Sean Magee
Chair

Sean joined the BSAK Board as a parent-elected Governor in November 2014, acting as Chair since December 2019 and is a member of the Education Committee. He has been a UK Ambassador Appointee since December 2022. He has previously served as Vice Chair and Honorary Secretary. Sean is currently General Legal Counsel at Tabreed. Resident in Abu Dhabi since July 2009, Sean is married with two children, both of whom are current BSAK students.

Reema Traynor
Vice Chair

Reema joined the Board in November 2014 and in November 2020, became a UK Ambassador Appointee. In December 2018, Reema was appointed as Hon. Secretary before moving to the role of Vice Chair from September 2022. She is a member of the Finance and Resources Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee.  She is also the Board’s designated Safeguarding Governor. Reema graduated from San Diego University with a BA in Political Science and Film and later undertook her postgraduate studies at City University London completing a diploma in law together with the United Kingdom Solicitors law exams.  She is a qualified lawyer in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland and is Principal Consultant at Reemedia Consultancy. 

Faisal Raja
Honorary Treasurer

Faisal joined the Board as a parent-elected Governor in December 2018 and from December 2020 he took on the role of Honorary Treasurer.  Faisal is also the Convener of the Finance & Resources and Audit & Risk Committees, as well as being a member of the Education Committee. Faisal is currently a Senior Vice President in Etisalat and was a Board Director and Chair of the Audit Committee in Etisalat Sri Lanka. He is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant with over 20 years of financial management experience working for ICI and British Telecom before his move to Abu Dhabi in December 2012. He is an economics graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is married to Saima with 3 children at BSAK. In his spare time Faisal is a keen sports enthusiast especially in football, cricket and golf.

Maheen Pfeffer
Honorary Secretary

Maheen was appointed as Governor by His Excellency the British Ambassador in March 2021 and from September 2022 she took on the role of Honorary Secretary. Maheen is a member of the Education Committee. She is currently Senior Associate General Counsel at NYU Abu Dhabi and previously served as Legal Counsel at Abu Dhabi Investment Council following private practice with Afridi & Angell. She attended Durham University, the Inns of Court School of Law, Lincoln’s Inn and University College London, and is qualifying for admission to the New York State Bar. She has lived in Abu Dhabi with her family for many years and is a BSAK parent with children in the Primary and Secondary Schools. 

HE Younis Haji A. Al Khoori

HE Younis was appointed to the Board by His Excellency the British Ambassador in May 2015 and is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee. He is the Under Secretary of the UAE Ministry of Finance and manages the day-to-day work of the Ministry in areas such as government budget, revenue operations and diversifications, financial policies and procedures, and support functions.  He manages the UAE’s relations with regional and international financial institutions (IMF, World Bank, Arab Monitory Fund, Islamic Development Fund, OPEC Fund).  He serves on the Board of organisations such as the UAE Central Bank, Federal Tax Authority, Emirates Development Bank, UAE General Pension and Social Services Authority, etc. His role also entails supervising the UAE’s tax and budget related matters and agreements like ‘avoidance of double taxations’ and exchange of tax information with OECD and other jurisdictions. Prior to this, Younis was the IT Director of Abu Dhabi Department of Finance where he managed implementing Oracle ERP and Financial Management and Accounting standards. Before joining the Ministry, he worked as an engineer with ADNOC. He majored in Computer Engineering at Boston University, with a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from North Eastern University.  Younis has one child now a past student of BSAK and a further 3 children currently attending the School.

Muhammad Amin

Muhammad Amin was appointed as parent-elected Governor at the December 2022 AGM and is a member of the Education and Finance & Resources Committees. 

Amin is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in England and he is an alumni of University of London where he earned his Master’s degree. Amin comes with over 17 years’ experience gained across corporates, accounting and consulting firms. He is currently holding a position of the Associate Controller in New York University Abu Dhabi overseeing divisions of Financial Services and Taxes.

He is married with twin boys, Bilal and Usman, who attend BSAK and are currently in year-4. He is a cyclist in his me-time and can be found at Hudayriat cycling track on the weekends.

