People

For over 30 years, Mukesh has played a role in the international corporate world in areas such as Risk, Audit, Compliance and Business Management, with such prestigious names as British Airways.
In more recent years, he has undertaken several, largely non-executive, roles with pension funds and within the Third Sector. Mukesh has a Master’s Degree in Management & IT, and also holds a specialist qualification of CISM – Certified Information Security Manager – issued by ISACA. With particular skills and experience in asset allocation and strategy, he has also acted as Chair of a Local Pension Panel which managed a fund selection in excess of £1.2 billion.
He has also presided as Chair to many charities and Third Sector organisations. In his “downtime”, through his involvement with the Hounslow Rotary, he has co-founded a project called “Rotary World’s Greatest Meal to Help End Polio”, which has helped to save over 16.5 Million children from Polio. He had been a Councillor & the Deputy Mayor Of The London Borough of Hounslow during 2017/18. He is married with three children, he has also become a grandfather of three.

Educated to masters degree level Sarah is a Chartered Manager and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

She holds an array of specialist qualifications including project management, marketing and change management.

Currently working as a Project and Improvement Manager. Sarah specializes in project and change management and has previous work experience in marketing, and has worked as an investigator.

Sarah is a mum of two, a school governor and is also a commissioned army officer (ACF) who has volunteered for over 13 years and has been awarded a Cadet Forces Medal.

Paul has 35 years of business experience with large British and America multi-nationals. Roles include: financial systems management; internal auditor; project and programme management. Last formal employment was the re-organisation of London Borough of Ealing Adult Social Services to meet the new Personalisation Agenda.

Paul is very involved in Athletics with Thames Valley Harriers. A past Chair and team manager he is currently coaching middle and long-distance athletes, including Internationals and recently the Pole Vault.

Paul was Chair of Governors at Green Dragon J & I schools for many years.

Paul is married with three children and two grandchildren.

Nic has a BA in Business Studies and has over 30 years banking experience specialising in leveraged finance and change management. Latterly he held a number of senior management roles at an international bank in the City. He has been a resident in Richmond-Upon-Thames for over 35 years and has recently been appointed a Trustee of Richmond Council for Voluntary Services. He is also a school governor and Treasurer of the local SW London SSAFA (the Armed Forces charity) Branch.

Recently retired Nic hopes to bring his banking knowledge and experience to Thamesbank as he believes that credit unions will have an increasingly important role to play in allowing people who have previously been financially disadvantaged to access the banking system in a fair and ethical way. In his free time Nic likes to watch a wide variety of sports.

Edward has spent many years working in the finance industry. He also has a background in IT. As a member of the Thamesbank board he focuses on the regulatory and technology aspects of the Credit Union.

Edward is married with two children and has lived in Richmond for over 20 years. He enjoys walking and cycling as well as travel. He is also involved in Scouting within the District as Chair of a local Scout Group.

Having joined the board in 2020, Edward is excited about the opportunities for Thamesbank to continue to develop as a local Credit Union and deliver on its aims to provide fair and affordable financial services to the local community.

Sabrina has been appointed the role of a Director in Thamesbank Credit Union in December 2020. After being a member of Thamesbank since 2018, and during the COVID-19 pandemic Sabrina wanted to try and help her community by being a volunteer director in Thamesbank.

Sabrina has BTEC National Diploma in Travel and Tourism, and after working at London Heathrow Airport she decided to go back to college and study Psychology and Sociology A-Levels. Following her passion to work in the public sector, Sabrina had a career in the Banking industry for many years.

Sabrina immigrated to the Netherlands and had two children with her ex-partner, and after her separation twelve years ago moved back to the UK to be closer to her family. Sabrina has been working in the Oil and Gas industry for fifteen years, both in the Netherlands and UK. Sabrina always tries to keep in touch with her amazing network of friends, and family by arranging virtual drinks and events in her spare time.

Sandra has over 30 years of experience working in the media and marketing industry. Her position as a trustee board member at Thamesbank is to work on the marketing committee providing her expertise in consumer and digital marketing practices.

Her previous roles included Head of Account Management for a technology company in London and VP of Digital Media for a newspaper group in Canada.

In her spare time, she enjoys the arts (theatre and cinema) and is a keen home cook. Sandra also volunteers for charities that assist young people to gain employment in the creative and marketing industry.

Stefano has twenty years of experience in finance and banking and joined Thamesbank Credit Union in 2020. He founded and manages Eleo Capital, a financial advisory firm.

Stefano is a CFA Charter holder since 2004, holds a Masters in Corporate Finance from SDA Bocconi in Milan and is a member of the CFA UK Society, CISI and the UK Business Angel Association.

Stefano is married with two children, he is an avid reader of financial literature, an expert skier and sailor, enjoys boxing and is active with Lions International in London.

Ekaterina joined initially, as Director in 2020, because she believes in helping the local community. When the need for Business Development Manager appeared, she resigned from the board and made it her mission to spread the message about Thamesbank Credit Union.

Ekaterina has a Masters Degree in Business Management from University College Dublin, with a focus on Marketing and Business Consultancy. This has been her passion for the last 15 years.

In her personal life, she is a mum of two and enjoys juggling young family life, charity and social life. She is a Rotarian and has served as President at a club level for two consecutive years. She has been the District Marketing Manager for the last two years.

Taz Virdee has over 12 years’ experience working within the third, education and environmental sector, including YMCA West London, DASH, Groundwork and Berkeley Academy. He is the current Project Manager for Heston West Big Local, a £1 million lottery funded programme and community organisation based in Hounslow, West London.

Through his community work, he has supported many economically and socially disadvantaged families and individuals. Taz believes the current benefits and banking system doesn’t allow enough flexibility and support to the most vulnerable in society, therefore credit unions (an alternative form of ethical lending) offer a vital lifeline for many families and key workers in our local community.

Taz was a director for Hillingdon Refugee Support Group. He now serves as director for Cranford Community College and Thamesbank Credit Union. He received the Mayor of Hounslow Community Award in 2019 for his outstanding work in the community.