sentry, a company that develops and licenses standards used in travel security and as Co-Chair of Dr. Sylvia Earle’s Mission Blue, a global coalition that inspires to explore and protect the ocean.

Faculty Vice Chairs of the Campaign Leadership Board

Lynda Gratton

Lynda Gratton

Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour.

Professor Lynda Gratton directs the London Business School program ‘Human Resource Strategy in Transforming Companies’. In 2016 she received the School’s ‘Excellence in Teaching’ award.

For over ten years she has led the Future of Work Consortium which has brought executives from more than 60 companies together both virtually and on a bespoke collaborative platform.

Lynda has written extensively about the interface between people and organisations, including Living Strategy, The Democratic Enterprise, Hot Spots and Glow, The Shift and The 100 Year Life – co-authored with Professor of Economics Andrew Scott. The 100 Year Life was shortlisted for the FT Business Book of the Year and has been translated into 15 languages.

Lynda also serves as a Steward of the World Economic Forum.

Costas Markides

Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship; Robert P Bauman Chair in Strategic Leadership.

Professor Costas Markides is recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts on strategy and innovation.

 

His research has covered strategic innovation, business model innovation, diversification and international acquisitions and explored how established companies could pursue radical or disruptive innovation and how they can compete with two business models in the same industry. Costas also examines how companies can create a culture of continuous innovation and the role that individual managers play in making a company more innovative.

Costas has published books including All the Right Moves: A Guide to Crafting Breakthrough Strategy, Fast Second: How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets, Game-Changing Strategies and most recently in 2021, Organising for the New Normal: Prepare your company for the journey of continuous disruption. He is currently examining how established firms respond to new business models invading their markets and is writing a new book entitled: Business Model Innovation: Strategic and Organisational Issues for Established Firms.

Niro Sivanathan

Niro Sivanathan

Professor of Organisational Behaviour; Chair, PhD Programme.

Niro’s research draws on social psychological and evolutionary theories to examine how our judgments, decisions and behaviours are shaped by the psychological experience of status and power within social hierarchies.

In addition he also explores how our motivation to maintain the self-integrity influences decision-making.

His research has been published in international journals, such as: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Applied Psychology and the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and has received international press coverage at CNN, Financial Times, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Sunday Times and Forbes.

Niro’s research has also been translated to practitioner audiences in the Harvard Business Review and a TED Talk.

Niro teaches Negotiations, Influence, and Decision-making and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including being named one of the World’s top 40 Best B-School Professors under 40 by Poets and Quants in 2016. He also received the Excellence in Teaching Award at London Business School.

Niro has also provided advisory and executive education services for organisations such as Credit Suisse, Kearney, YPO, Merck, Central Bank of Turkey, Salesforce and LVHM.

Campaign Leadership Board Committee Members

Rick Anderson 

Rick Anderson SLN2016

Chief Operating Officer, Wolf Greenfield.

Nigel Andrews

Nigel Andrews MSc11(1978)

Audit Committee Member & Independent Director, The Carlyle Group BDC.

Throughout his career, Nigel held various senior management positions within General Electric Company, including Executive Vice President of GE Capital from 1993 to 2000.

Prior to joining GE, he was a partner at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and held management positions at Shell International Chemical Company.

Nigel also serves as Chairman of Malaika Kids USA, a network of charities supporting orphaned children in Tanzania.

Ajay Arora

Ajay Arora SUD091

Managing Director, D’Decor Home Fabrics Pvt Ltd.

Building the world’s largest furnishing fabrics mill: Ajay Arora, Managing Director of D’Decor, erstwhile known as ‘Dicitex Industries’, has been instrumental in growing family business into an international brand.

With his vision and business acumen, the company has achieved leadership position in the international and domestic markets and is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of curtains and upholstery fabrics.

