Leadership & Governance

Lutfi is a partner of Maxim Corporate Finance LLP. He is a financial services entrepreneur. He began his 35-year career in accounting with Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young). Through the course of successive appointments with UK firms, Lutfi specialised in financial services. Joining Leigh Carr in 1995 where he provided business consultancy services to investment houses and property companies. He formulated pension scheme and corporate structures for overseas companies. In 2001 he joined Shaw Walker as an Audit Partner

He set up Ashfields (changed its name to McMillan Woods in 2010) since 2004, his focus returned to business consultancy, advising firms on new UK Operations, corporate finance, audit, tax and accounts. He is the co-founder of several financial services organisations, including Montagu Financial Services (2005), Maxim Corporate Finance LLP (2007), Chancery Capital Markets plc (2008) and PP Investco Limited (2009).

Lutfi has an MBA from Middlesex University and a degree in International Business and Management of Companies from Pace University. Lutfi is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Accountants [FCCA], a Certified Public Accountant in Australia, a Member of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants [CA], a Member of Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments [MCIS], and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

For the past 18 years, Lutfi Talib has negotiated, executed and managed investments and projects in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Slovakia, and added value to portfolio investments through strategic, organisational, operational and financial leadership. Since 2007 he has focused on researching, evaluating and selecting projects in the Agriculture, Bio Fuels and Renewable Energy Sectors in London for inclusion in a Private Equity Fund. Under the current economic climate Lutfi Talib has been approached to explore and examine the alternative investment class and markets.

In June 2010 he has appointed to lead AEP Networks of UK (a company with a strong security and encryption products for financial services, marine and defence industry) in South East Asia based in Singapore.

Lutfi Talib is currently President of the Singapore Business Group and has hosted a number of events in London and has had in attendance a number of distinguished guests and speakers. He is FSA Registered under the number LXT01071

Waheed is a senior financial services executive (Chairman, CEO, MD) with over three decades of successful track record in Global Financial Centers in investment banking, M&A, asset & wealth management and corporate finance. Waheed played a pioneering role in the establishment and promotion of Islamic banking in Europe since 1998 as Lead-founder of first Islamic bank in UK. Waheed has led management teams at global players like QCC, Chapterhouse, Pairstech, IBB, IIBU, UBS, HSBC, Citigroup.

Waheed is a founding member of the Bank of England working party on Islamic mortgages. This working group made a history by bringing change in the British Constitution to abolish double stamp duty on Islamic Mortgages. Waheed is a founding Member UK technical group at Securities Investment Institute for Islamic Finance Qualification, as well as corporate finance. Waheed has chaired and organized various Banking training courses, seminars and conferences around the Globe. Waheed co-authored a book on Islamic Retail Banking & Finance – global challenges published by Euro-money UK. Waheed was awarded Hon. Professor dip from EuroAsian Economic Club of Scientists Kazakhstan and is General advisor of International Project at G-Global platform of Kazakhstan and a moderator at Astana Economic Forum.

Manvedeep Singh, known as Manav, is a British‑based businessman whose experience extends across healthcare, technology, finance, and related sectors.

Endowed with global interests and a keen strategic mind, he combines foresight with measured and decisive execution. His present interests encompass care villages, care homes, home care services, e‑commerce ventures, cybersecurity, professional service firms, artificial intelligence businesses, and beyond.

Mr. Singh serves as founder, adviser, and Non‑Executive Director to various enterprises. A relationship‑minded gentleman with a no‑nonsense approach, he remains open to new associations built upon integrity, purpose, and mutual respect.

Viktor Bronzovic is a technology entrepreneur defined by resilience, strategic foresight, and execution.

• 2017 — Began under mentorship in custom wooden jewelry manufacturing; launched his first
• profitable product line and mastered digital advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Etsy.
• 2020 — When COVID-19 disrupted supply chains, he pivoted swiftly to selling elastic bands and
• mask-making materials, generating multiple six-figure revenues during lockdown.2021 — Entered organic dropshipping via TikTok and Instagram; built and exited several ecommerce stores at peak valuation.
• 2022 — Expanded into consulting, guiding entrepreneurs in store creation and organic traffic
• growth. Partnered with HK Brokers to facilitate client exits.
• 2023–2025 — Developed TikTok Shop strategies for leading supplement brands, including CataKor (formerly Reus Research), Top Shelf, and Goli Nutrition, driving affiliate growth and content-driven sales.

Today, as CEO of Xyra Group, Viktor oversees streamlined e-commerce transactions, client acquisition and growth strategies that scale brands across emerging digital marketplaces.

