Our directors
These are our heads of division who help our business, and your experience, run smoothly.
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Reg BamfordGroup CEO
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Andrew RissikGroup International Director
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Kendal KroberGroup HR Director
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Sam HopwoodDirector: Australia and Oceania Region
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Mike AbbottDirector: Sable Wealth
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James EdwardDirector: Forex
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William LouwDirector: South African tax
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John DunnDirector: Citizenship and Immigration
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Mishal PatelDirector: Citizenship and Immigration
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Tim PowellDirector: Forex
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Scott BrownDirector: SME
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Dave WoollamIndependent
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Charles RussonIndependent
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Steve PaxtonManaging Director: UK Education Corporate Services
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Darren FaifeManaging Director: Business immigration
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Alan RobbinsAccounting Director
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Megan CopleyDirector: Offshore Real Estate Investment
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Brent MorrisManaging Director: Study abroad
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Philip GambleFounder and Senior Partner
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Marilie du ToitChief Financial Officer
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Reg BamfordGroup CEO
Having qualified at Deloitte & Touche in Cape Town, Reg moved over to London and spent three years in investment banking in the city.
He founded a small tax consultancy in 1996 and in six years turned this into a company with offices in three countries and over 200 staff.
Reg lives in Putney, with his wife and two young sons. In his spare time, he competes internationally at croquet – he is a seven-time winner of the World Championships.
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Andrew RissikGroup International Director
Andrew grew up in South Africa, where he was schooled at Michaelhouse after which he completed his education at the University of Stellenbosch.
He served as an officer in the South African Navy before completing his management training with the McCarthy Group.
He established a company that facilitated the investment of UK client money into the emerging South African property market. He successfully sold his interests before being appointed to head up Sable International's forex team.
Andrew is a keen sailor who has competed internationally and spends many weekends away either sailing or enjoying the outdoors with his wife and two children.
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Kendal KroberGroup HR Director
In her position as Group HR Director of Sable International, Kendal is an integral part of the support team. She is ambitious, empathetic and strives to create a culture of motivated employees who will provide expert support to all Sable International clients.
She has been with Sable International for several years, over which time she has built up invaluable HR generalist experience. With an undergraduate degree in Organisational Psychology and an honours in Change Management from the University of Cape Town, she leads on HR policy, strategy, and employee support in all divisions and countries within the Sable International portfolio.
She is adventurous and has travelled widely. She ranks exploring different countries and cultures as one of the best ways to expand her knowledge.
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Sam HopwoodDirector: Australia and Oceania Region
Sam is a registered migration agent and a member of the Migration Institute of Australia.
Sam studied as an undergraduate at the University of Newcastle, NSW and later completed the postgraduate certificate in immigration law at Victorian University. He has worked in the area of Australian immigration law for 14 years and has helped thousands of people relocate to Australia.
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Mike AbbottDirector: Sable Wealth
Mike grew up and was educated in South Africa, after which he began his career at Investec Private Bank.
In 2006, Mike founded the property and lending advice division of Sable International. He now runs the business and is head of the investment committee.
He loves sport, mostly triathlon and golf. He is a trained NLP Practitioner and an avid reader of all things relating to economics. He is married and has two children.
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James EdwardDirector: Forex
James has 35 years of banking experience, 15 of these intimately involved in international trade finance, including eight years as head of Capital Equipment Imports and Trade Finance, Nedbank Corporate (previously BoE Corporate Bank).
He previously headed up the Durban office of Reichmann’s Trade Finance, part of Investec Bank. James has a BComm degree majoring in Economics and Business Finance, a Banker’s Diploma and has completed an Advanced International Finance course at the University of Cape Town. In his spare time, James enjoys surfing and has a very active family that love the outdoors.
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William LouwDirector: South African tax
William started his career by studying towards a Chartered Accountant degree through Unisa. Since then he has worked in firms around South Africa and Namibia as a Professional Accountant.
He has led teams across several companies including 1st Contact’s South African tax division and started his own firm in 2011.
In 2019, William merged his company with Sable International to form our South African tax division. His goal has always been to help clients get the maximum benefit from their tax situation.
He is an avid croquet player and has frequently represented the country.
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John DunnDirector: Citizenship and Immigration
John joined Sable International in 2008 and has managed multiple divisions during his time with the company.
He has over a decade of experience in immigration, citizenship and residency-by-investment. He combines that with a background in sales, marketing and management to ensure that Sable International is the go to for all things relating to citizenship and immigration around the world.
Outside of work, John is dedicated to his young family. He enjoys fitness activities and loves the outdoors.
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Mishal PatelDirector: Citizenship and Immigration
Mishal was born in Mombasa, Kenya and relocated to the UK in 2004 after a successful colonial nationality claim through Philip Gamble & Partners.
Mishal joined Sable International in 2009 and is a registered Level 1 adviser in UK immigration with the OISC. Mishal works closely with Philip Gamble and assists in isolating claims to British nationality for those who have connections to former British Territories, those who are resident in the UK and those adopted by British citizens. Mishal has a special interest in East Africa and the sub-continent. He is fluent English, Kiswahili and Gujarati.
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Tim PowellDirector: Forex
Tim has 25 years of work experience, including at the likes of Price Waterhouse Coopers, Combined Motor Holdings, BoE, Ernst & Young, JD Edwards in South Africa, Deutsche Bank and 1st Contact Forex in London.
