From left to right: Eva Khoo, Partnership & Marketing Coordinator; Meredith Scarf, Honorary Secretary; Michael Davidson, Vice-Chair; Charlotte Sutcliffe, Chair; Arthur Kadish, Treasurer; Nancy Peirson, Events Coordinator; Emma Croall Social Activities Coordinator; Fran Esteves, Membership Secretary
Meet the British Association of Singapore Council:
Chair: Charlotte Sutcliffe – Charlotte is a long-term expat, having left the UK in 1987 when she moved to Greece and lived there for 24 years. Charlotte ran her own business in Greece and during that time she was also President of the International Women’s Organisation. Charlotte has been living in Singapore over 12 years and, together with her husband Sooty, works full-time running their own business. Charlotte volunteers work for one of the BA's charities and loves animals, nature, beaches, Christmas (her parties are renowned!) and cocktails. Charlotte has two children, James and Alexandra, who both live and work in the UK.
Vice-Chair: Michael Davidson – originally from Northern Ireland, Mike arrived in Singapore from the UK in 2007, initially working in Investment Banking Technology and subsequently as a Financial Advisor. Mike loves to play guitar and compose music in his spare time, but has distinctly less of that recently after he and his wife, Desiarni, welcomed their first child, Anna, in February 2022. A keen (i.e. amateur) golfer, Mike first joined the BA in bygone pre-COVID days, primarily to take part in golf trips and pub quizzes and these days makes time to share hosting duties for the BA's ever popular drop-in coffee mornings.
- Treasurer: Arthur Kadish
Honorary Secretary: Meredith Scarf – being fairly new to Singapore, Meredith joined the BA in 2022 to make the most of what it had to offer members. She volunteered for the role of Secretary following the departure of Edith Blyth (big shoes to fill!) and has enjoyed getting to know other BA members through the Quiz Team group, Film Club, the recent AGM and other events. When she’s not volunteering with the BA, Meredith works at a global advisory and interim management firm and enjoys spending time with her husband Robert and their two dachshunds, Dixie and Dora.
Partnership & Marketing Coordinator: Eva Khoo – Eva is a Singaporean who is deeply curious about many things, enjoys getting to know people from all walks of life and learning various different skills. She is passionate about non-profit organizations and has volunteered for many years first with hosting (Sensory and Festive themed) play events for young children and new mothers, fundraising for local charities before moving onto partnership roles. Eva is fluent in English and Mandarin, and able to converse in basic German. She has lived in Swiss and Germany for brief periods and has explored Eastern Europe a fair bit as well. She loves nature, animals and is a Financial Consultant by profession who specializes in Insurance and works under the Financial Advisory arm for the largest and oldest insurance company in Southeast Asia. Eva’s role in the BA reaches out to companies to work together or to sponsor BA events, as well as crafting the weekly newsletter and overall branding. She also shares hosting duties with Michael and Noelle for the BA coffee mornings.
- Events Coordinator: Nancy Peirson – Nancy moved to Singapore in 2018 and quickly found a great network of friends through joining the BA and participating in many of the activities such as MayI, Monthly Meanders, Walkie Talkies and Book Club. She also joined the BA Beginners Golf group in 2020, quickly became addicted to the game, and now plays regularly. She became the BA's Events Coordinator in January 2022 and enjoys discovering new activities, tours, restaurants and bars for BA members to enjoy! Nancy is a lawyer and works for a large asset manager in Singapore.
- Membership Secretary: Francisco Esteves – having moved to Singapore in 2022 to work in financial services regulation, Francisco still has the 'newbie' cloud hanging over him (turns out that carries on for a few years!). Joining the BA was a way to stay connected to his other homeland, the UK, and learn from those who have called Singapore their home for longer than he has. So far, he's progressed to accepting 'local chilli level' of spiciness, knows what 'bukit' and 'pulau' mean and can convincingly tell the story of Hou Yi and Chang E for Mid-Autumn festival. He has also adopted slippers as day-to-day shoes (clue if you're new: not 'that' kind of slippers). His wife is also quickly catching up on these experiences, while the BA is helping her to realise that Sunday roasts and pub quizzes are the best part of any week! If any of the above sounds familiar, then please join the BA to share your stories with Fran!
- Charities Coordinator: Stephanie Milner
- Social Activities Coordinator: Emma Croall – having moved to Singapore in February 2023, joining the British Association was top of Emma’s radar, especially as her this was first experience of living abroad. During a research visit in September 2022, Emma joined a couple of British Association activities. With the wonderful activity coordinator Sian Brooke Gillies leaving soon after Emma’s arrival Emma jumped at the opportunity to take over the role. Professionally Emma runs a small charity consultancy business in the UK focusing on generating income. She is married to Alastair and has 3 young adult children in the UK - learning to live without them nearby is so far the hardest thing about life in this great City.