Robin is a CFO with deep experience across life sciences, technology, and manufacturing, partnering with ambitious businesses to scale, raise capital, and deliver successful exits. A Fellow of the ICAEW with a Corporate Finance qualification, he has led fundraising from seed to IPO, guided trade sales and PE acquisitions, and built finance functions that drive growth and transformation. Known for his hands-on approach and investor network, Robin brings both financial rigour and operational insight to help companies achieve their next stage of development.

His record includes shaping exit strategies that have delivered landmark deals, such as the £230m sale of Bio Products Laboratory to Bain Capital, the £75m trade sale of CP Electronics to Legrand, and securing multimillion-pound equity, debt, and grant funding for innovative MedTech and biotech ventures.

Beginning his career with KPMG before moving into private equity at Legal & General Ventures, Robin brings the perspective of both investor and operator. He is known for his ability to stabilise, scale, and prepare businesses for growth and exit, with a steady hand in high-pressure environments. Robin thrives at the intersection of science and finance, most recently serving as COO/CFO for IsomAb, a university spin-out developing a monoclonal antibody therapy.

Earlier, he played a pivotal role in the commercialisation of groundbreaking diagnostics at Imspex and the launch of novel therapeutics at Purespring. His expertise extends beyond financing into operational execution: implementing ERP and FP&A systems, reshaping finance functions, and aligning multi- departmental strategies with investor expectations.

After 45 years in the accounting profession, I moved into the next stage of my career in July 2021. I’ve had the privilege of serving on several boards and engaging in numerous fulfilling endeavors.

I was an audit partner working with UK/US reporting and global organisations. I was head of the Cambridge office, served as an elected member of the oversight board for 8 years, and audit committee for 4 years.

To continue supporting companies with global aspirations, I’ve joined Centri Business Consulting as a Senior Director, International Practice. I work closely with the technical accounting team to support UK-based pre-IPO companies in the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq listing process and help UK companies establish a presence and undertake transactions in the US.

My other roles since retirement have included:

• Ongoing: Non-Executive Director (NED) at Alvio Network, bringing experience and expertise across finance, compliance, regulatory oversight, fundraising and USA market entrance.
• Ongoing: Treasurer and Director of the Cambridge Law Society following an invitation from their President
• Ongoing: Advisory board member of Astel Ventures focused on helping fast-growing companies raise capital
• Served for over two years as Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee and director of its trading subsidiary for Founders4Schools, in response to a request from Sherry Coutu, the founder of the charity and a friend.
• Served as a Non-Executive Director (NED) at CFPro providing financial services and CFOs to support companies through growth surges and significant transitional events for nearly three years until its sale in December 2023
• Consulted with boards in the property, drainage, digital marketing and technology sectors.

Dave is an accomplished leader in eCommerce, Digital, and OmniChannel strategy with a proven track record of driving commercial growth, delivering digital transformation, and enhancing customer experience across a range of industries and international markets. With over two decades of experience spanning retail, luxury, consumer goods, and consultancy, Dave has consistently combined strategic vision with hands-on expertise to deliver outstanding results.

Dave began their career at HMV, where they successfully managed the £50m Oxford Circus flagship store before moving into digital. In thisrole, they spearheaded initiatives in conversion rate optimisation, web analytics, onsite navigation, and internal search, as well as introducing pioneering projects such as ratings and reviews, multivariate testing, and early digital download and streaming solutions.

At Clarks, Dave launched and then scaled the brand’s European eCommerce businessfrom the ground up, growing revenuesto £20m before stepping into the role of eCommerce and Digital Director for the UK and Europe. Leading a £100m turnover business with a 55-strong team, they oversaw five new EU sites, expanded into major marketplaces, and implemented advanced tools including Maxymiser, Content Square, and ShoeFitr to optimise performance. Notably Dave delivered double-digit profit growth for two consecutive years, improved conversion rates across all devices, and successfully led a major replatforming to SAP Hybris, delivered on time and on budget. Alongside this, they championed key OmniChannel innovations, including a new click-and-collect model, eReceipts, and the extension of fulfilment from distribution centres to the full retail estate.

Following Clarks, Dave built a successful interim and consultancy career, supporting businesses such as Datwyler, where they shaped digital product roadmaps, introduced trading disciplines, and advised on organisational design. AsInterim Head of Global eCommerce and Digital for Puig-owned luxury fragrance brands Penhaligon’s and L’Artisan Parfumeur, [Name] achieved significant commercial turnaround—delivering sales and profit targets, growing full-price business by 50% year on year, and embedding eCommerce at the heart of brand strategy. They also oversaw a major website replatform to SAP Hybris and delivered innovative customer experience initiatives, including personalised fragrance profiling.

