Special Situations Advisory
Overview
Astraea’s Special Situations Advisory Panel comprises seasoned leaders in their fields, who have helped global organisations to navigate high-stakes threat events.
Astraea’s Special Situations Advisory Panel members are highly networked, senior and independent experts with hands-on experience of leading and advising organisations which have faced complex legal, commercial, regulatory and reputational threats, special situations and existential crises. Drawing on decades of experience, the panel provides strategic counsel and dedicated support to our clients in their time of need.
Our Focus Areas
Strategic Counsel
Providing seasoned expertise and practical support to clients facing complex, event-driven legal, regulatory, financial, or reputational threats. Our Advisors leverage unrivalled real-world experience of navigating atypical situations, offering strategic insights and actionable solutions to help clients protect value and exploit opportunity.
Independent Inquiries and Investigations
Leading independent inquiries, reviews, or high-stakes investigations with integrity. Our Advisors have led Independent Inquiries and reviews, as well as high-profile corporate investigations on behalf of clients facing heightened scrutiny or seeking to uncover facts and learn lessons.
Coaching and Mentoring
Offering personalised coaching and mentoring to C-suite leaders, executives, and management who are navigating change, complexity, or uncertainty. Our Advisers have decades of experience at the top, where they have harnessed invaluable insights on resilient leadership, conflict resolution and change management.
Crisis Response Support
Delivering hands-on crisis management support from experts who have successfully led organisations through a broad spectrum of crises and material threat events. Our Advisors include some of the most well-known corporate ‘trouble-shooters’ in the United Kingdom, who have steered domestic and international businesses through existential crises.
Problem Solving
Our team of Advisors provides analytical and strategic support to help clients make informed decisions and implement effective solutions. They assist organisations and their executives in thinking through and responding to business critical issues, challenges and opportunities.
Advisory Panel
Simon Lewis OBE
Special Situations Advisor
An experienced and highly regarded communications professional, Simon helps Astraea’s clients in complex situations, particularly where there is a reputational dimension and a need for a crisis communications and public relations strategy.
Sir Michael Rake
Special Situations Advisor
A giant of British business, Sir Michael Rake has unrivalled expertise managing the intersection between reputational, commercial, financial and regulatory issues.
Kathryn Ludlow
Special Situations Advisor
A seasoned investigations and disputes professional, Kathryn helps Astraea to represent its clients in navigating complex situations, particularly where actual or potential disputes, litigious situations and investigations are involved.
Dr. Jamil El-Imad
Special Situations Advisor
With decades of experience in cutting-edge and disruptive technologies across Europe and the Middle East, Dr Jamil El-Imad helps Astraea’s clients to navigate complex situations, particularly those involving significant IT and technology aspects, advising a range of clients including corporates and UHNW individuals.
Simon Lewis OBE
Special Situations Advisor
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Biography
Simon helps Astraea’s clients in complex situations, particularly where there is a reputational dimension and a need for a crisis communications and public relations strategy.
Simon is one of the UK’s most senior and experienced strategic communications advisors. He studied at Oxford University and the University of California, Berkeley, as a Fulbright scholar.
Simon began his career in financial public relations in London during the early 1980s. He was seconded to S.G. Warburg Group in the lead-up to the City’s deregulation in 1986. In 1992, he became Director of Corporate Affairs at NatWest Group, overseeing internal and external communications, including the rebranding of its investment bank.
As a founding member of Centrica’s Executive Team, Simon managed corporate affairs and public policy during its demerger from British Gas, the largest transaction of its kind in the UK. In 1998, he was seconded to Buckingham Palace as the first Communications Secretary to the late Queen, managing communications for the Royal Family.
Returning to Centrica, Simon led European business activities before joining Vodafone Group as Director of Corporate Affairs in 2004, where he handled global communications for the UK’s largest listed company. In 2009, he was appointed Director of Communications and Official Spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
In 2010, Simon became the founding CEO of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, growing it into a leading trade group. He was awarded an OBE in 2015 for public service and international education contributions.
Simon joined FTI Consulting in 2020 as Vice Chair EMEA and global Head of Financial Services in Strategic Communications. In 2023, he founded Lewis Advisors, focusing on board-level strategic communications.
Simon is Chair of Young Enterprise, an Honorary Fellow of Brasenose College, and co-hosts the BBC Sounds podcast “When it Hits the Fan.”