Global Footprint: D’Decor exports furnishing fabrics to over 65+ countries across the world, with 5 manufacturing facilities, 1 distribution company and various international channel partners. Under Ajay’s leadership, the group revenue has grown from $5 million in 1998 to over $350 million in 2024.

India’s largest home décor brand: D’Decor caters to various product categories such as curtains,
upholstery, made-ups, bedding, and wallpaper. With the ‘Live Beautiful’ philosophy at the core of
the brand, D’Decor has partnered with various European studios to bring over 20,000 SKUs
for customers to choose from, every year. In 2023, Ajay spearheaded the launch of FabriCare – a
new brand of high-performance fabrics from the house of D’Decor adding a new dimension in the
category of furnishing fabrics.

Leading transformation: Ajay has changed the landscape of the home textile industry in India
by bringing transformation in distribution, supply chain and stock keeping at retail front which have now become industry practices. Ajay believes that one of the key drivers of success in today’s market is digital. D’Decor has aligned its corporate strategy and digital initiatives to deliver winning customer propositions. As a pioneering move in the industry, D’Decor has successfully launched various digital assets that cater to both, the trade as well as the end consumer. From Computer Aided Design & Manufacturing to enhancing the in-store experience, digital is at the heart of D’Decor.

Board of Director of prestigious universities: Ajay is on the board of Georgetown University – McDonough School of Business and on the board of Harvard Business School. He is one of the founders of Plaksha University which aspires to become India’s best engineering school.

Philanthropy: Ajay and his family is actively engaged in several philanthropic causes. The group undertakes initiatives to extend education support to underprivileged children. Ajay has been involved in extending a need-based scholarship program to students at Indian School of Business. Additionally, D’Decor has been involved in initiatives for women empowerment and focus on health and livelihood of children.

Awards: Ajay has received ‘The Economic Times Inspiring CEO of the Year’ award along with
several other accolades D’Decor Home Fabrics achieved a remarkable milestone by securing 4
Golds at the SRTEPC Awards for Outstanding Export Performance in 2023-2024. D’Decor has been privileged to receive ‘The Pride of India Brand’ from Exchange4Media, Best Brands award from Economic Times and other such recognition.

Education: Alumnus of the prestigious Owner President Management program at Harvard Business School, Ajay has also studied textile engineering from VJTI, Mumbai.

Flavio Filho Figueiredo

Flavio Filho Figueiredo MBA1995

Global Head of Corporate Sales, Rates & Currencies, Citi Global Markets.

Flavio is a Managing Director at Citi and is leading the team that helps Citi’s clients navigate through complex financial risk management and corporate finance situations around their Capital Markets, Cross Border and M&A transactions.

He started his career with Citi Sao Paulo in 1989 and held several senior roles in Finance, Private Equity and Global Markets with assignments in Sao Paulo, New York and London.

Flavio also serves on the Board of Trustees of Cancer Care in New York.

Gonzalo Garcia

Gonzalo Garcia MBA1993

Former Co-Head Investment Banking Division (IBD) EMEA, Goldman Sachs.

Gonzalo joined Goldman Sachs as an executive director in 1999 and was named managing director in 2002 and partner in 2008.

He served on the European Management Committee, IBD Executive Committee, IBD Council for the Advancement of Racial Equity, Sustainable Finance Steering Group and the Global Inclusion and Diversity Committee.

Throughout his career, Gonzalo has specialised in the utilities sector, advising governments and private companies in Latin America, Asia and Europe on industry restructurings, privatisations, cross-border transactions and financings.

Gonzalo also led the development of the IBD infrastructure business. Prior to assuming his current role, he was co-head of Latin America, co-head of the Global Natural Resources Group in the IBD, and head of IBD for Latin America. Earlier in his career, he was head of the EMEA Natural Resources Group and co-head of Global Power and Infrastructure.

Gonzalo is also a member of the School’s Governing Body.

Paul Goddard MBA1998

President & Chief Executive Officer, Pizza Pizza Limited.