Additional consultancy projects included advising Pure Electric on marketplace strategy, where their recommendations informed the launch of Moose, a successful resale-focused brand. Most recently, Dave founded and ran an independent online retail business, Elston & Son, specialising in West Country artisan food and drink. Leveraging BigCommerce and a suite of integrated digital tools, they achieved 100% year-on-year growth, before closing the business due to challenging market conditions for small independents.

Throughout their career, Dave has demonstrated exceptional commercial acumen, digital expertise, and leadership in building high-performing teams and delivering transformational change. Their breadth of experience across both established global brands and entrepreneurial ventures uniquely positions them to drive growth and innovation in the evolving digital landscape.

Karl has functioned as Senior Legal Counsel in London for well over a decade with Total, the French energy major.

His role encompassed all legal, regulation, compliance and company secretarial aspects of Total’s renewables and derivatives business.

His combined advisory and executive experience has afforded Karl a holistic view of corporate management and finance.

In recent years, Karl has led a Deutsche Bank team as board director and relationship manager of a portfolio of capital markets and real estate investment companies. Board director of the Battersea Power Station Redevelopment.

In recent years, Karl has led a Deutsche Bank team as board director and relationship manager of a portfolio of capital markets and real estate investment companies. Board director of the Battersea Power Station Redevelopment

Financing

Karl was Capital Markets board director and relationship manager of J.P. Morgan’s global Corsair note issuance programme. He developed a way to market for investors who were otherwise lacking this capability. This by way of investing into Corsair (total investment value ten billion USD).

These funds being utilised for frequent capital markets’ notes issues (typically 100 million USD / 1 billion yen each over fifteen years, for which securities were bought). Karl also assisted J.P Morgan’s in- house / external local legal counsel, in respect of producing legal opinions for new markets and products.

Case in point being J.P. Morgan wishing to trade a particular new to market financial product. The crux here was whether a licence was required, to trade the product. Such a licence was unavailable to a company like theirs, (assuming a licence was indeed needed). Trading without an appropriate licence obviously having serious consequences.

M&A

Either as advisor, or executive, M&A has remained a core area of responsibility. This includes licensing, collaboration and private financing documentation for early-stage companies. Negotiating and closing deals whilst navigating today’s complex and ever more regulated landscape:

• Strategic acquisition of distressed assets;
• Spin-offs, carve-outs and divestitures;
• Private equity funded buyouts;
• Venture capital funding;
• Deals with academic, medical and research institutions.

Sir Rupert qualified as a Solicitor in 1978 and practised in the City of London specialising in Company and Commercial work acting for Public Companies and a large Central London commercial and residential estate owned by a Charity.

He then moved out of London and was a Partner with a medium-sized private client and commercial firm heading up their Property Department. He specialised in mainly high value property work acting for private clients’ developers and commercial companies. crafting and executing strategic roadmaps that have catalyzed the acquisition, integration, and growth of $1 billion in revenue through over 200 international business acquisitions.

Rupert set up his own firm in 1992 and built a successful niche practice. Rupert is also an experienced NonExecutive Director Board Adviser and Trustee in particular being a Non-Executive Director of Dorothy House Hospice which he helped run for many years. He remains an Ambassador of the Hospice now. Rupert has provided considerable support and expertise in good corporate governance and added value advice over many years.

As a former founder of Thrasio, I was fortunate to witness our original team of 4 grow into a 1500 person, multibillion dollar powerhouse. At work and in life, I am a polymath with unrelenting energy, curiosity, and creative problem solving skills.

Accomplished Chief Strategy Officer with a proven record in driving substantial growth and innovation within dynamic markets. Expert in crafting and executing strategic roadmaps that have catalyzed the acquisition, integration, and growth of $1 billion in revenue through over 200 international business acquisitions.

Demonstrates unparalleled skill in market analysis, identifying multimillion-dollar growth opportunities, and executing strategic acquisitions. Renowned for innovation leadership, having developed multiple marketleading products, rebrand executions, and marketing strategies that address critical demand blind spots, significantly enhancing product life cycles and sales.

Adept in fostering robust stakeholder collaboration, guiding cross-functional teams, and leading executive leadership efforts to secure and expand over 230 e-commerce brands. Brings a strategic vision, meticulous analysis, and transformative leadership to propel companies into market leadership positions.

Crafted and executed a comprehensive strategic roadmap, enabling Thrasio to acquire, develop, and integrate $1 billion in revenue and over 200 businesses internationally within three years. Developed growth plans and penetrated new markets for top-performing brands, showcasing exceptional strategic foresight and execution.

