Meet the Team

Founding Directors

Chris Leese

Founder | Chief Commercial Officer
+44 (0) 20 3398 8554

email Chris

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Paul Barford

Founder | Managing Director
+44 (0) 20 3398 8510

email Paul

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Danushka De Alwis

Founder | Chief Operating Officer
+44 (0) 20 3580 5891

email Danushka

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Chris Leese Founder | Chief Commercial Officer

Chris is a Founder and the Commercial Director at ThoughtLeaders4 with a primary aim of delivering value to our partners and clients.

During Chris’s 24 years’ experience, he has held senior roles at international b2b event companies and a leading legal publishing company. Working internationally, he has been responsible for many major event launches for the Asset Recovery and the Anti-Bribery & Corruption communities as well as General Counsel. He is relationship-driven and focuses on delivering value.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8554
email Chris

Paul Barford Founder | Managing Director

Paul is a founder and the Managing Director at ThoughtLeaders4 with responsibility for the overall strategic development of the company.

He has a decade of experience in the legal services industry, in building, launching and developing bespoke communities and putting legal practitioners together across private client, asset recovery, anti-corruption and financial services regulation and compliance.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8510
email Paul

Danushka De Alwis Founder | Chief Operating Officer

Danushka is a founder and the Marketing Director at ThoughtLeaders4 with a key focus on international community development. She has seamlessly delivered large scale international asset recovery and contentious insolvency conferences with the utmost efficiency across the world and highly values the friendships and personal relationships that nurturing and developing communities entails. 

Born in Sri Lanka, Danushka has had the privilege of residing in Singapore, Pakistan, Malawi, Kenya, Indonesia and the UK. This international exposure stands her in good stead to meet the challenges of an increasingly globalised world.


call +44 (0) 20 3580 5891
email Danushka

TL4 Team

James Baldwin Webb

Commercial Director | Private Client
+44 (0) 20 3398 8546

email James

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Helen Berwick

Commercial Director | Competition
+44 (0) 20 3433 2281

email Helen

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Ben Sullivan

Commercial Director
+44 (0) 20 3965 4386

email Ben

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Phaik Ooi

Financial Controller
+44 (0) 20 3580 5169

email Phaik

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Amanda Taylor

Projects Director
+44 (0) 20 3398 8525

email Amanda

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Peter Miles

Head of Production & Community Director I Competition
+44 (0) 20 3481 8843

email Peter

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Seth Fleming

Conference Producer
+44 (0) 20 3433 2282

email Seth

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Owen Dilworth

Conference Producer
+44 (0) 20 3998 9971

email Owen

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Alexander Edgal

Conference Producer
+44 (0) 20 3998 9752

email Alexander

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Yelda Ismail

Senior Marketing Manager
+44 (0) 20 3398 8551

email Yelda

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Lily Taylor

Marketing Executive
+44 (0) 20 3433 2285

email Lily

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Sebastian Dzienis

Marketing Executive
+44 (0) 20 3545 4447

email Sebastian

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Alexandra Gattenby

Marketing Executive
+44 (0) 20 3036 2152

email Alexandra

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Maddi Briggs

Strategic Partnership Senior Manager
+44 (0) 20 3398 8545

email Maddi

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Anne-Sophie Hofmann

Strategic Partnership Executive
+44 (0) 20 3398 8547

email Anne-Sophie

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Maximus McCabe-Abel

Strategic Partnership Executive
+44 (0) 20 3998 9908

email Maximus

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Amelia Gittins

Strategic Partnership Executive
+44 (0) 20 3059 9797

email Amelia

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Sarah Barton

Head of Operations
+44 (0) 20 3398 8560

email Sarah

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Chloe McGrath

Operations Manager
+44 (0) 20 3398 8592

email Chloe

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Ewan Brown

Operations Manager
+44 (0) 20 3433 2292

email Ewan

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Laura Fraser

Operations Manager
+44 (0) 20 3433 2284

email Laura

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Chloe Lomas

Operations Executive
+44 (0) 20 30384513

email Chloe

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Charis Walker

Operations executive
+44 (0) 20 3059 9798

email Charis

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Amy Barrett

Client Services & Office Support Executive
+44 (0) 20 3059 9796

email Amy

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James Baldwin Webb Commercial Director | Private Client

James has 15 years experience in the media industry, the majority of which has been spent within the Private Client events space specifically.

