SATRO Trustees

Our Trustees meet quarterly for full Board Meetings and have sub-committees for Finance & Operations, Risk and Staffing.

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Governance

Shash Patel, Chair of Trustees

Shash

Previous jobs include Director of Information Risk Management at Air Products, which encompassed the evaluation, mitigation and reporting of information and privacy risks facing Air Products. This included Intellectual Asset Protection (IAP), Data Privacy (acting as the Chief Privacy Officer) and Enterprise Records Management.


He has been Co-Chair of Spectrum Europe (The European chapter of Air Products’ LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group) and was on the Tech Skills Employer Board.


His volunteering activities are focused on supporting his local Foodbank as a Team Lead and STEM related mentoring, education and awareness with charities such as SATRO and TeenTech.


Previous business roles include in the Air Products’ Corporate Risk Office, as Director of Intellectual Asset Protection. Prior to that, he has held various IT leadership roles including Global Director of Business Relationship Management and Director of IT Security, Compliance and Risk Management.


Over his career he has lived and worked in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States of America.


Shash also chairs the Risk Committee.

Garry Bhela

Garry is a Construction Project Bid Manager with over 18 years' management experience.  He has successfully led a diverse range of construction projects, spanning from small-scale to large developments in both commercial and residential sectors.  His expertise extends to managing projects under various contract types, including 'Traditional' and 'Design and Build.' 


Garry joined the board in January 2025.

Peter Garrett

Pete is a Chartered Accountant with 40 years' experience across a range of businesses and the operational functions within them.   He is currently Commercial Director at Uvex Safety (UK) which develops, manufactures and distributes personal protection equipment.


He has held a various volunteer positions including as a Parent Governor of a local school for 14 years and Honorary Treasurer of both a Cricket Club and Alumni Association.


Peter joined SATRO as a Trustee in November 2022 and chairs the Finance & Operations Committee.

Paula Gough

Paula is a chartered Civil Engineer and Business Director with almost 20 years’ experience in the Construction industry. She is currently Strategic Account Director for National Highways for Costain Group PLC across its UK business which delivers £1bn per annum.  A true engineering enthusiast and women in engineering ambassador, Paula has worked in delivering major Road and Rail projects both in the UK and overseas in Australia, Asia and the Middle East. She has received a number of awards during her career including the ICE Thomas Telford Award from the ICE President, the Atkins Award for "Contributing Most Towards the Civil Engineering Industry" and Inspire Women in Engineering award.


Paula is passionate advocate for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and leads on several industry networks for levelling the playing field to ensure everyone from all backgrounds feel able to enter and have a fulfilling career in STEM. 


David Leyshon

Following graduation, David briefly worked in oil exploration as a seismic surveyor. He subsequently spent more than 25 years in technical recruitment as an executive, business owner and investor covering UK and overseas territories for both major listed and private companies. In 2003 he founded CBSbutler via a management-buy-out and acquisition, which become a multi-award winning recruitment consultancy specialising in professional STEM sectors. As principal shareholder, he sold the company in 2017 with annual sales of £50m. He continues to invest in and advise entrepreneurs of growing businesses. 


David has a BSc(hons) in Applied Geology + Oceanography, MSc in Remote Sensing, and a Diploma in Company Directorship. He has been a regular donor and supporter of SATRO over the past 10 years, and remains passionate about developing young people's skills. 

David chairs the Staffing Committee.

Alec Sanderson

Alec began his working in life as an apprentice Avionics Engineer and has been involved with both hardware and software ever since. He has been a founder member and investor in a number of start-ups, the first, his own software company in 1986 and others including an electronics R&D company and consulting organisations. He now runs a software consultancy helping other software companies with software development. 

Alec is a Chartered Director, Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT professional, a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. 

Miranda Tatton-Brown

Miranda is the Chief Operating Officer at Italia Conti, one of the leading Performing Arts institutions in the country, based in Woking, where her passion for education drives her leadership and innovation.  Renowned for her strategic insight and problem-solving acumen, Miranda has been instrumental in shaping the institution's direction.  She led the development and implementation of Italia Conti's comprehensive Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion strategy and navigated the organisation through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before joining Italia Conti, Miranda had a successful career as a Producer and Director in Factual Entertainment television, where she honed her creative and organisational expertise in dynamic, fast-paced environments.

Toby Wyithe

Toby has more than 15 years’ experience in heavily regulated financial services roles including resourcing, project management and learning and development. He is currently a Community Engagement Business Partner for Legal & General and leads on the strategic direction and delivery of their Community Engagement programme which connects colleagues with purpose. Their work has been nominated for, and won, numerous British awards in areas such as charitable partnering, DE&I and physical and mental health.

 

Toby began volunteering with SATRO in 2021 and joined the board as a Trustee in January 2025.