Our team

Michael is an Associate Director at Company Matters. He joined us in 2016 after an extensive career as an in-house Company Secretary for several FTSE companies, making him one of our most experienced CoSec’s. Michael leads our Technical Committee, which ensures that colleagues are up-to-date on legal, regulatory and corporate governance developments relevant to company secretaries and their clients.

Michael is client lead on some of our largest clients, including a major US investment bank. He also supports many premium-listed clients, including investment trusts, with a full range of company secretarial services such as board support, advice on the FCA’s Listing and Disclosure Rules and corporate governance best practice.

Paula is an Associate Director at Company Matters with over 15 years’ experience in professional services firms. Paula provides senior oversight in the provision of our services which includes corporate governance advice, board support and statutory compliance to a range of clients including investment trusts and other Premium Listed companies. She has also led project-based work, including pre and post IPO support, corporate reporting and secretariat reviews.

Prior to joining Company Matters in 2014, Paula worked for BDO Ireland where she provided corporate governance and company law advice to a FTSE 250 company and a portfolio of private limited companies, with full oversight of team client deliverables. Previously, she was a Company Secretary in Matheson, a big four law firm in Ireland, assisting in the provision of board support and advisory services to Irish listed open-ended funds.

Paula holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Public & Social Policy and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of Galway, Ireland. She is a Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland.

Caroline joined Company Matters in 2014 and has provided a variety of tailored company secretarial services to a range of our clients, including AIM, Main Market and overseas commercial and investment companies. For the past seven years, she has supported one of our largest FTSE 350 clients with a full suite of board, corporate governance and statutory compliance services. Caroline is also a member of our Technical Committee, which ensures that colleagues are up-to-date on legal, regulatory and corporate governance developments relevant to company secretaries and their clients. She particularly enjoys considering how to apply good practice in a proportionate and tailored manner.

Caroline became Fellow of The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland in 2020. Prior to qualifying as a Company Secretary, she worked at Rothschild & Co, a leading investment bank providing advice to large and mid-cap companies and private equity groups on mergers, acquisitions, disposals and debt and equity financings, in the UK and abroad – experiences which continue to stand her in good stead in her current career.

Wendy is an Associate Director with Company Matters with over 20 years’ commercial experience, CIMA qualified finance and corporate governance professional.  Her most recent role was Christie Group Plc’s Group Company Secretary and prior to this she established and ran her own accountancy practice for 8 years.  Her previous business experience is broad, having held leadership roles in large corporate's including Nestle UK and EE, in addition to significant experience in professional services, including internal audit, finance and IT project management.  She has been a director of a number of businesses and has a keen interest in process improvement, business growth and adding value.

Wendy completed her BA (Hons) degree in management science, French and German at Keele/Stirling University, with semesters at Osnabrück University in North West Germany and Angers University in the Loire Valley, France.

Geraldine joined Link Group in 2016 after working in a recruitment consultancy for almost 15 years in a business support capacity. 

Geraldine’s current role is supporting the Company Matters team in all that they do. She is responsible for managing the support provided to the business by the Business Support Team and contributing to the Senior Leadership Team in the management of all operational activities. Geraldine has a particular focus on the HR and recruitment processes for the team, ensuring we hire the best people for our team, and supporting colleagues fully once they've joined.

Steve joined Company Matters in 2021 as a Senior Manager focussed on Business Development. He has over 30 years of Business Development experience gained in various industry sectors including International Trade, Education and Media. Steve was instrumental in the development of the Financial Times Board Director Programme, which included the FT Non-Executive Director Diploma, based on the UK Corporate Governance Code and now the gold standard of qualifications for NED’s and Board Trustees.

Steve has held many senior positions during his career, including the role of Managing Director at the UK’s leading executive job portal, exec-appointments.com. He also volunteers as Director of a Right to Manage Property Company.

Steve’s role at Company Matters is to provide our clients, current and prospective, with a best in class service, understanding their needs and requirements and providing them with effective solutions to help their organisation to thrive as they develop and grow.

Karen is an experienced Company Secretary and Governance Professional and has been an associate member of the Chartered Governance Institute since 2002.

Karen has over 20 years’ experience gained in premium listed companies, and was Assistant Company Secretary at Rolls-Royce and prior to joining Company Matters in June 2022, Deputy Company Secretary  at Frasers Group, where as well as ensuring the compliance of the listed entity, she was responsible for the company secretarial  compliance of a large number of UK and overseas subsidiaries. 

Karen also has experience of governance in the Public and not for profit sectors, having worked in educational governance for Nottingham County Council and is currently Secretary and Trustee of the charity, Sharewear Clothing Scheme. Karen has a keen interest in ESG and leads on this as a member of our technical committee.

As a Senior Manager at Company Matters, Alex is responsible for a portfolio of listed and limited companies, which have included premium listed FTSE250 investment trusts, FTSE250 and AIM companies. Alex supports her clients by providing advice on all areas of corporate governance, corporate reporting, regulatory developments, statutory compliance and best practice. Through full time in-house secondments, Alex has worked in company secretariats of FTSE100, FTSE250 and asset management companies and has experience working with investment companies and firms operating in a variety of sectors, including insurance, oil and gas and healthcare, as well as FCA-regulated entities.

Prior to joining Company Matters in 2015, Alex worked in Share Plans, where she was responsible for supporting a diverse portfolio of clients, including FTSE100 companies, with all aspects of operation of their employee share incentive plans. Alex holds an MSc in Management from UCL and qualified as a Chartered Secretary in 2018.

Amanda is an experienced Senior Company Secretary Manager and Governance Professional with over 20 years of experience gained within the offshore Corporate Governance sector, overseas and UK AIM-listed companies. Extensive knowledge of MAR compliance and listing rules.   

Prior to joining Company Matters, Amanda was the Group Company Secretary for a boutique asset management consultancy firm that provided corporate governance, law, fund management solutions, international administration and investment advisory in London.

Prior to relocating to the UK in 2021, Amanda was previously an Assistant Manager for IQ-EQ Group based in Guernsey, Channel Islands, where as well as improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the company’s business operations in key areas such as finance, risk management and compliance, she was responsible for leading teams in identifying and implementation of cost saving initiatives, improvement of management and sharpen quality in the Private Wealth arena.

Sara Stebbing is a company secretary with extensive experience in corporate governance, M&A insurance, and corporate law. Sara joined the UK Company Matters team in April 2023, after working for three years in the Australia team, where she served as a company secretary for private and public companies across various sectors.

Before joining Company Matters, she worked as an underwriter at AIG and as a broker at Marsh, specialising in M&A insurance transactions in both the UK and Australia.  Prior to working in insurance, she was a corporate solicitor at SJ Berwin/King and Wood Mallesons, a global law firm based in London, where she advised clients on a range of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, and capital markets. Sara is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales.