Helen is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and prior to her election as President of the Chamber, she was an active member of the Greater London Group, the largest group within the CIPR.

She has worked in public affairs locally for over 30 years with a range of clients which have included the Greenwich Foundation, Cathedral Group and U+I now part of Landsec.. She represents this regeneration group on the Chamber’s Board.

Helen was made a College Fellow 2023 of London’s South East Colleges: In recognition of significant support provided as a strategic partner of the College in influencing the skills agenda in South East London.

With a proven track record of building successful partnerships and driving strategic initiatives, Christofi is committed to creating a thriving business ecosystem that empowers local businesses to thrive and succeed. His strong leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion for community development make him a driving force behind the Chamber’s mission to support and promote the interests of businesses in South East London.

Christofi is the Economic Inclusion Manager at Peabody, one of the UK’s oldest non-for-profit housing associations. He is responsible for leading their Economic Inclusion approach, working to facilitate programmes that support improved economic outcomes across enterprise start-up and growth, employment or apprenticeship career pathways, growth sector training and skills development and social value initiatives for Peabody residents and the communities in which they reside.

Over the years Christofi has worked on the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Thamesmead, Holloway Park, Dagenham Green and Friary Park regeneration programmes as well as various other high-profile projects across the Capital and Home Counties.

He lives with his young family in South London and is keen to support the Chamber and its members in delivering positive economic change.

Throughout his career Raff was always in customer facing roles, with exposure to both sole traders, SME’s & international PLC’s, as such he understands the importance in being able to relate to all levels of seniority/experience.  

Outside of work, Raff moved to the UK from Italy in June 1970, he has lived in and around the South East London area ever since. Since retirement he has been true to his word & travels extensively both in the UK & overseas.

She is an FMAAT qualified accountant, and throughout her career, she has established strong partnerships within the community, third sector, private sector, government, and international sectors. As a result, her business support and development expertise are multi-sector and has built a strategic partnership with employers.

She aims to empower individuals on both a personal and professional level to gain a better understanding of finance and committed to offering professional business and financial advice and training to contribute to a more prosperous and all-inclusive economy. The current board appointments in which Julie is appointed in are Director of London Road Business Association, which represents predominately BAME businesses in the West Croydon area. Julie has been delivering business support to businesses from the London Road Business Association with practical financial advice.

She is also the member of the steering panel on Africa Asia Scholars Global Network and have worked with businesses internationally, such as those in Africa and the UAE. She is the member of the Croydon Skills and Employment Strategy Group and sits on Civic Mayor Charity Board and Croydon Advisory Mayoral Board as well as the member of the SME Business Consortium (Croydon).

Prior to setting up Crystal Associates, Mark spent 25 years in senior global roles at Siemens with a focus on sustainability and digitalisation of city infrastructure and industry.

He has recently been appointed as Chief Operating Officer – Enterprise and Employment.

Neil’s role is central to providing pathways into employment, developing professional training opportunities for businesses and to ensure that employers have a central voice in the skills, knowledge and behaviours that our students need to develop.

As well as having strategic development and oversight of employer engagement and apprenticeships, Neil oversees the College’s Higher Education provision, curriculum innovation and partnership arrangements.

Neil has cross-college responsibility for all commercial and facility hire, leading on the college’s agenda to continue to diversify its revenue streams. And, in addition, Neil leads the College’s Greenwich and Bexley campuses including the adult community learning provision.

Yildiz has been networking passionately with the SME sector and property professionals across the South East since 2004.

Legally qualified in the area of Commercial Property Law since 1997, Yildiz’s role covers all aspects of commercial property and land development and she is the Head of the Commercial Real Estate  Team and a Partner at the firm of Thackray Williams.

Thackray Williams is a reputable full service ‘Legal 500’ firm with offices in Bromley, Sevenoaks and in the City, where Yildiz is based.

Yildiz is also a past winner of the Best Female Property Lawyer in ‘Practice’ from the Association of Women Solicitors.

Away from work, Yildiz completed a Masters in Occupational Psychology and is a member of the British Psychological Society. Yildiz spends her spare time with friends and family both in the UK and overseas.