Vincent Gordon 

Vincent was appointed as parent-elected Governor at the November 2019 AGM and is a member of the Finance & Resources Committee. Vincent has two children who attended BSAK and has been based and working as a lawyer in Abu Dhabi for 16 years.

Nicolas Heard

Nicolas was appointed as parent-elected Governor at the November 2019 AGM and is the Convener of the Education Committee. He was a pupil at BSAK between 1980-85 and has maintained continuous contact with Abu Dhabi ever since. He has lived and worked in various countries around the Middle East before moving back permanently in early 2003. In Abu Dhabi he spent several years working for a UAE-government strategic studies research and policy institute, and now helps to look after an Abu Dhabi based foundation which provides charitable grants globally to support the conservation of endangered species. Nicolas has a degree in Arabic and German Language and Literature from Pembroke College, Oxford, and is married to Philippa – who is also a former BSAK pupil. They have three boys, all of whom are at the School.

Jon Knight

Jon was appointed to the Board as the Ambassador’s Representative in September 2023 and is a member of the Education Committee. He is Deputy British Ambassador to the UAE, working across a range of topics in support of British interests, and is Chief Operating Officer of the UK’s large and diverse network across the Emirates.

A member of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since 2008, Jon joined after a short period as a member of the Royal Air Force. He was educated at St Bartholomew’s School in Newbury, before attending Aberdeen University. He subsequently achieved a Master of Letters degree from the University of St Andrews. A graduate of both the Ministry of Defence’s Senior Leadership Programme, and the cross-Government Senior Leaders Scheme, Jon is a Member of the Chartered Management Institute. Prior to coming to the UAE, Jon has served as Deputy Consul General in Basra, Iraq, and as Deputy High Commissioner to Malta. He has also undertaken secondments to the Royal Household, UK Home Office and UK Ministry of Defence. Outside of work, he is a long serving volunteer at the Royal International Air Tattoo, and an Ambassador for the Royal Air Force Museum.

Sara Shurrab

Sara was appointed as parent-elected Governor at the December 2022 AGM and is a member of the Education Committee. 

Sara is a business professional with 18 years of experience working with reputable organisations including Emirates Airlines, Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC developer of Saadiyat Island), Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation and currently with Etihad Airways serving over 10 years. At Etihad, Sara has held a variety of roles including Strategy, Loyalty and Project Management and is now performing the role of Digital Product Manager responsible for the digital development of Etihad’s web and mobile channels.  

Sara is an MBA graduate from the American University in Dubai honoured with scholarships from His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, for both her Bachelors (double major Finance and Marketing) and Master degrees. She also holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) certification and Design Thinking Certifications. She is a committed member with a proven track record of managing projects end to end and delivering desired results in vital and critical projects. 

Sara is a mother of two boys, both studying at BSAK.

Philippa Wraithmell

Philippa was appointed as parent-elected Governor at the December 2022 AGM and is a member of the Education and Finance & Resources Committees. 

She is an award winning (innovation in learning) educator and Author, her book The Digital Ecosystem is the first book globally to support educators to understand every aspect of digital education. She has specialised in digital strategy, teaching and learning and change leadership in schools, for the past 6 years. Philippa also has extensive experience in developing policy for government entities as well as bespoke frameworks for schools globally and as a Subject Matter Expert, even writing white papers for school groups in Asia and the Middle East. In addition, she is an Apple Distinguished Educator, supporting Apple with reviews and regional projects.  Her app design project went from being a small school community project and is now rolled out emirate wide as a national coding UXUI design project in both English and Arabic. She is an Intel Train the Trainer, Google certified and Microsoft educator and has taught for 13 years, 6 in the Middle East and the UK both primary and secondary with a focus on STEAM, Design Technology & Computer Science. She regularly reviews international awards for sustainability, environmental awareness & digital innovation and is passionate about positive school leadership, integrating meaningful technology and above all safeguarding in schools. 

Philippa is a parent at BSAK of two boys, one primary and one secondary. At weekends you will often find her pitch or pool side supporting and cheering them on.