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Marie joined Barnardo’s in September 2006. Her role as Company Secretary encompasses responsibility for Legal and Data Protection, as well as Governance, for Barnardo’s and its subsidiaries. Prior to joining Barnardo’s, Marie worked in administration in the commercial sector before seizing the opportunity to put her skills to good use in the charitable sector. Marie is a Chartered Secretary and holds a degree in Scots law.

Barnardo’s is a leading UK children’s charity, with over 8,000 staff and more than 15,000 volunteers. Through its locally-based services, Barnardo’s helps children who have been sexually exploited and supports young people leaving the care system, children with a parent in prison and families struggling to cope. Barnardo’s also finds loving adoptive homes and foster placements for children in care.

Barnardo’s has over 900 services across the UK, including counselling for abused children, advocacy and vocational training and support for young carers. Barnardo’s also campaigns to improve life for the children and young people who need us most.

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Peter joined the Legal and Secretarial team of General Accident plc shortly after qualifying as a solicitor in Scotland. On the merger of General Accident and Commercial Union in 1998, Peter moved to London and joined the Group Legal and Secretarial team of the merged company, CGU plc. In the year 2000, he returned to Scotland and joined Scottish Widows plc in Edinburgh and latterly headed up the Life Assurance and Pensions legal team. In 2007, he joined Baxters Food Group as Company Secretary and Legal Counsel. He now holds a Board position as Legal and Compliance Director, retaining his role as Company Secretary of the Baxters Group’s holding company.

Sharifa Lakhani is Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary to the Holmes Care Group, a privately owned care home developer and operator with 14 care homes in the UK and over 1000 employees. Prior to joining Holmes Care, Sharifa spent 6 years working in the Legal & Secretariat team of leading consulting engineer firm Ramboll, advising on contentious and non-contentious matters and international projects.

Sharifa is currently an Executive MBA student at Imperial College Business School; she has a passion for business and the role that in-house lawyers can play in business.

I am a UK qualified lawyer and qualified company secretary. I am company secretary for Orange in UK, and have held that position since 2011. I am responsible for the company secretarial management of the UK region of Orange Group. I am also responsible for corporate governance, corporate transactions, commercial , corporate social responsibility and data protection matters for Orange operations in the UK. I am a member of the senior management team.
I previously worked at McArthurglen Group where I was responsible for all company secretarial matters.

Graham is active in all fields of company and corporate law, including private acquisitions and disposals, public takeovers, joint ventures and public equity offerings.

Graham also chairs the firm’s international committee.

Nilufer has developed a wide corporate, commercial and financing practice, with a corporate client base ranging from large listed companies to small listed and unlisted companies. Her practice includes private and public mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, IPOs and other UKLA work, financings, equity and debt capital markets transactions and corporate governance.

She has worked in a range of industries, including financial services, telecoms, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, infrastructure, retail and media.

Nilufer is Head of our Equity Capital Markets practice. She is listed for M&A in The Legal 500, 2014, as a leading lawyer in the Capital Markets – Equity section of IFLR 1000, 2015  and also features in City A.M.’s  ‘Power Hundred 2011’, a list of the most influential people in the City. Nilufer was awarded ‘Best in capital markets – equity’ by Euromoney Legal Media Group’s  Europe Women in Business Law Awards in 2013 and 2014.

Nilufer has contributed the UK section in the Kluwer Law International best-selling publication entitled ‘Corporate Acquisitions and Mergers’.

Successively legal Counsel, contracts Director and now General Counsel for several SAFRAN entities in France, US and the UK since 2004. Gaelle Moss’ main role is to negotiate contracts with Air framers for the sale of aircraft parts. Gaelle also acts as Company secretary for the UK subsidiaries of SAFRAN.

Gaelle earned a LLB from the University of Kent and a Master’s degree from  ESCP Europe Business school.

Robert initially worked in a benefits consultancy advising companies on employee share schemes and managing a team of share schemes administrators.  He then joined BT’s Company Secretary’s Department where he held a number of roles including share registration and shareholder relations, stock exchange compliance and company secretarial administration for subsidiaries and joint ventures.  In 2001, on the demerger of the O2 mobile business from BT, he was appointed as Assistant Company Secretary to O2 plc (a FTSE 30 company) where he set up up a new Secretariat function.  Following the acquisition of O2 by Telefonica S.A. in 2006, Robert was appointed to the position of Company Secretary, Telefonica Europe plc (the former O2 plc now unlisted) with a reporting line to the Telefonica Secretariat in Madrid.

Julia Lopez-Spencer, Legal Counsel admitted in Argentina with UK legal qualifications and professional legal experience in South America and in the UK. Currently working at Northgate Information Solutions Limited as Assistant Global Company Secretary and appointed Regional Legal Counsel Latin America.

I practised as a corporate and banking lawyer in Argentina until 2001 and then moved to the UK where I did a Master Degree in Venture Capital and converted my law degree. Since then, I have been practising as a corporate lawyer in the UK, mainly in private practice until 2012 when I was appointed Assistant Global Company Secretary and Regional Legal Counsel Latin America at Northgate Information Solutions Limited.

William specialises in corporate finance, including securities issues and mergers and acquisitions, acting for a number of major corporate clients on a wide range of transactions and advisory matters. He has been an editor of ‘Weinberg & Blank on Takeovers’ since March 1995.

William is Chairman of the City of London Law Society Company Law Committee.

Lucy joined HS1 as General Counsel & Company Secretary in September 2011, following the company’s acquisition by Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Having successfully completed a £1.6 billion refinancing of HS1’s acquisition debt in 2013, Lucy’s role has now expanded beyond the legal and company secretarial function to include responsibility for the management of risk and insurance, as well as HS1’s planning, property, heritage, environment and procurement functions.

Lucy has extensive experience in the rail industry, having previously acted as senior legal advisor to Porterbrook Leasing Company Limited, one of the UK’s rolling stock operating companies. In 2014, she featured in The Lawyer magazine’s Hot 100 list and was also part of the judging panel for the prestigious Lawyer Awards.

Neil joined thetrainline.com in March 2005 and his role is Legal and HR Director and Group Company Secretary. He sits on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of Trainline Investments Holdings Limited.  Prior to joining the Company, he worked for four years at Inmarsat Plc, a satellite communications company, as Senior Attorney working on corporate finance and commercial matters, including a number of high yield bond issues, a private equity acquisition of the company and the implementation of a global distribution system. From 1998 to 2000, he worked as a senior solicitor at Nabarro, a law firm in London, primarily relating to merger and acquisition transactions and commercial work.  Neil also practised commercial law for four years at a shipping and transport law firm in the City upon qualification as a solicitor. He qualified as a solicitor in the UK in 1996.

Trainline is the UK’s leading online provider of rail tickets and journey planning and sets the pace in mobile rail-commerce with its app ranked #1 in travel. In January 2015, prior to partnering with KKR, Trainline announced an Intention To Float.  The acquisition of Trainline by KKR was announced later that month.

As Managing Director of Company Secretarial Services, Tracey leads our Company Secretarial team of over 55 qualified and part qualified chartered secretaries across our London, Exeter, Krakow and Dubai offices. Her role encompasses technical, financial and team management responsibilities.
An experienced company secretary, Tracey has worked extensively on a diverse portfolio of companies, both UK and offshore domiciled. Tracey joined Capita Company Secretarial Services in July 2006. She began her career as a trainee company secretary at an investment house in 1999, providing in house and outsourced company secretarial services to investment companies.

Jonathan joined Capita Company Secretarial Services in April 2008. He is a member of the Senior Management Team who are collectively responsible for the management of the business, including the development of new services and business development. He manages teams of company secretaries overseeing relationships with key clients and delivering a full range of secretarial services to a diverse portfolio of main market and AIM companies, including both UK and offshore domiciled companies. As well as overseeing the work of his teams he continues to act as secretary to the boards of key clients. Jonathan began his career as a company and trust administrator with a major Jersey-based law firm, then spent six years as Assistant to the Company Secretary of Ecclesiastical, a listed financial services group. He was elected as an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in 2004 and as a Fellow in 2013.

Natalie Speranza joined Capita Company Secretarial Services in September 2014. She is a member of the Senior Management Team, collectively responsible for performance and management of the business, including the growth of new services and business development.
Natalie brings to Capita Asset Services prior experience as an in-house lawyer, having qualified in Australia and the UK where she advised across multiple jurisdictions. She has experience in providing commercial legal support to executive management teams and managing strategic corporate projects, all within the unlisted environment. With formal qualifications in both law and technology, Natalie is passionate about innovation in corporate governance and strong stakeholder engagement.

Steve Gale is an audit partner in the London Corporates team at Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP. He works with a mix of listed and private company clients as well as major firms of professional practices operating through limited liability partnerships.

Steve is co-author of Alcock, Birds and Gale on the Companies Act 2006, published by Jordans, and has contributed chapters on Accounts and Audit to Gore Browne on Companies. he is a member of the Steering Group for the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting by Limited Liability Partnerships’ and produced the Accounting Digest on LLPs published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

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Originally qualified as a Scots lawyer, Alan worked in private practice in Edinburgh, Hong Kong and London before moving in-house as a specialist in aircraft finance with British Airways Plc.  He was company secretary there for twelve years, a period which included the merger with Iberia.  In 2013 he became company secretary of BUPA followed by an interim role as Legal Director and Company Secretary of the John Lewis Partnership.  He is currently interim Legal Director for Bicester Village and Kildare Village.

