Meet the Team

Board President, Head of Strategy

Katherine is a senior lawyer and former law firm partner with significant development and investigation experience. Katherine was an investigator for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and had been a senior law firm partner for leading international firms such as Freshfields and Hogan Lovells. She was the Chief Executive Officer of leading human rights and development organisations, including the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP, USA/UK) and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA, The Gambia).

Katherine has advised on transactions for governments both as a law firm partner and as CEO of human rights and development organisations. In her various roles, Katherine has advised on transactions worth upward of US$40bn.

Executive Director

A founding director of Restitution, Chris is a senior governance, rule of law and human rights professional with lengthy experience focused on strategy and development, working for and with civil society organizations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, including the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), TRIAL International, Norwegian Human Rights Fund, and 20 others.

He has originated new relationships, grant acquisitions and in-kind gifts, still ongoing, for organizations totalling over US $120M.

Chris is a member of the board of directors of Reprieve (London) and sits on the advisory council of the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (Lomé), amongst others.

Head of Investigations

Having spent 27 years investigating some of the most corrupt world leaders, Debra has been instrumental in the seizure of more than a billion dollars. For the past seven years, she has been a Senior Investigator for The Sentry, an NGO, co-founded by George Clooney and John Prendergast. Debra worked to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy. She led complex investigations into financial crime, corruption and atrocities in East and Central Africa.

Prior to joining The Sentry, having retired after 20 years with the FBI, she served as a Supervisory Special Agent on the International Corruption Unit at FBI Headquarters and was instrumental in initiating the FBI’s Kleptocracy program, which seized more than $1 billion dollars from foreign corrupt officials. Debra is currently the Executive Producer and co-host of the award-winning podcast, “A Nation for Thieves”.

Director, Development and Innovations

Dr. Eva Thorne is a policy and development expert with extensive experience advising governments and international organizations on economic growth, resource management, and digital transformation. As the former Director of Policy and Innovations at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, she led initiatives on inclusive economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has provided strategic policy guidance to governments worldwide, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Honduras, on issues ranging from petroleum sector reform to land rights and digital strategy. Eva has also advised on high-value mining and infrastructure projects and has worked closely with senior government officials, including heads of state.

Head of Administration

Deborah Martin is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience, specializing in administrative leadership and high-level support in legal and financial sectors. Since 2018, she has been the Head of Administration at Restitution Impact is an organization focused on providing support and resources for the restitution of assets and funds, often in the context of humanitarian aid and crisis management.

Deborah has a proven track record of success as an executive personal assistant in prestigious firms, including Hogan Lovells LLP, Proskauer Rose LLP, and Kaye Scholer LLP, where she honed her skills in transactional support, document management, diary coordination, billing, and event planning. Her leadership was evident during her time as Senior Executive PA for the London capital markets department, managing a team of PAs in a demanding environment.

Liz Mehigan is a detail-oriented Project Coordinator with a knack for bringing structure and clarity to complex projects. She has a background in film, wellness, policy research, brand communication, and operations, helping teams stay organised and on track. With experience across various industries, Liz is skilled at problem-solving, managing budgets, and making information easy to understand. She enjoys working with people, finding creative solutions, and ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes.

Head of Capacity Building

Katerina is a legal expert with 20+ years of experience supporting Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) in government advisory, capacity building, and project management. She has led initiatives across 25+ countries in sectors including energy, infrastructure, mining, and finance. A former attorney specializing in public procurement and government contracts, she has a strong track record in stakeholder engagement, cross-jurisdictional project management, institutional and state capacity building, procurement and strategic partnerships. Her deep global expertise spans Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America, where she has supported governments in strengthening their institutional capacities. Katerina holds advanced law degrees from Fordham University, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and the National University of Athens, and has furthered her executive education at Harvard Business School Online.

Legal Director

Andrew is a senior lawyer with a 35-year career in the City of London. He was a partner at international law firm, Hogan Lovells, for over 20 years and continues work with the firm as a Senior Consultant. He has led multi-disciplinary teams interacting with clients across multiple sectors and on projects involving a wide spectrum of financial products and services. Over his time at Hogan Lovells he has established the firm’s Asia Debt Capital Markets practice, established and co- lead its Sustainable Finance practice and established its Trust & Agency practice.

Andrew is a founding member of the Restitution team and brings to our organisation his huge experience working on project involving emerging markets, sovereign debt, sustainable finance and innovative structures and approaches. He has supported Restitution as a volunteer since its inception.

Andrew holds an MA (Hons) in History and English Literature.