Paul has been President & CEO of Pizza Pizza Limited, Canada’s largest national pizza chain, since 2010.   Paul also sits on the board of Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp (TSX: PZA.TO), a publicly-traded royalty corporation, related to Pizza Pizza.

Prior to Pizza Pizza, Paul was an energy sector executive and entrepreneur, with experience in the UK, US, and Canada, and has worked for firms including Morgan Stanley, Just Energy,  Wholesale Energy Group, Enron Europe, Imperial Oil (Esso Canada), BuildOnline, and Ontario Watt Exchange.

In addition to his LBS MBA, Paul holds an honours Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada), is a licensed Professional Engineer, and is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization Gold Chapter (YPO Gold, Toronto).

Andreas Guldin

Andreas Guldin MBA1993

CEO at Emil Capital Partners LLC.

Andreas holds a senior position at a family business privately held for more than 150 years, which focuses on retail, real estate and direct venture investments.

He is also a Founder and CEO of Emil Capital Partners in the US.

Andreas started his career in strategy consulting and prior to his current role served as Member of the Executive Board and CFO for the German high end fashion retailer E.Breuninger GmbH & Co KG.

Kavit Handa

Chairman, Africa Capital.

Kavit was born in Kenya and educated in the UK at Millfield School in Somerset prior to gaining a place to read Law at the University of London.

After graduating from Kings College in 1992 with a degree in Management & Law, he joined the UNHCR and worked in Rwanda following the genocide, assisting with the repair and relocation of displaced persons.

Merrill Lynch & Co recruited Kavit for a role in corporate finance. After a decade long career as Senior Vice President of Merrill Lynch & Co EMEA, he decided to begin an entrepreneurial journey, co-founding The Intouch Group in 2005.

The business, rebranded to Africa Capital in 2015, after exiting its stake in the Lamu Oil Blocks, ReturnHound. and Dubai Luxury Homes.

Africa Capital is headquartered in Dubai with offices in Kenya and South Africa. (www.afcap.com) As Chairman, Kavit oversees a strategy focussed on impact driven investments.  Rural connectivity programs across the Continent are a current focus, aiming to achieve the companies stated goal of economically uplifting 20 million people by 2030.

Kavit lives in Dubai, which has been home for over 25 years with his wife Salina, he has WSET 3 in wine education and enjoys fine dining, travel and restorative meditation as his hobbies.

Eddie Lawson

Eddie Lawson MBA1999

Principal, E. Lawson Advisory Limited. General Counsel for SMEs, NED, Charity Trustee.

Eddie began his professional career in the city of London as a tax lawyer.  Following his MBA he then spent 18 years as a general counsel in a fast growing, and ultimately global, healthcare business, working and managing teams across the world.

Eddie now divides his time between serving as a portfolio general counsel for a range of startups in different sectors, helping them look and act more grownup and in a way that serves shareholders, and non-profit activities, mostly focused on education, and children’s cancer.

His education at LBS is the cornerstone of his activities and his approach both to businesses and charities, and he is passionate about fostering a giving mindset in young people.

Piers Lindsay-Fynn

Piers Lindsay-Fynn MiFPT2004

CEO, The Crescent Trust Company; Non-executive Director at Gore Street Capital.

Piers is an investor who backs entrepreneurs with the capability to disrupt financial markets in new ways. Drawn to businesses that blend strong, scalable commercial models with the ability to impact the world positively, especially in the renewable energy space.

Having started his career as a broker in London and New York, he has headed up his family’s private investment office since 2004.

Piers is also Trustee of The Lindsay-Fynn Trust (A charity established by Basil Lindsay-Fynn).

He holds a Masters in Finance from London Business School.

Nigel Morris 

Nigel Morris MSc19(1985)

Co-founder and managing partner QED Investors.

Nigel is currently with a fintech venture capital platform QED and also serves as the Chairman of ClearScore and Mission Lane. Nigel previously served on the Governing Board of the School.

