Sam Merullo
(Chair)

Sam works in Venture Capital having founded, run and exited successful businesses in the UK and USA. Amongst a number of roles, he is currently a Mentor at the Founder Institute and a Venture Scout at Backed VC. He started his career as a lawyer for the magic circle law firm, Allen & Overy LLP, having been educated at Durham University, BPP Law School and the College of Law. Sam joined as a Governor of New King’s in 2012 and is now a local governor of Thomas’s Academy.

Dr Charlotte Vidal-Hall
(Vice Chair)

I joined Thomas’s Academy in May 2023. I have been a governor at a primary school in Hammersmith and Fulham for 15 years and was chair of governors for 5 years. I have lived in Hammersmith and Fulham since 1979 and have 4 grown up children who attended primary school in the borough. I was an early years and primary school teacher in nursery and primary schools in Hammersmith for 15 years before becoming an educational researcher.

Tobyn Thomas

Tobyn was born in Calcutta, lives in London, was educated at Wellington College and attended Grenoble University. Tobyn has worked in publishing, theatre production, public relations and media management. He ran the media operation of the XVI Universiade in Sheffield and then the Rugby World Cup in France in 1991. He joined Thomas’s as Director of Administration in 1992, became Partner in 1995 and joint Executive Principal in 1999 on the retirement of the Founding Principals from executive management. He is married to Samantha and has three daughters, Isobel, Alice and Matilda, who are all former pupils of Thomas’s Clapham. He also has two dogs. 

Alka Bali

Alka was born in Mumbai and grew up in India. She moved to London with her husband and worked in Investment Banking in London for over 30 years. In 2014, she became Governor of a secondary school in Ealing which grew into a multi-academy trust of which she was also a trustee until 2023. In 2017, Alka decided to leave Investment Banking, to train as a maths teacher and completed her Post Graduate Certificate in Education. She is currently a volunteer maths tutor and works with students who need help with their GCSE exams. She is also a director of their family-owned hotel management business. She has two grown-up sons and has lived in Fulham for more than 25 years.

Cem Dedeaga

Cem Dedeaga is a Partner at Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm. Born in Cyprus and educated in the United States, Cem has built his career in the United Kingdom, starting at Goldman Sachs before joining Oliver Wyman. With a deep commitment to education as a catalyst for social mobility, Cem is passionate about creating equal opportunities for all students. Outside of his professional endeavours, Cem is the proud father of two daughters and resides in the vibrant neighbourhood of South Kensington. Cem's personal experiences and values shape his unwavering dedication to fostering an inclusive and enriching educational environment for all students. As a newly elected governor in 2023, Cem brings his extensive expertise in finance and his passion for education to the school community.

Jennifer Yang-Meslet

Jenny has a BSc Biological Sciences from Imperial College London as well as an MSc Public Health Administration from University of Montreal. She has worked in public health for over 20 years, both within the NHS and its compliance and regulation, and in management consulting at Deloitte, where she led national digital transformation programmes. She now manages her own consultancy business that focuses on clinical safety and digital technology assessments for the wider healthcare ecosystem. 

Jenny is passionate about ensuring that Thomas’s Academy provides an inclusive, supportive, and high-quality learning environment for children; and her family has been a part of the Thomas's Academy community for over 6 years. Her main areas of focus are sustainability as a Climate Ambassador and safeguarding. 

Ben Thomas

Ben is Head of Thomas’s Battersea and a Principal of Thomas’s London Day Schools. He was educated at Eton and Durham University, and holds a Master’s degree in Education from the UCL Institute of Education. Ben has 22 years’ experience as a school Head. For eight years until 2020, he also served on the board of St Paul’s School, where he was a member of the Education Committee, Chair of the Safeguarding Committee and Deputy Chairman of Governors. He is Chairman of the Katherine Low Settlement, a community centre in Battersea, and a trustee of Thomas’s Foundation. Ben is married to Katie and they have a son and two daughters, now in their 20s, who were all pupils at Thomas’s Battersea.

Chi-pa Choi

Chi-pa is a Co-Founder of Calimere Point Risk Advisory, a consultancy focused on data analytics. Prior to this, he was a credit derivative structurer at JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. He read Natural Sciences at Cambridge and joined Thomas's Academy as a Parent Governor in 2020. He was made Chair of the Finance Committee in 2021.