Sir Michael Rake
Special Situations Advisor
Contact
Biography
Sir Michael Rake helps Astraea’s clients navigate high-stakes special situations, particularly involving complex legal, commercial, financial or leadership issues, or where sensitive regulatory and government engagement may be required
Sir Michael Rake (Sir Mike) is one of the UK’s most well known business leaders, recognised for his expertise in handling crises and complex Special Situations. His strategic counsel is highly sought after in matters involving legal, commercial, financial, leadership, and regulatory issues and he has built a strong reputation as a corporate ‘trouble-shooter’. As Global Chairman of KPMG International, he steered the firm through existential threats, including a potential criminal indictment in the US. Sir Mike has held senior roles at major companies such as BT, Barclays, McGraw Hill (S&P Global), and easyJet, guiding them through significant challenges during and after the financial crisis.
He has advised UK Prime Ministers from different political parties, held multiple business advocacy and government advisory roles and been involved in a number of successful private equity investments, including the IPO of Worldpay Inc (now FIS Global). As part of his various roles, Sir Mike maintained close relationships with the UK’s security services. His international experience spans the US, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, with expertise in sectors including professional services, banking and payments, telecoms, airlines, technology, oil and gas, healthcare and education.
Sir Mike was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007 for his services to accountancy and made a Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan in 2021, for his work on strengthening UK-Japan economic relations. Currently, he chairs Wireless Logic Ltd, Newday Ltd, Phoenix Global Resources and Majid Al Futtaim Holdings. He also serves as a senior advisor to Elliott Advisors and a director of Trust Payments Ltd. Sir Mike was Chairman of the governors at Wellington College until 2016 and Chair of Great Ormond Street Hospital until 2023.
Kathryn Ludlow
Special Situations Advisor
Contact
Biography
Kathryn helps Astraea represent its clients in navigating complex situations, particularly where actual or potential disputes, litigious situations and investigations are involved.
Kathryn is a lawyer, qualified in the UK and in Hong Kong. She was a partner at international law firm Linklaters LLP. During her 31 year career at Linklaters Kathryn specialised in complex investigations and dispute resolution in the UK and internationally for a broad range of clients in different sectors, including Big Four accountancy firms, major banks and corporates. Her work gave her significant domestic, international and cross border experience in contentious situations.
Kathryn was Linklaters’ first Global Pro Bono partner and chaired the Global Corporate Responsibility Committee. She was a member of the firm’s Partner Election Committee for several years.
Kathryn has set up her own consultancy business carrying out independent internal investigations for clients. She has been a Trustee of various legal advice charities as well as of the humanitarian charity International Rescue Committee UK and the theatre company in Truro, Hall for Cornwall. She is a non executive director of The Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Dr. Jamil El-Imad
Special Situations Advisor
Contact
Biography
Dr. Jamil El-Imad brings extensive expertise in IT systems design, technology audits, multimedia technologies, and digital health, developed through his work with leading blue-chip companies. Currently, he operates in both business and academia, focusing on cutting-edge technologies and providing advisory services to UHNW clients and prominent Family Offices across the Middle East and globally. His deep knowledge of disruptive technologies and adept problem-solving makes him a highly valuable advisor to clients facing complex challenges or looking to seize new opportunities.
A pioneer in developing innovative solutions for brain research, artificial intelligence (AI), brain-computer interfaces (BCI), and virtual reality (VR), Dr. El-Imad is known for leveraging advanced technologies to tackle complex issues. He has successfully led large-scale, multi-sector projects on platforms such as IBM, working with major corporations including Halliburton, Roussel Laboratories (now Sanofi), and the Juffali Group, a prominent Middle Eastern conglomerate with partnerships with global firms such as Siemens, IBM, Dow Chemical, Mercedes Benz, Carrier, and Ericsson.
Dr. El-Imad serves as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London. He has also held leadership roles as Chief Scientist at NeuroPro and Virtually Live Media, contributing to groundbreaking advancements in brain science, signal processing, and VR, including the development of Metaverse media for live events. As CEO of The Brain Forum for nearly a decade, Dr. El-Imad played a key role in promoting global brain research. He holds multiple patents in VR and BCI technologies and is a frequent speaker at international events such as TED, the Financial Times US Health Summit, and The Royal Albert Hall’s “Imagining the Future of Medicine.”
In addition, Dr. El-Imad serves as a Scientific Reviewer for the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. He holds an MBA and PhD from the University of Leicester and is a Fellow of both the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) and Imperial College London. He is currently based in Abu Dhabi.