Prior to QED, Nigel co-founded Capital One Financial Services in 1994. Under Nigel’s leadership as President and Chief Operating Officer, Capital One pioneered an information-based strategy that transformed the consumer lending industry.

He frequently speaks at industry-leading conferences, including Money2020, LendIt, Finance Disrupted, and the Bernstein Annual Financials Summit.

Nigel has been recognised as a Top 100 Venture Capitalist by CB Insights and a Washingtonian Tech Titan.

Terry Neill

Terry Neill MSc03(1970)

Member of the Board of Directors at Institute for International & European Affairs (IIEA).

Terry Neill is a graduate (maths & physics) of Trinity College Dublin, which also recognised his work with the Arts & Humanities with an honorary doctorate (D.Litt).

He has a Master’s degree from London Business School, where he was also a Governor for 13 years and – for most of that time – Chair of the Finance Committee.

His 30 years with Andersen Worldwide/Accenture were spent in Dublin, Chicago and London. He was chair of the worldwide board of Andersen/Accenture and global managing partner of Accenture’s change management practice. He was chair of Co-Operation Ireland in Britain, and has continued to play an active role in various strands of peace and reconciliation across Ireland.

Since returning to Ireland in 2004, he has been a Director of CRH plc, Bank of Ireland Group, UBM plc, Camerata Ireland and Wexford Festival Opera. He also chaired technology companies in Britain and Finland. He has been a member of Provost’s Cabinet and Provost’s Council of Trinity College.

He is a member of the board of the Institute for International and European Affairs (IIEA) – one of Europe’s leading think tanks.

He was a contributing author to the Harvard book: “Breaking the Code of Change”.

Marianthi ODwyer

Marianthi O’Dwyer MBA1997

Vice President, The Walt Disney Company.

Marianthi joined The Walt Disney Company in September 1997 as Sales and Licensing Manager, based in Greece. After two years she moved to London and held a number of UK and Regional roles within Consumer Products, most recently leading on Food, Health and Beauty Licensing in EMEA, overseeing a $2b at retail business.

In addition to the FMCG role, Marianthi was responsible for National Geographic Licensing for EMEA, as well as leading on Healthy Living in the UK, delivering an integrated CSR, Brand and Media offering, to drive lasting change in families.

Prior to that, Marianthi held the position of National Account Manager at SEGA.

Marianthi is currently on a sabbatical.

Michael-ODwyer

Michael O’Dwyer MBA1998

Managing Director, Global Co-Head Energy Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley.

In his current role Michael focuses on oil & gas and energy transition. Michael joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 and is responsible for coverage of a wide range of clients in the natural resources sector

Prior to that, Michael spent 11 years with Lehman Brothers in the European energy group and five years working with Eni SpA as an engineer in the Exploration & Production division, based in Italy and Norway.

In his investment banking career, Michael has advised on numerous M&A assignments for leading companies in all areas of the resources sector, as well as assisting in raising both debt and equity financing for a wide range of companies globally.

Liza Overs MBA1998

Director, Tesari Holdings Inc.

Liza is Director of Tesari Holdings, a holding company and family office entity with various real estate and other investment holding companies, including the parent company of the privately held Pizza Pizza Limited.

Liza has held management roles at firms such as British Telecom and Pizza Pizza Limited, and also leveraged her entrepreneurial and e-commerce skills at Invaluable.com and Morgan Stanley, during her 5 years in London. In addition to her LBS MBA,  Liza holds an honours Bachelor of Arts in History from McGill University.

Sonjoy Phukan

Sonjoy Phukan MBA2005

Global Chief Operating Officer, Bank of Singapore.

Sonjoy was appointed Global Chief Operating Officer of Bank of Singapore on 1 February 2017. He is responsible for the bank’s strategic change and transformation programs.