Tracey Nicholls is a Senior Manager within Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), Insurance Secretariat and is a Chartered Secretary. During her time with Insurance, Tracey has been the Secretary to various regulated and unregulated statutory boards, a number of senior executive committees and Deputy Secretary at Scottish Widows Board. She currently supports the main Insurance Board attending these meetings with the Company Secretary. She has been involved in a wide variety of projects including capital restructures, sales of businesses, governance re-designs and legal entity restructures. Prior to LBG, Tracey worked in Barclays PLC in Group Secretariat and in Abbey National plc (Santander) in a variety of roles.

Nicholas Eldred, solicitor, is an experienced general counsel and secretary, who was until recently the secretary and group general counsel of Christie’s, the global art people. Before that, he held similar positions at the BBC and O2. He is currently Chairman of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust, an award-winning charity which helps young people help themselves and others.

After passing out from Sandhurst and completing an extended short Service Commission, Paul started helping individuals to have what he calls ‘real conversations’ towards the end of the 1980s

By the early 90s, whilst it was already apparent that he could successfully help people to change their thinking and behaviour it was also now obvious to him that he did not know what worked, why it worked and how it worked. He enrolled to read Psychology at UEL and after 12 years of study and research he emerged with a PhD. from Brunel University for his research into conflict resolution mechanisms for call centre agents. This research was in fact to become an important precursor of the current Not just talk methodology.

In the last 12 months Paul Furey Ltd have carried out projects across Europe and the United States. Paul and his team consult across many sectors and company sizes.

Tosin Adeniyi, a qualified Company Secretary and an Associate member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators is the Group Assistant Company Secretary for Domestic & General Group Limited, a company which specialises in product protection in the form of Extended Warranties & Insurance. Tosin’s experience includes board and executive committee governance, entity subsidiary management; advising and implementing robust group wide Corporate Governance procedures and policies; shareholder strategies; share schemes; corporate restructurings.

Alistair joined The FA in 2004 from Bird & Bird solicitors. Appointed Head Of Legal, he was later chosen to become the organisation’s first Group Legal Director when The FA and Wembley Stadium amalgamated in 2009.

His team oversee all non-football governance and football regulatory legal matters across The FA and its subsidiary companies. He is the executive lead at St George’s Park and holds the position of company secretary, overseeing the corporate governance issues of The FA Group and Council.

Jonathan has wide-ranging expertise in board governance, risk and control at organisations of all shapes and sizes. Since he co-founded Independent Audit Limited as a governance advisory firm in 2002, it has become a market leader in board effectiveness reviews and other high-level governance advice. He has worked with many of Independent Audit’s major clients, including ARM Holdings, Centrica, Imperial Tobacco, Lloyds Banking Group, Mondi, Prudential, Standard Chartered and Tate & Lyle. His work with unlisted clients is similarly wide-ranging, with clients such as the BMW Pension Scheme, Cambridge University Hospitals, Canopius, Euroclear, Financial Conduct Authority, National Trust for Scotland, Nationwide Building Society, OCS, QBE Europe, Swinton and Welsh Water.

Jonathan has been the audit committee chairman of a foreign-owned bank in London, is a member of the ICAEW’s Financial Services Risk and Regulation sub-committee and has twice been invited to give evidence before Parliamentary Committees. He was formerly a financial services partner in PwC in Moscow and London.

Peter Swabey is Policy & Research Director at the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA). Based in London, he is responsible for developing the profile of the Institute to members, regulators, policymakers, employers and other stakeholders by delivering thought leadership and lobbying campaigns aligned to ICSA strategy and promoting strong governance as the vital ingredient for success in organisations.

Peter, who joined ICSA in 2013, has almost 30 years’ industry experience. He joins from Equiniti where he was Company Secretary and Industry Leadership Director; he was also a Director of Equiniti David Venus, Equiniti’s Company Secretarial Services provider. Peter is a member of the ICSA Company Secretary’s Forum, the CBI Companies Committee, the QCA Corporate Governance Expert Group and the Shareholder Voting Working Group, as well as being an Alternate Member of the Takeover Panel and a past Chairman of the ICSA Registrars Group.

A history graduate, and Fellow of ICSA, Peter is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events, with an industry-wide reputation as an expert on shareholder and corporate governance matters.