About EMAG - Committee Members

Colin Slater, Deputy Chairman

Born London 1943. Educated Alleyns School, Dulwich. Upon leaving school took Articles as Chartered Accountant. Prize-winner intermediate examination 1964. Qualified 1966. Specialised in Tax Planning with City firm. Joined Burgess Hodgson as second partner in 1968. Developed special interest in investment and pension matters.

Married Susan 1972. Burgess Hodgson decentralised to Canterbury 1976. Extended interest into the use of computers especially in tax planning and management accounts. Alsointerested in litigation. Helped expand firm to current 8-partner size.

Equitable Life policyholder since 1973 (until very recently). Leisure interests include tournament water-skiing. National Slalom Champion (age related) since 1999. Member of 2001 European Championship-winning British Senior Team.

Paul Braithwaite, General Secretary.

Aged 56, with two grown-up daughters. Lives in London. Hobbies: cycling and travel, often in combination.

Masters Degree from London Business School (1972). Career in marketing, including M&S, EMI, RCA, prior to becoming a director in Saatchi & Saatchi in the late 1970s, specialising in technology - Sony, Thorn EMI, Racal Vodafone – and the Conservative Party (1979 election).

In 1984 started own marketing consultancy specialising in leisure. In 1994 started successful childrens educational shops: "Fun Learning". Now non-exec chairman.

Became an ELAS member in 1984. Attended last four ELAS AGMs. Openly criticised Nash and Sclater in 1999 and 2000. Stood as an independent director candidate for ELAS, unsuccessfully, in both 2001 and 2002.

Joined EMAG’s committee in September 2000. Worked ‘pro bono’ on EMAG for 20 months, including a year as chairman. Removed funds from Equitable in July 2002 and simultaneously stepped down from chairing EMAG. Subsequently retained by EMAG committee as a consultant general secretary to continue co-ordinating EMAG’s activities on a part-time basis. Concentrated on political influence and media relations. Attended all Court, TreasCom, Parliament and Penrose meetings. Supervises maintenance of EMAG’s website. Maintains an ELAS archive with a view to writing THE book about the scandal and cover-up.

Betty McCann, Treasurer

Since leaving National Westminster Bank I have no pension provision to speak of. I therefore decided to make provision and for the last 12 years ago I have restricted my outgoing and instead put all my available income into various Pension Plans.

I am in my fifties and was looking forward to retiring with a manageable income but not anymore. Trying to keep up to date with the Equitable debacle I decided to offer my services as Treasurer to EMAG. I was appointed to the committee in 2001 and I have found the EMAG meetings both challenging and rewarding.

I am a "jack of all trades master of none" and have been employed with the same company for 16 years in various roles including Administration Manager, Project Management, Service Delivery and Network Manager.

I live in Surrey and enjoy Bridge, Ski-ing and travelling. In 2001 I graduated with a BSc Honours in Technology through the Open University.I am also a member of a "Share Club" which meets every month to discuss stock and shares.

Chris Carnaghan

Chris Carnaghan. Born 1943. Joined Equitable in 1982 as a GAR policyholder. While in consequence I have suffered much less than many other members I feel very indignant about the behaviour of Equitable - not least in its concealment of important issues from members throughout the 1990s - as well as the feeble behaviour of the regulators, and now the limp-wristed report of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

MA from Cambridge University and M Sc from the London Business School. Self-employed management consultant since 1987 (involved variously in executive search, market research, marketing strategy and trade promotion).

Tom Lake, Membership Secretary

Tom is 57, a physicist and software engineer by training, and works as a consultant in software research and implementation, living in and working from Reading. He founded and chaired the British Computer Society's Parallel Processing Specialist Group and continues an interest in distributed computing, sometimes as distributed simulation.

Tom has a non-GAR personal pension plan with the Equitable Life.

Michael Neal

I live in south east Essex and am an annuitant whose current activities in semi-retirement are gardening, travel, music, wine and golf.

In my youth I was a musician/band leader, having been trained on classical clarinet and played saxophone and flute. I have two married sons aged 37 and 34 and one grandson.

I am a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and a Chartered Insurers and also a Fellow of the Life Assurance Association. I was registered as a 'controller' with the DTI from 1970 until 1997, and was CEO of a life office from 1983 until I retired June 1997. Thereafter, I spent 18 months with the Liverpool Victoria Group as a management consultant.

My areas of expertise being regulation, sales and marketing, product design (both investment and protection products)and also property/fixed interest investment.

I have served on two LAUTRO committees and I sat on the Chartered Insurance Institutes Examiners Committee and also the Moderators Committee. I was also Chairman of the Investment and Life Assurance Group, an alternative industry body to the ABI, and still sit on some of their committees.

Alex Henney

John A Newman, MA, FCA

Until 1 May 2004 he was a director in Smith & Williamson Corporate Tax Dept. This was his full time occupation after approximately 30 years in professional life. This has necessarily involved advice on strategy, structuring and finance, in addition to taxation, and has required appreciation of home country financial conditions and taxation. Industry experience has ranged over the last 30 years from banking (which started with the National Westminster at Touche Ross) to investment houses, private banks through e-commerce to lighting and construction companies.

Within Smith & Williamson he has assumed responsibility for corporate tax compliance issues. As a result he has been involved in litigation support as an expert witness for cases involving professional negligence. He has also had to deal with the interaction of Taxation with regulatory issues. Outside Smith & Williamson he has played an active role in the profession. This has been useful experience for the conduct of meetings and public presentations.

Participation in professional bodies

Elected member of the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales - ICAEW - 1987 to 1993 and 1995 to 1997; member of the Technical Committee of the Faculty of Taxation 1989 to 1997; Chairman of ICAEW working party on tax engagement letters; member of ICAEW working party on incorporation of professional firms.