Prior to joining Bank of Singapore, Sonjoy served as the Chief Operating Officer for Asia, Middle East and Africa Offshore, and more recently as the Deputy CEO for the Asian wealth business based in Singapore at Barclays Wealth.

Sonjoy had previously worked for Barclays in London where he was Market Head for the Africa Offshore and NRI business in EMEA; and. He had has also held  roles at Goldman Sachs’ and JP Morgan Chase.

He has an MBA from the London Business School and a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Michael Schad

Michael Schad MiFFT2003

Partner, Head of Coller Credit Secondaries, Coller Capital.

As Head of Investment Management, Michael is responsible for helping to develop, and ensuring implementation of, Coller Capital’s investment strategy. He is based in the firm’s London office.

Prior to joining Coller Capital in 2005, Michael worked in the investment banking divisions of Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston in London.

Campaign Leadership Board Ambassadors

Gigi Lee Chang MBA1997

Managing Partner, BFY Capital and Founder of  Plum Organics. 

Gigi is a Managing Partner at BFY Capital, a privately-owned debt financing company focused on providing growth capital to “better for you” consumer brands in the food, beverage, beauty, pet, household and wellness sectors to support scale and growth with minimal dilution.

Gigi is the Founder of Plum Organics, was CEO of the national children’s environmental health non-profit Healthy Child Healthy World and founding Managing Director of food ecosystem accelerator FoodFutureCo.

Named one of the top women leaders in the “future of food” by Forbes and a top dealmaker and influencer in consumer food and beverage by CircleUp, Gigi is a frequent speaker on social enterprise, sustainability, impact investing and entrepreneurship.  Recent speaking engagements include Nutrition Capital Network, SXSW, FoodVision, FoodTank Summit, EscaBona, and FounderMade.

She is an advisor, board member and mentor to numerous early stage companies.  Her philanthropic and board affiliations include Naturally Network, Naturally New York, Venture for America, and One Green Thing.

Ahmed Galal Ismail

Ahmed Galal Ismail MBA2002

Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim Holdings.

Ahmed is currently the CEO of the real estate operator and developer Majid Al Futtaim with business interests across the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman, Bahrain and Lebanon.

Prior to this, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Ventures as well as chairman of Enova.

Ahmed started his career with Procter and Gamble in Egypt and Germany before joining the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where he advised organisations and governments in the retail, media, tourism and transportation sectors.

Ahmed also serves on the board of Endeavor, a global non-profit dedicated to high-impact entrepreneurship and is a non-executive director of the Arab Investment Bank.

Ahmed is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Industry Action Group on Real Estate.

Sakate Khaitan

Sakate Khaitan MBA2003

Senior Partner, Founder, Khaitan Legal Associates.

Sakate heads corporate, insurance and financial services practice at Khaitan Legal Associates. He also advises clients on general corporate matters, capital markets, structured and corporate finance, employment and real estate matters.

Prior to this, Sakate served at the law firm Khaitan & Co, where he specialised in commercial, companies and securities laws, indirect and direct taxation and procedural laws, as well as at ALMT Legal, where he headed the financial services practice.

During his time at London Business School, Sakate co-founded the India Business Forum, a platform that encouraged cross border investment from and to India. He has contributed to several publications including Real Estate Finance: Law, Regulation and Practice and Outsourcing to India: The Offshore Advantage.

Sakate has been recognised as a leading lawyer for Investment Funds and Insurance (Legal 500) and Rising Star 2013 for Insurance related matters (Thomson Reuters).

Coye Nokes

Coye Nokes MBA2003

Partner, OC&C Strategy Consultants.

Lead of US Consumer & Retail Practice.

Coye is a Partner in OC&C’s Retail and Consumer Practice and the lead of the US Consumer & Retail Practice. Her work includes corporate strategy where she advises companies on topics like growth strategy, market expansion and digital and omni-channel retail.  Coye’s clients also include private equity funds and banks where she advises on M&A transactions.

