Our Team
- Sarah Thelwall | Founder & Director
- Sarah founded MyCake in 2007 in response to the lack of financial management tools on the market designed to meet the needs of creative, cultural and non-profit organisations. Why shouldn't we all be able to have our financial cake and eat it too? Sarah regularly speaks at events in the UK and internationally. She has also written for The Guardian, The British Council, Pioneers Post, Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy to name but a few.
- Karl Wilding | Director
- Karl is a UK-based social sector advisor, analyst and consultant with 20+ years’ experience working with charities, government and the media. A former CEO and director of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), his work now focuses on better understanding trends and issues in the social sector and broader civil society and helping organisations respond to them. At MyCake, Karl is helping to develop our indicators and dashboards for the social sector. Karl is an associate of several organisations, including MyCake, Local Trust and Pro Bono Economics. He is a trustee of Communities 1st and a director at Creating the Future, a US-based non-profit. He shares insights and ideas via Twitter.
- Anamaria Wills | Associate
- Anamaria spent 20 years as a theatre producer, working with touring companies ranging from DV8 to the National Theatre, and internationally with companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Ariane Mnouchkine's Theatre du Soleil and Jiri Kylian's Nederlans Dans Theater. She won the TMA award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatrical Life and went on to set up and run the Creative Industries Development Agency for 20 years, including introducing MyCake to many UK and international clients. She now does mentoring, management and teaching, and is Chair or Strategic Advisor to five outstanding arts organisations.
- Richard Leeming | Associate
- Richard is a collaborative data and innovation consultant who’s spent his career working at the cusp of technical change. He’s adept at interpreting the impact of data and new digital products & services and working out how organisations – especially those in the public and third sectors – can use them to thrive in an era of rapid change. In recent years his approach to innovation has focused on three areas. Firstly, digital and data transformation, enabling organisations to find new ways of delivering their organisational missions more efficiently. Secondly innovative policy development with clients in local government, arms-length bodies and third-sector organisations at the intersection of place, digital, data and the creative industries. Finally, simply solving the sort of ‘wicked problems’ that every organisation occasionally faces. Richard is also an elected member of Southwark Council so has personal experience of the challenges of policy delivery on a daily basis.
- Sanaz Amidi | Associate
- 20+ years experienced, values-driven executive leader, board member and Chair with governance and operational expertise across private, public, social enterprise and non-profit sectors. Blends strategic, commercial and operational proficiency with robust skills in compliance, organisational development, ethics, financial reporting, risk management and diversity. Offers extensive international experience in cultural placemaking, digital, and creative industries spanning Europe, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Sanaz is trained in the fine arts (Central St Martins and Camberwell) and holds accounting and executive coaching qualifications as well as a Global Executive MBA from the IESE Business School and Strategy in Not for Profit Management from Harvard Business School. Sanaz is currently a Trustee of the English National Ballet, NED at Creative United, Independent Chair of Creative Newham and Special Advisor to the Contemporary Visual Arts Network London.
- Nicola Collard | PA and Client Support
- Nicola has been working with MyCake since 2018. As well as Sarah’s PA and bookkeeper, Nicola is an experienced MyCake user and advisor. Nicola manages Sarah’s diary and is your ‘go to girl’ if you need to book a telephone call or meeting with Sarah. As well as working with MyCake, Nicola also runs her own virtual assistant administration and business support service. You can be sure that her experience with all things admin and invoicing/credit control will be of help to you too.
