Svarna group team
Meet the Team
Svarna Group of companies Team
Judith P Finnmore
Academic Director
Judith has been involved in educating young people for the last 40 years in both the public and private sectors,
She been a a major determinant in transforming the lives of the young people and remains passionate about the need for high-quality inclusive education. Involved in design and implementation of enterprise and active citizenship education programs,. Judith has delivered a number of CPD programs including performance management, enterprise education, teacher training for newly qualified staff, and gifted and talented programs. A senior examiner, school governor and professional mentor for colleagues on Fast Track and Leadership Pathways programs.
A School Improvement Specialist at ADEC, she was involved in advising schools and set up school-based workshops to pass on her expertise. A suite of UAE Social Studies Units based on research and active learning, were given to schools and she was at the forefront in setting up the AD Principals’ Assn to ensure they had a voice and shared best practice. She led the Private Schools Database Project, a system useful to a number of sectors.
Nand-Lal
Managing Director
Mr Nand is an educationist by heart. Having more than 23 years of extensive and diverse management and leadership experience covering a broad range to service industries.
Mr Nand is an educationist heart. Having more than 23 years of extensive and diverse management and leadership experience covering a broad range to service industries. His enterprises, extending from manufacturing, trading, export – import to service industries. His admirable and wide experience demonstrates his adaptability to be flexible and able to transfer his knowledge and skills to new challenges and situations.
Mr Nand is a very confident learner whose special trait is a pursuit of knowledge perfection and mastery in his work. His philosophy starts with a clear vision followed by research and plaining, careful implementation, risk assessment and evaluation. He believes in the strength of team work and works endlessly and selflessly to ensure objectives are met. He is very able communicator and makes inspiring addresses to a large audience. His success will always be referred back to those he has worked with. He expects high standards and commitment from those who work with him and never compromises with professional ethos and values.
Peter Gutteridge
Board Member
Peter began his career in the motor manufacturing industry, applying root-cause analysis techniques to identify where efficiency and productivity improvements could be made. Following this, he joined the education sector.
He holds an M.Ed in Educational Management and Leadership. For more than 20 years, Peter has worked as a school leader and led school improvement projects in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Peter made huge impact with his presence and has helped many schools with their School Improvement Plans by using his knowledge and strength across many areas. As the regional manager of an International School Group for a network of 52 schools, he leaves the group in unrecognizably better shape by using his well-honed leadership techniques, thereby raising standards in the quality of provision. His contributions will always be remembered by those who have worked with him.
Steve Malvish
Board Member
Steve Melhuish has been Involved in education for nearly 30 years. He was awarded a degree in biomedical science from Southampton University(UK).
where he also trained as a teacher before teaching in a variety of schools from large inner-city schools to smaller schools in rural settings. Steve is currently the Head of Science and Computing at a school on the south coast of the United Kingdom. He is also the creator of Fridge Physics. a free educational website resource for teachers and students. Fridge Physics allows students to access and learn physics equations by practicing calculations that they may encounter in physics examinations, and demonstrates physics concepts in everyday settings. More recently, Steve has patented Teacher Fast Feedback, a teaching tool he developed that allows teachers to give feedback to students by linking a mobile dictation app via Bluetooth to a portable printer via Bluetooth. The result is a sticky label that can be fastened on student work. Teacher Fast Feedback has taken the UK teaching community by storm and is allowing teachers to reduce their marking time by at least 75%
Penny Nakhle
Board Member
Hailing originally from Australia, Penny has had a distinguished career teaching in schools in Australia and in the United Emirates before becoming a School Improvement Consultant based in Al Ain in 2014.
In that time she used her infectious enthusiasm to make a great difference in transforming a number of schools to raise them from ‘Weak’ to at least ‘Satisfactory’. Penny was also a tutor on the Cambridge International Certificate of Teaching and Training. A proponent of active, engaged learning, Penny was integral in ensuring trainees were apprised of necessary strategies for bringing classrooms alive. Since returning to her native Australia, Penny has worked in schools for Queensland Education and is currently a school leader there.
Dr Joan Telford
Board Member
Dr Joan Telford is a highly experienced and well-qualified educator.
Dr Joan Telford is a highly experienced and well-qualified educator. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Telford has held a number of teaching and advisory roles including the Transition role for the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, and Lead Practitioner in Pedagogy, Research and Development at Phoenix School and Academy, London, where she played an integral role in the school’s transformation.
Dr Telford has extensive and diversified experience as educator to add much more value to the SVARNA board. Dr Telford also holds awards as a Neurolinguistics Practitioner, ILM Chartered Mentor and Coach and an NFER research specialist.
Mr. Mohammed Rashid Khamis Al Mogezwi
Board Member
Mr. Rashid is multitalented professional with specialization in the area of law, policy and procedures. He graduated from Law in year 2002 and secured
Mr. Rashid is multitalented professional with specialization in the area of law, policy and procedures. He graduated from Law in year 2002 and secured qualification as Public Policy Expert from LSE University, London (UK). He gained wide range of leadership experience in last 23 years working with Dubai Police General Command, Ministry of Health and Road and Transport Authority.
Mr. Rashid is very innovative leader and a confident learner. His strength of knowledge is not limited to the areas of legal affairs and judicial disputes but extended to administrative contracts, agreements, policies, procedures, risk assessments, crisis and emergency management etc. He has won many accolades, certificates, awards and medals. He possesses a leadership spirit and is capable of multi-tasking.
His expertise lies in analyzing issues and providing appropriate solutions. He is a member of the Emirates Association of Lawyers and Jurists and publishes legal papers and articles. He is well known for preparing workshops and training courses for different professionals. Raising the level of performance and developing technical and personal skills is his area of expertise and his presence as a member of Svarna advisory board will be an added strength.
Awal Khan
Digital Marketing Manager
• Played a strategic role in improving the overall website performance across organic channels and served clients on a regular basis to provide optimum solutions to improve the site’s organic performance.
• Played a strategic role in improving the overall website performance across organic channels and served clients on a regular basis to provide optimum solutions to improve the site’s organic performance.
• Responsible for implementing all the technical changes to the website to improve search performance and assisting in designing UI of brand websites optimally, enhancing the user experience across the websites.
• Created performance-driven Digital Proposals, found opportunities across content marketing for inbound marketing, build publisher networks, and established relationships with vendors.
• Identified new trends in digital marketing which could help organizations with brand awareness and performed Research, Analysis, Reporting & provided solutions to scale up the client’s performance.
• Oversaw the entire site migration and ensured to have no impact on traffic and managed a team of 4 digital marketers, assisting them with SEO queries and getting the output based on the team’s target.
• Tools Worked on: Screaming Frog, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Advanced Web Ranking, Moz.
Ms. Renu Sharma
Board Member
Renu has been in the field of education for more than 22 years. She has worked with some of the top schools in the UAE, Oman, Libya and India.
Renu has been in the field of education for more than 22 years. She has worked with some of the top schools in the UAE, Oman, Libya and India. She has a proven track record of successfully managing resources and staff to improve educational services, thereby providing pupils and teachers with the best environment to achieve their full potential. Over the decade, Renu has effectively managed, mentored and coached leadership teams in different institutions and currently playing a very creative and innovative role as educationist. Her well-developed capacity to build trusting relationships, enthuse, motivate and encourage collaboration from stakeholders, staff and management, has proven her to be an invaluable asset to multiple projects.
Renu undoubtedly leads by example, and is able to successfully motivate and facilitate an effective training program. She has been a part of the DSIB inspections since their inception and through her understanding of the framework has been instrumental in raising the school judgements for the school’s she’s worked in Senior Leadership positions.