Part of the team that developed a senior community of lawyers and private client practitioners at his previous company, James is now developing the TL4 Private Client community with his colleagues to promote collaboration and conversation within the industry. He focuses on developing opportunities for clients to network and building relationships.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8546
email James

Helen Berwick Commercial Director | Competition

Helen has over 15 years’ of experience in the legal media industry and worked across a variety of publications, events, directories, and a membership group.

Having built relations with leading law firms and professional services clients internationally Helen is now developing the TL4 Competition Community, working with clients to help increase their visibility and grow their business with a focused consultative approach.


call +44 (0) 20 3433 2281
email Helen

Ben Sullivan Commercial Director

Ben has more than 2 decades of experience as a barristers’ clerk across multiple chambers which includes a prestigious magic circle set. Ben joins us off the back of running his own business.


call +44 (0) 20 3965 4386
email Ben

Phaik Ooi Financial Controller

Phaik started her early accountancy career in the audit sector, where she attained her professional qualification as FCCA.  

Phaik has gained vast experience working in various industries including an occupational health company, a marketing agency, a HNW family resources office and an interior design architect firm. 

Phaik has a keen eye for details to ensure our figures add up. 


call +44 (0) 20 3580 5169
email Phaik

Amanda Taylor Projects Director

Amanda has 11+ years of experience in the events industry, having delivered a variety of projects for leading conference companies, financial institutions and agencies. Amanda has a comprehensive range of skills in strategic planning and coordination.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8525
email Amanda

Peter Miles Head of Production & Community Director I Competition

Peter is a Community Director at ThoughtLeaders4 with 20+ years' experience of event production and community development.

He’s gained that experience working with commercial event businesses, communities and industry associations across a number of sectors, with responsibility for identifying market opportunities, crafting value adding events and growing communities


call +44 (0) 20 3481 8843
email Peter

Seth Fleming Conference Producer

Seth is a Conference Producer at ThoughtLeaders4.

 

Seth focuses on conferences within Divorce and Private Client law. After joining the company in March 2023, he has developed a keen interest in legal conference production and forming connections within the communities. Seth graduated from the University of Sussex with a bachelor's degree in History & Politics with proficiency in Spanish and receveived an MSc in Marketing from King's College London.


call +44 (0) 20 3433 2282
email Seth

Owen Dilworth Conference Producer

Owen is a Conference Producer at ThoughtLeaders4.

After graduating from the University of Exeter with a First Class Bachelor's degree in International Relations, Owen sought to apply his research skills in an international context. He worked with leading London Expert Network firms to organise consulting calls for key opinion leaders, cultivating interpersonal and organisational skills. After joining the company in October of 2023, he now applies those skills for production of legal conferences. 


call +44 (0) 20 3998 9971
email Owen

Alexander Edgal Conference Producer

Alexander is a Conference Producer at ThoughtLeaders4.

Alexander has developed their experience in commercial events across a range of sectors, including education, healthcare, organisational development, and renewable energy. They joined TL4 as an experienced Conference Producer focused on building our communities focused model and expanding on the successes of our growing event portfolio.


call +44 (0) 20 3998 9752
email Alexander

Yelda Ismail Senior Marketing Manager

Yelda is responsible for the management of the marketing and communication plans across both print and online platforms, liaising with external marketing departments to ensure the success of the events across all four communities.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8551
email Yelda

Lily Taylor Marketing Executive

Lily is a Marketing Executive at ThoughtLeaders4. 

 

After graduating from University of Bristol with a Bachelor's degree in English, Lily has kickstarted her career in marketing, combining her passion for both writing and creative design.


call +44 (0) 20 3433 2285
email Lily

Sebastian Dzienis Marketing Executive

With a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and experience in the Events industry, Sebastian combines his passion for graphic design with his analytical skillset to develop as a marketing professional. 


call +44 (0) 20 3545 4447
email Sebastian

Alexandra Gattenby Marketing Executive

With an honours degree in Marketing Management, Alexandra has kickstarted her career in marketing after becoming a finalist in the CIM Pitch 2023 competition, combining her strengths in creative design and data analysis.


call +44 (0) 20 3036 2152
email Alexandra

Maddi Briggs Strategic Partnership Senior Manager

Maddi is the Strategic Partnership Manager here at ThoughtLeaders4. She is responsible for developing and strengthening relationships with our partners across the five communities. Using an arsenal of different channels, her role focuses on developing and executing projects for strategic growth. Maddi leads on producing virtual events and content production, including compiling and producing the quarterly magazines across the five communities at ThoughtLeaders4; FIRE, HNW Divorce, Private Client, Disputes and Competition.

