Jo moved to Singapore from London in 2002 to pursue a career with Capital International, a global investment management company. In five years she rose to a regional senior management role and became Assistant Vice President.
In 2007, when Tribob (a triathlon training club in Singapore of which Jo was a member) proposed initiating a charitable swimming program in Vietnam, Jo jumped at the opportunity to give back to the community. Jo left her role in investment management and travelled to Vietnam to start and run the program.
The swimming program was initially intended to run for three to six months, but demand was overwhelming, and the program proved so successful that Swim Vietnam has grown into one of the region’s oldest and most respected drowning prevention NGOs. Jo worked full time with Swim Vietnam for seven years before transitioning to an advisory role on the Board of Trustees.
She continues to be passionate about water safety and survival swimming in Vietnam, dedicating a further three years to opening the Australian based Paul Sadler Swimland swim school in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2018 Jo moved back to Scotland to be closer to her family and started a new career as a Maths teacher. She has become involved with water safety in the UK by volunteering with the RNLI. She continues to influence drowning prevention in Vietnam through her role on the Swim Vietnam Board.
David has been a keen supporter of Swim Vietnam from its early days, initially working on projects and initiatives with Rotary International and, subsequently, through Australian Friends for Life (a team of volunteers whose aim is to deliver financial and practical support to Swim Vietnam).
With a background in Financial Services and prior to early retirement, David was Chief Executive of an international group of companies, with responsibility for operations in Europe, the Middle East and Far East. He has experience in Executive and Non-Executive Director roles within both private and public sector companies in a variety of jurisdictions. He has also chaired a number of industry representative bodies and charitable organisations. Granted Freedom of the City of London in 1986, David is also a Paul Harris Fellow, awarded by Rotary International.
A British/Australian dual national, David and his wife Angela live in Perth, Western Australia. They have three adult children and six Grandchildren. In addition to spending time with their family and on charitable activities, they enjoy travel within Australia and internationally.
Marilyn has been a long-term supporter of Swim Vietnam and joined the Board as a Trustee in 2023.
Marilyn’s background is in policy and advocacy, environmental management, HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environment) and risk management via her nearly 40 year career in the energy and consulting sectors. Her experience also extends to stakeholder engagement of government, industry, NGOs and other partners to establish wider consensus in regard to the challenges and solutions to address key societal challenges. She is based in London and has also completed a Master’s degree in Philanthropy and Social Investment from Bayes Business School in London.
Marilyn is a dual American/British citizen and has been living overseas for the last 27 years in Australia, Singapore and the UK. When living in Asia she had the privilege of seeing Swim Vietnam in its early days and is in awe of what the team has accomplished since.
