Governors and Staff

An old boy of Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Boys, a graduate of Manchester University with a degree in Medical Microbiology and an alumnus of the London Business School Sloan Fellowship Programme, Simon has spent 40 years as an executive or venture capital investor in life-science and technology firms. As Chief Executive Officer he led ApaTech Ltd, an Elstree-based orthobiologics company, to significant global success prior to its sale to a US firm in 2010. Previously he was an Executive Director of Celltech Group plc and CEO, Celltech Pharmaceuticals. His early career was at Glaxo/Glaxo Wellcome plc in a series of senior UK and global sales, marketing, supply chain, business development and commercial strategy roles. Simon is currently non-executive Chairman of OssDsign AB, a Swedish customised implant business, Chairman of Oviva AG, a Swiss based diabetes and obesity management business, and Chairman of Ieso Digital Health, the leading UK provider of online mental healthcare. He also sits on the Board of BoneSupport AB, a Swedish orthopaedic business and is a Director of Route 2 Property Ltd and a number of community sports organisations.  In addition to his role as Chairman of the Aske Board, Simon sits on the Court of Assistants of the Haberdashers’ Company and several of its committees. He was made OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours in 2016 for services to the life-science sector.

Julian was born in Beckenham, Kent and now lives in Weybridge, Surrey with his wife Caroline and four daughters. He attended school at Sevenoaks then studied business at Thames Polytechnic.   His early career was at the Confederation of British Industry where he ran their commercial activities before moving into publishing with a small fast growing start up and then Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. 

In 2005 he formed Panacea Publishing International and bought Business Traveller from Euromoney.  He is today the Managing Director of Panacea and travels frequently to events and the Panacea offices overseas.  He is also Director of a small property investment company.

Before family life got rather busy he served for 23 years in the TA/Army Reserve and enjoyed diving, shooting, sailing and tennis.  Today apart from family his interests include food and wine, walking and squash.

Tim was born and educated in New Zealand and moved to the United Kingdom more than a decade ago. He practices as a solicitor specialising in financial services regulation and is a partner at an international law firm. 

Prior to practising as a solicitor Tim worked for a number of different financial services regulators.  Tim is a Liveryman of the Haberdashers’ Company and is married with two young sons.

Hetti Afolami was educated at St Mary’s School, Calne and then Durham University where she read History and Politics. She subsequently qualified as a solicitor with Allen & Overy LLP where she specialised in litigation and international arbitration.  Following a Masters in Public International Law from King’s College, London, Hetti joined the Government Legal Department’s Immigration Litigation team where she acted for the Home Office in defending challenges to their immigration decisions.

Hetti has since qualified as a mediator and now runs In Place of Strife, The Mediation Chambers which assists individuals and businesses in resolving their disputes.  Hetti is a Director of the Civil Mediation Council on behalf of In Place of Strife and chairs their Government Liaison Working Group.

Hetti is a Liveryman of the Haberdashers’ Company. She served as the Haberdasher Governor of St John the Baptist School, Hoxton for nine years.  Hetti is married with three young sons.

Shruti attended Haberdashers' Girls' School from 1990 – 1997, after which she studied Law at Downing College, Cambridge.  She began her career as a trainee lawyer at Allen & Overy in 2002, specialising in credit derivatives and capital markets (involving drafting almost all of the standard documentation in this area over the last decade). She is now a Partner and the Head of Fuse, Allen & Overy’s tech innovation space which opened in September 2017, which is aimed at identifying LegalTech companies which are relevant to its lawyers and clients.  During 2018, she has been awarded a TechWomen50 Award and a Fastcase 50 Award as well as being included in the Lawyers Hot 100 list, Brummell Magazine’s 30 Inspirational Women list and Management Today’s Power Part Timers List.

Outside of Allen & Overy, Shruti has three children (aged nine, seven, and three) and used her most recent maternity leave to undertake the FT Diploma in Non-Executive Directorships and a three month course for entrepreneurs at Google Campus, as well as being selected to partake in the Judicial Support Scheme, which is aimed at increasing diversity in the judiciary.  She also manages a sector-agnostic portfolio of private investments and recently appeared on BBC 2’s “Million Pound Menu” as a restaurant investor.

Before starting her family and political career, Caroline Clapper worked predominantly in the Film and Advertising Industry, lastly for the Scottish Media Group. More recently, she is a four-term County Councillor for Hertfordshire and three-term Borough Councillor for Hertsmere, representing Radlett, Aldenham and Elstree. She is the Deputy Leader of the Authority and is responsible for the Property and Economic Development Portfolio and is closely involved in local Planning and Highways issues. She sits on the Boards of both Elstree Studios and Aldenham Country Park and sits on the Elstree Aerodrome Consultative Committee as well as the Arsenal FC Steering Committee. She is also the Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste as well as sitting on the Education Committee at the County Council.

Caroline was previously a School Governor at Aldenham School, as well as at HJPS and Woodridge Junior School. Caroline is married to Michael Clapper (an Old Boy) and they have three children – all of whom are at Habs; one at the Girls’ School, one at the Boys’ School and one at the Pre-Prep.