 

Maddi has a BA First Class with Honours in Business and Events Management, and previously worked for a leading London barristers chambers, assisting with internal and external marketing activity, event management, and compiling submissions for the chambers directories (Legal 500; Chambers & Partners).


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8545
email Maddi

Anne-Sophie Hofmann Strategic Partnership Executive

After graduating from Loughborough University with a Master's degree in Marketing, Anne-Sophie has kick started her career with producing events for the French market. She is fluent in French and can speak intermediate German.    


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8547
email Anne-Sophie

Maximus McCabe-Abel Strategic Partnership Executive

Graduating in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s in Marketing from the University of Durham, Maximus joined ThoughtLeaders4 as a Strategic Partnership Executive.

Maximus previously interned with a leading real estate firm, focusing on business development, marketing, and event production. He is passionate about forging lasting partnerships across the five TL4 communities using a range of in-person and digital channels.

Maximus is interested in cinema, literature, and sport; he is a regular tennis player and former international ski racer. 


call +44 (0) 20 3998 9908
email Maximus

Amelia Gittins Strategic Partnership Executive

Amelia joined ThoughtLeaders4 as a Strategic Partnership Executive, she previously worked for a leading London barristers chambers, assisting with their marketing endeavours, overseeing social and digital media output, the organising of internal and external events and more general marketing administration.


call +44 (0) 20 3059 9797
email Amelia

Sarah Barton Head of Operations

Sarah is the Head of Operations at ThoughtLeaders4. She has over 10 years of experience managing international events.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8560
email Sarah

Chloe McGrath Operations Manager

Chloe is an Operations Manager at ThoughtLeaders4 who demonstrates experience working internationally in the events sector.

With an honours degree in Event Management and a client-centred approach, Chloe is responsible for organising and delivering TL4’s bespoke event portfolio. Over many years Chloe has applied her skills across various industries including the legal and charity sectors, dedicating herself to supporting and delivering meaningful events within the wider community.


call +44 (0) 20 3398 8592
email Chloe

Ewan Brown Operations Manager

Ewan is one of our Operations Managers at ThoughtLeaders4 and plays a key part in delivering our global events portfolio.

 

With an events background, Ewan has organised a range of different events from Gala dinners to sporting events in some of London’s biggest venues.

 

Having lived in France for eight years, it enabled Ewan to become bilingual but also highlighted the need to be aware of the cultural differences and attention to detail needed to produce events.


call +44 (0) 20 3433 2292
email Ewan

Laura Fraser Operations Manager

Laura is an Operations Manager at ThoughtLeaders4 who possess experience within the corporate events sector.

 

Her skills procured during her Event Management degree makes her an integral part to the operations team, who’s duties include managing both national and international events. She combines her interests in design, finance, and marketing to create seamless conferences across TL4's five communities.


call +44 (0) 20 3433 2284
email Laura

Chloe Lomas Operations Executive

After graduating from University of Sussex with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology. Chloe has combined her passion for events and the legal system with kick starting her career in Operations at TL4.


call +44 (0) 20 30384513
email Chloe

Charis Walker Operations executive

After numerous years in the performing industry and performing all around the world, Charis has kick started her career in the legal events industry as Operations Executive at TL4. Utilizing her previous experiences in customer service, administrative roles and working at events.


call +44 (0) 20 3059 9798
email Charis

Amy Barrett Client Services & Office Support Executive

After running her own business for the past 6 years, Amy has started her career in the legal events industry as a Client Services and Office Support Executive, utilising her experience from previous administrative and PA roles.


call +44 (0) 20 3059 9796
email Amy

Careers at TL4

Our current vacancies are advertised on this webpage. Further information about the roles can also be found here.