He started an online forex business in London before returning to South Africa. He then joined FX Capital, growing the business to annual trade in excess of R4 billion per annum.
In 2017, FX Capital merged with Sable International and Tim is now the director of Sable International’s South African forex business.
On weekends, Tim enjoys climbing mountains with his wife and two sons.
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Scott BrownDirector: SME
Scott majored in Accounting and Business Administration at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and working for five years within business services and taxation, he headed to London and joined 1st Contact.
In 2010, following the merger with a number of smaller accountancy practices to form Sable International's accounting team, he became Managing Director of Accounting, heading a team of accountants and assistants specialising in SMEs and contractors.
Scott is also interested in travel, music, fine dining and wine.
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Dave WoollamIndependent
Dave chairs our Advisory Board, a four-person group of wise owls who advise the CEO and Group Board on strategy.
Since 2010, Dave has built up a diversified portfolio of financial interests and non-executive roles. He believes that "Doing good is good for business".
He lives in KwaZulu-Natal with his wife, Caroline, curating the careers of his two grown-up children.
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Charles RussonIndependent
Charles is a member of our Advisory Board, a four-person group of experienced executives who advise the CEO and Group Board on strategy.
A Michaelhouse old boy, Charles qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1992 before relocating to the UK. After a successful stint with several Investment Banks in the City of London and Frankfurt, he moved back to South Africa in 1999 to join Barclays/ABSA. He is now CEO of ABSA Corporate & Investment Banking.
He lives in Joburg with his wife, Claire, and their three children. They commute regularly between Joburg and their holiday house in Hermanus, where Charles keeps fit by cycling in the surrounding mountains.
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Steve PaxtonManaging Director: UK Education Corporate Services
Steve is the Managing Director of the UK Education Corporate Services division. He is an experienced international investment business owner, UK independent school boarding expert, UK Child/Student sponsor licence specialist, including overseeing many UKVI compliance inspections and has been the Commercial Director of a UK immigration firm.
As a student global mobility specialist, he intends to make Sable International a trusted supplier of advice and support to UK independent schools and their worldwide agents, in the complex sector of Home Office compliance and visa acquisition for UK-bound international students.
Outside of work, Steve loves travelling, spending time with his family and new grandchild, a quadruple World Cup hockey coach and player, and is currently an England hockey masters player.
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Darren FaifeManaging Director: Business immigration
Darren has over 25 years’ experience heading award-winning organisations as well as providing immigration and compliance services to large-scale, multinational businesses.
Having run his own successful immigration practice for over 20 years, Darren possesses a strong commercial mindset and provides an efficient delivery of strategic solutions, while consistently driving value contributing to core business objectives.
Darren joined Sable International in 2020 to bring his wealth of expertise to our business immigration services. He is registered with the OISC at level 2 in UK Immigration.
Outside of work, Darren is a “car man”, who makes his annual trip to Le Mans every year.
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Alan RobbinsAccounting Director
Alan went to school, studied and completed his articles in Cape Town, after which he started work as an audit manager. His next move was across to the UK in 2003, where he joined Quotient Financial - later part of Sable International - and worked as a client accountant for just under two years. He then worked as an internal auditor for Interserve PLC, a FTSE-listed facilities management and construction company.
With a view to returning to Cape Town, he re-joined the Quotient team in June 2007 in the role of client manager. In August 2009, he relocated to the Cape Town office to manage the accounting team based there.
Alan enjoys most outdoor activities as well as any opportunity to travel.
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Megan CopleyDirector: Offshore Real Estate Investment
Megan was educated at St Peters College, followed by Stellenbosch University, before leaving South Africa to pursue a property career in London.
Predominantly working in real estate across Europe, the UK, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, advising clients on their portfolios, Megan has worked for Savills and UK billionaire John Caudwell and now spearheads Sable International’s Real Estate Investment division.
Her vision is to advise clients, through a very personalised process, on investing in real estate abroad and to build a division anchored on integrity and trust, using her ample experience in the property world.
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Brent MorrisManaging Director: Study abroad
Brent was born and raised in South Africa and then travelled to the UK as an international student, where he completed his master’s degree with Anglia Ruskin University. He worked for several public universities in the UK and the US with a continuous focus on Africa. He has spent time travelling the entire continent, supporting students on their journeys to study abroad.
In 2016, he moved back to South Africa where he set up a pan-African study abroad consultancy. He joined Sable International in 2021 and now manages the Study abroad division.
When he is not travelling, you will find him in the water, surfing.
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Philip GambleFounder and Senior Partner
Philip trained with the Home Office within their Citizenship Directorate until 1992. He was the founder partner of Montgomery and Co and later Managing Director of 1st Contact Visas.
He has assisted in developing Government policies with the Points Based System and has instigated changes in Policy towards the descendants of Government employees of former British Territories. Philip is also responsible for immigration training in NHS Hospitals.
He is widely regarded as an authority on British nationality law and the effects of decolonisation within the former British Empire. Philip is registered with the OISC as a level 2 adviser in Immigration.
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Marilie du ToitChief Financial Officer
Marilie qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1998, after which she worked at Deloitte & Touche in Cape Town, London and Brussels.
After returning to Cape Town in 2003, she fulfilled the role of Finance Director for South African operations at Panalux until she joined Sable International in 2008.
Marilie describes herself as meticulous, fair, committed and lucky. She loves rules and reasoning. She taught herself to read at age five and has not stopped. She is also a closet chef with a deep love for gnocchi.