Educated at King's School Worcester (choral scholar) and Whitgift, then Durham and Cambridge Universities. BSc in Geography, MEd in Educational Leadership. Taught for 15 years at Shrewsbury school before Deputy Headship at Royal Hospital School (six years) and Headships at St Edmund's School Canterbury and Bishops Stortford College (six and nine years). 

Inspector for CSCI, Ofsted and ISI.  HMC Professional Development Committee (15 years).  Now retired but continuing to work with HMC, and in consultancy.  Lover of music (pianist) and was a keen tennis player, enjoying many sports.

Educated at Haberdashers’ Girls’ School, Helen is an experienced real estate and construction leader who has worked in the commercial property sector advising investors, occupier and education clients on maximising the returns and realising the potential of their assets and estates, operating at Board level in Executive and Non-Executive roles. 

Having attained a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying, Helen qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and built a career in property consultancy at Hiller Parker, King Sturge and JLL, where she was Head of Project & Development Service, a member of their UK Executive Board, EMEA Corporate Solutions Leadership Team and Global Project & Development Services Board. Committed to diversity and inclusion, she was founder and Chair of the JLL Gender Balance Network. 

Following a period of consultancy, Helen joined the John Whitgift Foundation as Director of Property in 2021. The charity has a commitment to the elderly and young people at its three independent schools. In addition to the school and care estates, the commercial and residential portfolios have a significant role to play in funding bursaries and providing young people with access to an outstanding education.  

In a Non-Executive capacity, Helen is an Independent Co-opted Member of the Estates Strategy Committee of King's College London. The Committee is responsible for the development and management of the university's property assets across five central London locations: The Strand, Waterloo, Guy’s, St Thomas’ and Denmark Hill.

Helen was appointed a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors in 2007. Through the Academy Ambassadors Programme, she was appointed a Non-Executive Director and member of the Aquinas Academy Trust in 2015.  In 2017 she was made a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and appointed to the Property Committee.  In 2019 she was elected to the Court of Assistants. 

Pooja was a pupil at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls from 1995 to 2004. Upon leaving school, she joined the Haberdashers' Company as an apprentice and is currently a liveryman of the Company. After her years at Habs, Pooja went on to read English at Trinity College, Cambridge and then trained as a solicitor. Having begun her career working at city law firms, Allen & Overy and Macfarlanes, Pooja now works as a finance lawyer at Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator.

Prior to becoming a solicitor, Pooja qualified as a teacher through the Teach First programme, teaching English at a secondary school in Kilburn, London. Teaching and education remain interests of hers as well as volunteering.

Adam attended Haberdashers' Boys' School from 1987 to 1999. He subsequently read Social and Political Sciences at Trinity Hall, Cambridge where he achieved first class honours. He edited Varsity, the Cambridge student newspaper, which was great fun, although encounters with the reality of the journalism world convinced him to take a different tack! He began his career at Merrill Lynch in Mergers and Acquisitions before transitioning into private equity investing at Providence Equity Partners. He subsequently was a founding member of the principal finance team at Macquarie Group, investing Macquarie’s own balance sheet. This involved investing in positions right across the capital structure in varied sectors from senior secured corporate and real estate investing, to higher risk debt pieces to control equity. Adam is head of private equity investing for Macquarie in Europe. Adam has significant experience of sitting on corporate boards as he is a non-executive director of the companies that Macquarie has invested in.

Nish was educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School from 1995 to 2000, after which he studied Management at Manchester University. He began his career at the WPP advertising group and in 2007 founded SecretSales.com, which grew to become the UK’s largest designer flash sales website with over 1,500 brand partners and a 6.3 million consumer base. As CEO, Nish was responsible for various phases of rapid growth and complex digital transformation. He has been awarded 2014’s Great Britain’s Fashion Entrepreneur of the Year, and listed as one of Britain’s top retailers in 2015 by RetailWeek and in the top 10 Britain’s most Influential Entrepreneurs by Debretts & The Sunday Times in 2016.

Subsequently Nish has operated as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence for a private investment office, launched two non-alcoholic drinks brands and most recently helped scale a group of care homes for 11-18 year old children with social, emotional and mental health challenges (SEMH), rated Outstanding by OFSTED. Here he has launched and is a governor of West Lodge School, a specialist SEMH education provision in Suffolk.

Nish is married with two sons. 

Leanne was educated at Haberdashers' Girls' School.  She subsequently studied Mathematics and Psychology at Manchester University.  

Leanne works independently, running her own FD Consultancy for a portfolio of small and medium sized businesses, spanning a range of industries.   She began her career at PwC, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1993.   After then spending a number of years in commercial strategy roles including working within the retail sector at both Arcadia Group Plc and Dixons Stores Group Plc, Leanne returned to the world of Practice, where she took her commercial experience and training within industry and began her Consultancy career, advising companies on their financial planning, strategy, growth, profitability and business development. 

Leanne has a keen interest in education and was previously a school governor at a St Mary's CofE High School in Hendon.

Leanne is married with 2 daughters, one of whom currently attends the Girls' School.

Claire was educated at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls and was one of the inaugural pupils of the Prep department at Monmouth.  She then studied Marketing and German at Strathclyde University.

