Our story and our School Board

The role of our school board

Led by a chair, vice-chair and treasurer, the board’s remit is to ensure the best possible education for our students and to be self-funding through school fees. As profit-making is not a factor, the board focuses fully on providing a financially viable and first-rate education.  

ISA exists for the benefit of its students, helping them develop along their own pathways to success as exemplary global citizens. Our board’s role is to ensure we stay true to that vision.

The full board, who are all volunteers and most of whom have children at the school, meets every two months, with interim finance meetings to ensure the school is being run responsibly. 

Our history

1972
1979
1996
2005
2010
2022

Meet our board

Chris Sawyer

Chair 

Chris joined multi-national law firm Pinsent Masons in 2025, as a partner in the corporate team. He was previously the Aberdeen-based legal manager for BP’s North Sea and Russia businesses. 

 

A member of the ISA board since 2018, Chris moved to Scotland from London with his family in 2005, and apart from a three-year stint in Moscow has lived and worked here ever since.  

 

He and his family live in Aboyne and his children have been students at the school since 2016, having chosen ISA for the value of the locally rooted but globally focused education it provides. 

Tristan, a private equity investor and fund manager, leads and manages investments across multiple sectors. He was an investor with UK-based private equity firm 3i, responsible for the origination, evaluation and execution of investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector.  

 

Prior to 3i, Tristan was an officer in the Royal Navy, where he held various support, planning and operational logistics roles at sea and onshore in the UK and internationally.  

His Aberdonian wife Melanie was an active member of the ISA Parent Teacher Organisation for more than 10 years. Their eldest daughter graduated from ISA in 2022, and their son left the school at the end of Grade 10. Both are now studying at university in Aberdeen. 

Tristan Cutler

Vice Chair 

Dave Cox

Board Member

Dave is the Shell Strategic Account Leader for Baker Hughes, responsible for the success of the Baker Hughes-Shell relationship at a global level. 

 

He grew up in the UK and had his first international experience as a field engineer in Africa in his 20s. He met his Mexican wife while overseas and they worked together internationally before moving to the UK in 2004. After a three-year stint in Kuala Lumpur, they returned to the Granite City in 2023 and their children became ISA students. 

 

Dave’s motivation as a board member is a strong desire to see Aberdeen thrive through the energy transition and he believes a world-class international school offering the IB curriculum is part of this.  

Paul is a senior industry leader and executive with more than 33 years’ experience in the global energy sector. He has worked for a wide range of companies including Shell, Marathon Oil, Amoco, BP, Venture Production and Centrica. 

 

He is currently the Director of Robert Gordon University’s Energy Transition Institute, Chair of the National Energy Skills Accelerator, Chair of PlanSea Solutions and a Professor at Robert Gordon University (UK). 

 

Paul is an experienced non-executive director, with more than 20 years’ involvement in public, private and voluntary sector organisations. He is also a regular contributor to industry events and a frequent media commentator on issues and developments in the international energy sector.  

Paul de Leeuw

Board Member 

Kathryn McKee

Board Member 

Kathryn is Head of Communications & Social Performance for bp in the UK and has more than 20 years’ experience in public relations. Her career has spanned the public and private sectors and industries ranging from food and pharmaceuticals, to health, transport and energy.  She has a MA (Hons) in Interpreting & Translating from Heriot-Watt University and is a chartered member of the CIPR. 

 

Apart from four years living and working in The Hague, Kathryn, her husband James and their two daughters have always called Aberdeen home. Their daughters joined ISA in 2023 are now progressing through their high school and middle school journeys, making the most of the fantastic opportunities the school has to offer. 

Sama is Finance Director at SLB, responsible for overseeing European operations. She moved to Aberdeen having spent 15 years working with SLB in North America, Asia and the Middle East, spanning multiple roles across controllership, global business services and reporting. 

 

Sama’s husband Luis is a finance professional who has worked in the energy and building materials industries and has a passion for sustainability and New Energy. She describes him as the rock of the family who made the move to a brand-new location possible for them all. Daughter Emma started first grade at ISA in 2024 and is very happy thanks to the brilliant teachers and staff. 

Sama Nekakhtar

Board Member

Jilly Powell

Board Member 

Jilly is Vice President of Communications for TotalEnergies in the UK, having joined the organisation in 2018 as part of its merger with Maersk Oil, and works across the company’s oil and gas and renewable businesses in the UK. 

 

She has more than 20 years’ experience in communications roles in the UK energy sector, including at Fifth Ring, Venture Production, Petrofac and Maersk Oil. She’s built her communications knowledge through major projects including acquisitions, divestments and mergers, dedicating her focus to the employee experience, reputation management and community engagement.  

 

Jilly came to Aberdeen to attend the University of Aberdeen, studying for an MA Hons in History and an MSc in Management, Innovation & Change. Married with two children, she is delighted to be part of the ISA board. 

Experience ISA in person

As you enter our green and leafy campus you’ll be struck by the combination of old and new – a traditional granite reception building that is the gateway to one of the country’s finest purpose-built schools.

People say our facilities have to be seen to be believed and our friendly and experienced team will be delighted to welcome you.  Book a tour now – we’d love to show you around.

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