Board of Directors

Patron: Lord Lee of Trafford – John Lee is regarded as one on the UK’s leading private investors, having bought his first shares sixty years ago. He was one of the earliest to recognise the long-term potential of PEPs (the forerunner of ISAs) when they were launched in 1987 and was judged to be the first ISA millionaire in 2003.

John has written over 250 articles for FT Money and has given numerous lectures and interviews on his investment philosophy as a long-term value investor. In 2014 Pearsons published his well-received book “How to Make a Million – Slowly: my guiding principles from a lifetime of successful investing”. In 2019 Grosvenor House published his primer for teenagers and young investors “Yummy Yoghurt: A First Taste of Stock Market Investment”.

John is a Chartered Accountant with a wide experience of investment banking and business and is Patron of ShareSoc, the leading body lobbying and campaigning on behalf of private investors. From 1979-92 he was a Member of Parliament, and during this period he was both a Defence and Tourism Minister. A former High Sheriff of Manchester, he sits as a member of the House of Lords as Lord Lee of Trafford and lives in Richmond, Surrey.

Chair: Heather Benjamin (appointed May 2024). Following an executive career with Centrica, ultimately as Chief Procurement Officer, Heather has held a range of Chair and Non-Executive Director roles across private, public and voluntary organisations. She has been Chair of Air Ambulances UK and of Walsingham Support, which assists people with learning disabilities. She has worked for organisations with growth agendas across multiple sectors including financial services, water, the arts and the voluntary sector. Heather’s financial services experience includes serving as Senior Independent Director in the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Ltd, which developed and implemented the programme for digitising cheque handling, settlement and clearing.  She is an Independent NED for BlueLight Commercial, collaborating with police and fire forces across England and Wales to transform their commercial and procurement functions, a NED with Supply Chain Co-ordination Ltd, supporting NHS Trusts, and Vice President of The Leaders Club which networks with senior leaders.

Jema Arnold (appointed February 2023) qualified as a Chartered Accountant at Price Waterhouse then specialised in financial recruitment for creative and consumer-facing businesses at organisations including Robert Walters, PageGroup and Korn Ferry.  Jema first purchased shares in 1983 but after a 17 year investment break, recently joined SIGnet and ShareSoc in order to meet other investors and to broaden her investing knowledge.  She is an active investor who is passionate about financially empowering individuals and is keen to encourage wider interest in and knowledge of investing.

Mark Bentley (appointed May 2011) has been a full-time stock market investor since 2004, having pursued investment as a rewarding hobby for 20 years previously. Most of Mark’s career was spent in the I.T. industry beginning with Logica in 1980, where he worked on the Giotto Halley’s Comet intercept mission for the European Space Agency amongst other projects. In 1987 Mark started his own IT services business, Anvil Technology Ltd, which he ran successfully for 14 years. He is an active investor, attending many company meetings each year and publishes his findings on a number of investment orientated web sites.

Mike Dennis (appointed April 2014) has a wide range of managerial experience in processing and manufacturing industries ranging from oil production and refining to chemicals, industrial, medical and speciality gases. His functional experiences include strategy, B2B marketing, product development, sales, operations, business and project management.
Since retiring from full time roles in the corporate world Mike has put his energies into growing ShareSoc’s membership base, managing his own investment portfolio, doing consultancy work, playing golf and climbing mountains.

Mark Northway (appointed April 2016) is an experienced practitioner in financial markets with wide ranging managerial and governance experience across credit, fixed income, equity and treasury markets, and associated cash and derivative instruments. His experience spans multiple disciplines including marketing, trading, investment and the management of complex financial and regulatory risk within a variety of vehicles and legal structures.

Mark chaired ShareSoc from April 2016 to December 2021.

David Stredder (appointed February 2011) started as a sports journalist but decided to concentrate on his growing property management business from the age of 29. That business grew to be one of the largest in South London and was sold to an industry consolidator in the late nineties. Since then he has concentrated on his listed and unlisted investments and is an active small-cap investor. David was a founder and eventual chairman of the London Business Club and networking continues to play an important role with the regular monthly investor dinners and company presentations that he arranges in South East London.

Amit Vedhara (appointed April 2019) has a background in Marketing and growing organisations. With over 25 years in industry and consulting, he has operated as a Marketing director and interim consultant establishing a track record of unlocking growth across multiple sectors in listed firms, turnarounds and private venture-backed firms. Amit has change leadership experience at board level in Marketing, Pricing and Product and has worked in both digital and more traditionally organised environments. Amit has been investing his entire adult life and takes a mix of contrarian and risk-weighted approaches to his stock picking in both quoted and unquoted companies

Vijay Tohani (appointed February 2024) has over 25 years’ experience as a financial practitioner and portfolio manager in the global asset management industry. He has worked in London, Edinburgh and Singapore, and has experienced investment management practice and a variety of corporate cultures across the world. Vijay is now a full-time university lecturer teaching the next generation about finance, capital markets and investment. He has practical experience in Audit, Equity Research, Portfolio and Risk Management as well as UK Financial Regulation.

Elliott Hughes (appointed February 2024) is presently Assistant General Counsel for Just Group plc and has 20 years’ experience working in financial services. His legal expertise covers fund and managed account businesses, alternative investments, trading and derivatives, legal and commercial documentation, regulatory initiatives, FCA outsourcing requirements, licensing and marketing.

Ram Sachdev (appointed February 2024) is an active investor who enjoys in-depth company research, specialising in US technology companies. His first career was in investment banking in the USA after which he founded, grew and successfully exited an e-commerce-based fashion business.

Bozena Michalowska Howells (appointed September 2024) is an expert in product liability and consumer rights with over 25 years of experience in group action litigation. She qualified as a solicitor in 1995 and led Leigh Day’s nationally recognized Product Safety and Consumer Law Team until retirement in 2022. Bozena has a proven track record in managing high-profile multi-party actions, including the landmark VW NOx Emissions Group Litigation, securing one of the largest consumer settlements in England and Wales. Her involvement with ShareSoc began through her work on the Woodford Equity Income Fund case, where she collaborated with ShareSoc to advocate for retail investors. Bozena is passionate about protecting consumer rights, empowering individuals through legal and financial education, and encouraging broader knowledge and engagement in investing. She also continues to work on a pro bono basis advising campaign groups and social enterprises.