She is also an entrepreneur, having launched and built a luxury footwear brand.  The brand reached distribution across the US, Asia and Europe with showrooms in Europe and US – and exclusive distribution agreements in China and South Korea.

Coye is an MBA from London Business School and has served as a member of the Alumni Council for the past 7 years.  She is passionate about raising the profile of LBS and helping the school stay connected to the alumni community.

Coye brings passion and an entrepreneurial mindset to her interests – both personal and professional.  She is an avid runner having completed a number of races including marathons in both New York and Paris.

James Penney

James Penney SLN1998

Chairman, Darwin Alternative Investment Management Limited.

James’s early career was in academia. In 1998 he co-founded a strategy consulting firm Darwin Consulting, where he served as the Managing Director, providing strategic advice to directors and investors in a range of industries, including financial services, private equity and media.

From 2007 to 2014, James was also Vice-Chairman of Max Bank, a retail bank specialising in micro-credit and SME finance in the Philippines. Since 2016 James also served as Board member of the Finnish company Loudspring Oy that focuses on Nordic growth companies that save natural resources.

Gregory Piccininno

Gregory Piccininno MBA1993

International Sales and Capital Markets, EarlyBirdCapital, Inc.

Greg Piccininno is an adjunct professor in Industrial and Organizational Behavior, a consultant on fund raising and an executive coach for mid to senior level executives.  

Prior to retiring from Wall Street, Greg built, and lead industry ranked and recognized global sales teams for twenty years. Greg is an advocate for employee empowerment and during his tenor leading teams, he developed his seven rules of team management titled Greg’s Seven or GSeven, created one of the first DEI Manager Training Programs in the industry and has used his position to promote advancement through education. 

 He has served on large and small boards and was the only non-Brazilian elected to the board of directors of a $35 billion revenue SOE company, where he was on the Strategic Planning Committee and Related Party Transactions Committee.  

 He has also served as an advisory board member for startups. Greg brings a wealth of international management and sales experience, as well as a long track record mentoring 

his employees and those outside his organizations. He has held management positions at Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and Citi. 

 He has an MA in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from New York University, an MBA from London Business School, and a BS from Northeastern University. 

Tim Reimer

Tim Reimer MBA25(1988)

Retired.

Tim has over 30 years’ experience managing assets and liabilities for financial institutions in the US, including AmVestors, AmerUs and Aviva, with a focus on leading hedge fund teams.

After ten years, AmVestors was bought by AmerUs, a Des Moines based insurance company. While at AmerUs, Tim headed the Aternative Strategy Team, which saw an expansion of the Hedge Fund Program and the entry into Funding Agreements, the insurance industry’s equivalent to a long-term Certificate of Deposit.

AmerUs was acquired by Aviva, a London based Insurance and Investment Management concern. Tim relocated to New York, and further built out a Hedge Fund team. Hedge Fund assets under his management peaked at just over $3 billion. The Funding Agreement Program reached just over $5 billion in out standings.

Tim lives in Key, West Florida and Nederland, Colorado. He is active in investment management providing his services to friends and family pro bono.

Christiana Riley

Christiana Phillips Riley MBA2005

Regional Head of North America, Santander.

Christiana joined Deutsche Bank in September 2006, and held a number of roles with the bank’s Group Strategy division and served as the bank’s Head of Corporate Strategy from 2011-2015.

In 2015, she became CFO of Deutsche Bank’s global Corporate & Investment Bank, responsible for DB’s largest operating division.

From 2016-2019, Christiana served as Chairman of the Audit Committee of Deutsche Postbank AG, and following its merger, as Audit Committee Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Deutsche Privat und Firmenkunden AG.

Christiana serves on the Board of Directors of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, American Council on Germany, and Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP). She also serves on the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House and is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the Institute of International Bankers. She also is a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship, and the Cranach Foundation.

Christiana graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages and Literature. She holds an MBA from the London Business School.