Jonathan is a Global Commercial and Technology leader with experience in and advising firms across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific through their journey from traditional enterprises to Innovative and Agile businesses ready to tackle the fast-paced changing economy, competitive complexities and consumer driven landscape.

Jonathan is an advisor forseveral charitable boards to technology utilisation, business operations and market engagement. Prior to these roles Jonathan was the Chief Growth Officer at GFT managing the end-to-end restructure of the business from sales through to the professional services unit, resulting in doubling of revenue and tripling of profits over two years.

Before GFT Jonathan led security globally at HSBC Digital. He led the creation of a new foundational security architecture and flexible modular authentication, Biometric and Anti-Fraud software platform that reduced the operational complexity from 5 systems across 38 market, reduction of global budget by 15%, whilst increasing threat responsiveness by 400% within twelve months.

Whilst at IBM Jonathan was the accountable Partner for the redevelopment of the European Blockchain Delivery centres, increasing overall expertise, scaled delivery capability, and enabling the construction of large consortia such as WeTrade (https://we-trade.com), TradeLens (https://www.tradelens.com), LedgerConnect and Vinturas deliverying £100MM in ARR. Before leading the Blockchain, Jonathan led the global recovery of Maersk’s global IT systems in eight weeks (120 plus core systems), and over the following six months restored 2000 other systems after the #NotPetya attack, as well as developing the future business continuity strategy to migrate the effect of any future attacks. (https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/)

Jonathan has a Master of Science in Information Systems and Management, and former lecturer at Warwick Business School. Jonathan also was a former board member of the Auto-ID centre, a former Board Member of MIT’s Supply Chain Innovation Forum at the School of Engineering and the former Project Lead for the RFID project at the Global Supply Chain Council.

Daniel R Marsh is renowned for his exceptional track record in rapidly scaling enterprises, including listed companies, private equity ventures, and startups. With a strong focus on revenue growth, EBITDA improvement, and enhancing employee and customer experiences, Daniel has consistently delivered outstanding results throughout his career.

His journey in the world of commerce began with prominent FMCG giants Mars, Gillette, and P&G, where he gained valuable experience in productsupply across variousroles over a span of 15 years.

Transitioning to the fintech industry, Daniel joined Intuit as one of their early hires outside of North America. During his tenure from 2013 to 2019, he played a pivotal role in the global expansion of Intuit, leading on-theground acquisitions and due diligence processes for Acrede and Bankstream

After two decades in large global corporations, Daniel sought to broaden his horizons and leverage his expertise in supporting startups and venture capitalists. This journey began with Sponge, a family- owned startup, where he was part of the team that facilitated the sale to Aliter Capital in May 2019. He remained with the company to manage the transition before embarking on his next venture.

Daniel then became part of the founding team at OceanTG, a maritime SAAS solution backed by Oakley Capital. His integral role in the acquisition and due diligence process brought together six companies across more than 25 countries, resulting in the creation of a comprehensive end-to-end solution for the industry

Subsequently the pull of commerce was there again, and the challenge presented too significant to ignore and Daniel joined Shopify in 2022, a rapidly growing ecommerce company that had experienced significant growth. In Q3 2020, Shopify achieved a remarkable 96% revenue growth compared to the same period in 2019, making it Canada’s most valuable company. With his unique blend ofstartup mentality and blue-chip experience, Daniel continues to play a crucial role in guiding Shopify through its next phase of growth.

During his tenure at Shopify, Daniel also served as the Director of 6 River Systems Ltd until it was divested in May 2023. 6 River Systems is a leading provider of fulfillment solutions, revolutionizing warehouses with flexible, human-first, and innovative products. Their solutions are currently operational in over 100 facilities across the United States, Canada, and Europe, fulfilling millions of units each week for renowned companies such as DHL, DM Fulfillment Services, GXO Logistics, and Office Depot.

Daniel was appointed as the Director of Shopify UK Ltd on May 18th, 2022, and has been a valued member of the Board of Directors for Shopify International Limited since March 2022. Shopify is a comprehensive commerce platform that empowers entrepreneurs worldwide to start, grow, and manage their businesses. With presence in over 175 countries, Shopify offers merchantsthe necessary tools, building blocks, and expertise to succeed in the ever-evolving world of commerce.

In 2024 Dan was brought in to support KKR’s corporate carve out of former VMware End User Computing group from Broadcom forming Omnissa. He currently continues with Omnissa as part of the Leadership team in the EMEA region. Preparing the company for either IPO or future sale.

Omnissa is a digital work platform that focuses on enhancing employee experiences through secure, personalized solutions. It offers tools for unified endpoint management, virtual desktops, apps, and digital employee experience, all designed to optimize IT operations and security