After four years at Coats Viyella where she was Sales Director of a hosiery division, she joined Mars Inc.  Claire spent 11 years at Mars in a number of commercial roles, and across three Mars divisions [petfood, food and confectionary].  

In 2009 she set up her own soft drinks company - Breckland Orchard, based just outside Cambridge. Breckland Orchard drinks are sold in cafes, delis and restaurants right across the UK, as well as being exported to 10 overseas markets.

Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Miray has been working in the City for more than 20 years in various senior roles at JP Morgan and Barclays. His most recent role at Barclays was head of term funding in treasury and he is in the process of moving to his next role at Lloyds Banking Group where he will head a capital markets and securitisation business.

Prior to coming to London he has worked in Romania and Turkey for the Chase Manhattan Bank. He is an engineer by background and completed his MBA at The Penn State University in the USA.

A keen tennis player when he does not suffer from tennis elbow, Miray is an avid fan of American football and an Arsenal supporter. He is a DIY enthusiast and volunteers for the Royal Free Charity, most recently in their north London vaccine drive. 

He and Ipek have two boys.

Jonny was educated at Bradford Boys Grammar. He read Engineering and Law at Cambridge University (1982-85) and attended the Wharton Advanced Management Programme in 2012. 

Jonny is a Partner at Clifford Chance and is the Global Head of Private Equity, with that practice being ranked Band 1 globally. The practice covers 87 Partners and approximately 250 lawyers in 16 countries. Jonny remains actively involved, advising Private Equity houses and corporate groups, leading investment transactions and client relationships as well as management. 

Jonny is a trustee and investment committee member of Social Business Trust, supporting the growth of social enterprises with business expertise. 

Jonny and his wife, who is a doctor, have four children, three having been previously at The Haberdashers' Boys' School, Elstree and one daughter who is currently at Haberdashers' Girls' School, Elstree.

Robert was a pupil at the Boys’ School from 1975-1986.   He studied at the London School of Economics and has an MBA from the University of Warwick. 

Robert is a Chartered Accountant (FCA), having worked at Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, and now KPMG where he leads their global Private Equity practice.  He has been involved with various charitable activities including academic and social welfare institutions, as a trustee and treasurer.  

Robert is married with two sons who previously attended the Boys’ School, and a daughter currently at the Girls’ School.

A proud Yorkshire lass, Helen was educated at Leeds Girls’ High School and read Geography at Durham.  Her initial career was in journalism, research and PR in the UK, briefly the US and then for the European Commission in Brussels.  On returning to the UK she moved into advertising and then, spurred on by her part time MBA at Bradford Management School, into Human Capital consulting.  For 14 years she was CEO of a specialist firm within the Omnicom Group where she became well known as a speaker and author on employee engagement, culture and organisational change. In 2015 she ran her own consulting business for a short time before being tempted back into corporate life as a Partner for the global branding and management consultancy Prophet for whom she travels extensively.

Helen and her husband Ian have two daughters both of whom were educated at the girls’ school from 1996 to 2011 – from Rainbow all the way through to A level.  During virtually all that time they were active committee members of the St. Catherine Parents’ Guild – Ian notably running the bar and/or Pimms tent at many a school event!  Helen was Chair of the Guild from 2008 to 2011.

Educated at Eton College and then Bristol University he has worked for Accenture and Capgemini for 23 years. He is now running Capgemini’s UK digital practice helping organisations provide new experiences, innovation, services and insight in an increasingly on-line world.

He was a school governor on the strategy committee for the Haberdasher Aske Federation for 6 years. He is a Liveryman of the Haberdashers’ Company. His interests include rackets, squash, tennis, skiing, windsurfing and travel.

Alex is married to Rachel and has two boys Ben and Tom.

Bernadette was educated at Thornton College, UK and St Peter’s Diocesan School, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and the University of Kent (History and Philosophy). 

Bernadette began her career in education at a London comprehensive and was then appointed to the newly formed staff body at the Harris City Technology College in Croydon.  While at the CTC, an innovative educational environment, Bernadette combined middle management responsibilities with studying for a MA in Education.  Middle and senior management posts leading on academic and curriculum matters at Wallington High School for Girls, a grammar school in Sutton, followed until in 2005 she was appointed Deputy Head Academic at St. Helen and St. Katharine (SHSK), Abingdon. Bernadette was appointed Deputy Head at SHSK in 2011 where her responsibilities included curriculum, assessment and provision for the most able, she also line managed the academic Heads of Department.

Sophia works at Google and currently advises their largest advertising partners across the Retail and Technology sectors on all aspects of their digital, data and technology strategy. She began her career in the creative industry, working for M&C Saatchi where she led relationships for clients before moving into global and corporate development.

Through her career Sophia has worked in a local, global and EMEA remit, and has lived in New York as well as London. She is a Marketing Academy Scholar (alumni), DMA & E-Commerce Awards Judge and recipient of the 35 under 35 Management Today/Sunday Times award. She was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College, then took an Art Foundation Diploma at Bower Ashton Bristol before attending the University of Edinburgh to study English Literature (MA Hons).